Teachings
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Summer Sesshin Part 4 of 4: Everlasting Practice
October 15, 20151 min read
Episode Description: In this final talk of the 2015 summer sesshin Henry clarifies what has been explored during the week. He recites the opening couplets of the Shinjinmei, Verses of the Faith Mind, and discusses both Mumon’s and Dogen’s awakenings (who were alive at the same time and came somewhat close to meeting). We hear a story about the Pang family of lay practitioners, who all became enlightened masters during the Chinese Tang period. The talk...
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Fundimental Meaning of Buddha-dharma
October 12, 20151 min read
Zen master Daowu visited the assembly of master Shitou. Daowu asked, “What is the fundamental meaning of Buddha-dharma?” Shitou said, “Not to attain, not to know”. Daowu said, “Is there some turning point in going beyond, or not?“ Shitou said, “The vast sky does not hinder the white clouds from flying” Image by Rosa Bellino Text taken from Going Beyond Buddha, from thezensite.com
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Is Zen a Religion? by Yamada Ryoun
October 9, 20155 min read
The true self that has been found is really one with all that is. The self and the whole universe are originally one being. Zen is not a religion. This is a position I have continuously maintained. To say that Zen is not a religion is to say that the Buddha-Way [butsudo] is not a religion. However, religious concepts invariably are entwined with words such as Zen or the Buddha-Way. Most people have no problem with...
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Summer Sesshin Part 3 of 4: Case 17 Book of Equanimity: Hogen’s “Hairsbreadth”
October 8, 20151 min read
Episode Description: This third teisho of the summer sesshin explores Case 17 in the Book of Equanimity. Hogen’s: "If there only is a hairsbreadth of difference, it is the distance between heaven and earth." Henry discusses notions of heaven, the tiny size of a “hair’s breadth” and the concept of separation. Drawing on his wide knowledge of the Chinese Zen Masters, he tells stories of Nansen, Echu, Sosan, Hogen and Jizo; and he quotes humorous yet insightful...
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Bubbles on the Sea
October 5, 20151 min read
When we see truly, there is nothing at all. There is no person; there is no Buddha. Innumerable things of the universe Are just bubbles on the sea. Wise sages are all like flashes of lightning. - Yoka Genkaku (665-713 CE), Shodoka Photo and creation by Rosa Bellino
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Awareness Bound and Unbound, by David Loy, Part 3 of 3
October 3, 20153 min read
What does it really mean for awareness to be here-and-now, de-conditioned from attention traps both individual and collective? Click to read Part 1 and Part 2 of Awareness Bound and Unbound The Control of Attention Dictatorships control people with violence and the threat of it, to restrain what they do. Modern democracies control people with sophisticated propaganda, by manipulating what they think. We worry about weapons of mass destruction, but perhaps we should be as concerned about weapons...
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Summer Sesshin Part 2 of 4: Koans, Awakening, and Belonging
October 1, 20151 min read
Episode Description: Henry addresses the process of being on sesshin. He continues talking about the emergence of koans, the promise they hold, and the practice of “studying” them—which is really taking a koan deeply into our meditation and simply letting it be. Henry gives some background on Joshu, his apprenticeship with Nansen and his awakening, and he explores “enlightenment” as an experience of direct knowing about ourselves and the world, which changes how we see...
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Awareness Bound and Unbound, by David Loy, Part 2 of 3
September 28, 20153 min read
...attention has become the basic commodity to be exploited. Click to read Part 1 of Awareness Bound and Unbound. The Commodification of Attention For most of us in the developed world, the greatest attention trap is consumerism, which involves sophisticated advertising that has become very good at manipulating our awareness. Today the bigger economic challenge is not production but keeping us convinced that the solution to our dukkha "dis-ease" is our next purchase. According to the pioneering advertising...
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Awareness Bound and Unbound, by David Loy, Part 1 of 3
September 26, 20153 min read
Let the mind come forth without fixing it anywhere. (Diamond Sutra) The Platform Sutra makes the same point: "When our mind works freely without any hindrance, and is at liberty to 'come' or to 'go,' we attain liberation." Such a mind "is everywhere present, yet it 'sticks' nowhere." Our awareness becomes stuck when we identify with particular forms, due to ignorance of the essential non-dwelling nature of our consciousness. These are familiar Buddhist teachings, yet an...
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Summer Sesshin Part 1 of 4: Four Marks of Zen, How to Practice and the Koan Mu
September 24, 20151 min read
Episode Description: In this first teisho of the summer 2015 sesshin, Henry explores the four traditional marks of Zen which result in discovering innate buddhahood. Using warm encouragement and anecdotes from his personal history, Henry, reminds us that sesshin is challenging and discusses how we can best attend to our practice. Henry tells a story from the sutras about a hawk, a quail and a clod of earth which becomes a metaphor for our natural home...
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