Teachings
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Teisho: Shukman: Case 1, The Gateless Gate: Joshu’s Dog (Mu)
October 13, 20172 min read
"... Everything has its source in zazen ..." "... The more clearly we see what is going on, the more clearly we discover there is only what is going on ...” Description: This teisho is the first talk from the Summer 2017 sesshin. Before looking at the koan Mu, this talk begins, as context, with Bodhidharma’s two “entries”—principle and practice. This theme is echoed in Dogen’s words, “To study the way is to study the self. To study the self...
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Whole-Hearted Attention
October 7, 20171 min read
...without attention we live only on the surface of existence. The secret of beginning a life of deep awareness and sensitivity lies in our willingness to pay attention.... Our growth as conscious, awake human beings is marked not so much by grand gestures and visible renunciations as by extending loving attention to the minutest particulars of our lives... Every relationship, every thought, every gesture is blessed with meaning through the wholehearted attention we bring to it. ...without attention we...
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Teisho: Ben Connelly: Inside Vasubandhu’s Yogacara
October 5, 20171 min read
Description: In this talk,Ben Connelly, a Soto Zen teacher from the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center and Dharma heir in the Katagiri lineage, discusses his book, Inside Vasubandhu’s Yogacara. Vasubandhu was a fifth century Indian monk who was a prolific author and teacher. He was a profoundly influential but poorly understood figure in Mahayana Buddhism and a key figure in Zen lineage charts. Mr. Connelly’s new book illuminates the practical aspects of Vasubandu’s teachings, which integrate Theravada and Mahayana practices,...
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Zen: Soto, Rinzai and Sanbo Zen Part 2 of 2
September 30, 20173 min read
If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it? — Dogen Zenji Read Part 1 of this short series for insight into Soto and Rinzai Zen. How has the Sanbo-kyodan (now called Sanbo Zen) influence became the seed for much of what is now experienced as Zen in America? Hakuun Yasutani had his first sesshin with Harada Sogaku Roshi in 1954 and, two years later, experienced kensho at the age of 42. Ten years...
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Teisho: The Word “Good”
September 28, 20171 min read
"... beauty, in the zen tradition, is regarded as a hallmark of reality ... Beauty is ephemeral; it is inextricably linked to loss and impermanence ...” Description: In this talk, Henry explores the meaning of the word “good,” beginning with the opening of the Book of Genesis, and moving into the first way that “good” appears in the Buddhist tradition—the word “sukha,” translated to mean “ease” or “happiness,” in contrast to “dukkha,” translated as “suffering” or “unsatisfactoriness.” Henry...
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Zen: Soto, Rinzai and Sanbo Zen, Part 1 of 2
September 23, 20175 min read
“… the very impermanency of grass and tree, thicket and forest is the Buddha nature …” ~ Dogen Dogen is credited with founding Soto (one of three important Zen “schools”) in Japan. But what is Soto? And how does it differ from Rinzai? These differences are important. Many of the “lost generation” of Westerners who came from Europe and America in the 60’s and 70’s discovered great wisdom from the two great schools of Japanese Zen expressed through...
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Teisho: Case 42, Book of Equanimity: Nanyô and the Water Jug
September 21, 20172 min read
"... Absolute happiness, regardless of circumstances, is possible in the existence that the Buddha discovered ...” Description: This talk was given by Sanbo Zen Abbot, Yamada Ryoun Roshi, during a special visit to Mountain Cloud. The center of this talk is the koan, “Nanyô and the Water Jug” from the Book of Equanimity. Ryoun Roshi chose this koan because it simply and profoundly conveys the world that Shakyamuni Buddha discovered 2500 years ago. He emphasizes the fact that...
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Dogen Zenji, Part 2 of 2
September 16, 20175 min read
“… circle of practice-enlightenment is renewed moment after moment …” ~ Dogen Zenji In the previous part we covered some of Dogen’s journey of realization (& Zen in Japan) and closed that with one of Kaz Tanahashi’s summary comments on Dogen’s answer regarding practice … Continuing Kaz’s summary on Dogen: “Dogen accepts this image of a linear process of seeking. But he also talks about the way as a circle. For him, each moment of practice encompasses enlightenment, and each moment of enlightenment encompasses practice....
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Teisho: Case 58, Book of Equanimity: ” ‘Getting Despised’ in the Diamond Sutra”
September 15, 20172 min read
"...any notion of recognition or good reputation becomes unnecessary ...” Description: The center of this talk is the koan, “‘Getting Despised’ in the Diamond Sutra,” from the Book of Equanimity. It also appears in the Blue Cliff Record. This koan is an excerpt from the Diamond Sutra, the Mahayana sutra which expresses, most closely, the spirit of Zen. Henry begins by pointing out that this koan is particularly relevant for Westerners because of our levels of shame...
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