Posted inDharma, Dogen, Videos

Life-and-death – the one and the many, Valerie Forstman (Video)

March 13, 2023

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, Valerie begins and ends with gratitude for the life and practice of a longtime practitioner, a woman of Ukrainian descent who died several months into the war. We hear the teaching of Karen Boreham on practice-awakening, unconditional love, beauty, bravery, empty-handed acceptance, and death.

In between, Valerie takes up Case 149 from Dogen’s “Treasury of the True Dharma Eye.” The koan presents this relative life – plowing the fields and planting the seeds – as none other than the absolute, the fact of who we truly are. At its heart, the ultimate invitation: Do not miss receiving this gift.

Photo by Martin Adams from Unsplash

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