Continuing gratitude for these talks … ❤

Garcia Kenneth Lopez Christopher Clark Mark

An Ancient Sage said, “ Every phenomenon is the original reality.” Fine. Yunmen held up his cane and said, “This is not the original reality.” After a pause, he said, “ If so, then the three poisons, four perversions, five clusters, six senses, twelve media, eighteen elements, and twenty-five realms of being are not the original reality.” Why not understand in this way- you’d save quite a bit of effort. Buddhism is a most economical affair, conserving the most energy- it has always been present, but you do not understand. I tell you, moreover, that there is nothing that is true and nothing that is not true. How can there be truth and untruth in one thing? Just because of seeking unceasingly, everywhere is seeking; pondering principles is seeking, contemplating the model cases of the ancients is also seeking, reading Zen books is also seeking; even if you sit quietly, continuously from moment to moment, this too is seeking. Do you want to understand? Then that seeking of yours is actually not seeking. This is extremely difficult to believe and to penetrate, hard to work on. Those of you who are not comfortable are that way, generally speaking, because you are either oblivious or excited. That is why you say you do not understand. Right now, how can you avoid being oblivious or excited? When that very thought of yours arises, it is the flowing whirl of birth and death: do you consider it habit-activated consciousness, or do you consider it immutable? Contemplate in this way over and over again, and you will have a bit of guiding principle. Elder Foyan -12th century Chinese Chan master

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Hoko, thank you. I have been sitting with Baizhang's fox for a few years now. This sitting with it has been fruitful. I remember your incisiveness from years ago at MZMC. So when I discovered this video, I was excited to hear your discussion about the wild fox. Davie

Beautiful!

at 11:29, She Said "Wisdom, Ethics, and compassion." but it is "Wisdom, Ethics, and concentration." Probably it is obious, since she said "Wisdom, Ethics, and concentration." right after that at 11:55..

Hoko said "Suzuki Roshi's "Zazen is good for nothing" at 10:11 but it was Sawaki Roshi's words not Suzuki Roshi's.

Thank you, Roshi. If I had the possibility, I would travel from Europe to your Zendo, just to pay my respect to you and the community, and to sit with you all in Zazen 🙏🙏🙏

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Can you guys augment the audio? Bless you

Another wonderful teaching, thank you.

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Thank you so much for this! 🙏😊

A lot of meaning is different before the 19th century. The idea of someone being “blind” as akin to unenlightened goes back at least to New Testament. It’s kind of a gnostic idea

“Not being blind” to something meant something radically different back then. I have the feeling Dogen meant something like not being conscious of the affectation of cause n “affect” not effect.

This is your best teaching yet. Well done.

Thank you for the teaching.

Thank you for the teaching.

Thank you for the teaching.

The amazing thing is that we all see it as a glass of water! "The mystical power and wondrous function, Carrying water and lugging firewood." - Layman Hōun

„“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.“ ‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭27‬-‭33‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Okamura Roshi gives clear lectures on profound texts. He has a series on Dogen's view of Buddha Nature, for example, on the Dogen Institute website. Highly enlightening!

Has anyone ever mentioned to you that you look like Dogen? Just saying..

Congratulations, Esho! Thank you for your talk!

Thank you♾💗💫♾🪷🦋

@Gino-ds2ce Speaking of Katagiri, besides having sex with a number of his female students he also attempted to rape a woman closely connected to Mpls. Zen Center, though not a member. She managed to fight him off. I believe attempted rape is a felony. But you don't want to know about things like this. You know. The truth about him. It happened in 1979.

Damn when he starts talking about western industrialization...ugh. Heartbreaking.

Just say, "no." LOL!

subject versus object or anything isn't a contradiction -- we only conceive it as a contradiction because when we grasp one-sidedly "self" or "atman" or "niagra falls" we imbalance Totality so as soon as we objectify anything Totality immediately reminds us that everything is dependently arisen therefore if we say self then immediately no-self arises, if we say no-self then immediately self arises and if we say niagra falls then immediately no niagra falls arises 😂 It's only confusing if we make something substantive and persistent!

Lucky to be able to learn from you, greetings from Poland!

Absolutely epic story about entrance into the way. Wow.

Very touching story about adolescence and the questioning of everything.

I’m not trying to be argumentative, and at the risk of sounding like a total dolt when it comes to Buddhist dogma…🤷‍♀️ how can there not be a self? The only way I can rationalize there not being a self, is in that there is no such thing as consciousnesses. A lot of ppl will argue that there very much is consciousness, I tend to think not. I tend to think that we, and everything else, are just products of conditions, and what we call consciousness, is just different conditions than the insentient…Or, there very much is a self, with autonomy over decision making power. I can focus on the bodhisattva path, or do “what thou wilt.” Who is observing 🤷‍♀️ The Buddha wouldn’t be known, if there wasn’t a self 🤷‍♀️. Isn’t it our total screw ups in life that destroys our sense of self, and brings the Buddha into existence? But someone has to practice in order for that to happen….unless we are just products of conditions 🤷‍♀️ I think something got lost in translation from “mind” to “self”, to “no self.” I get discriminating mind vs no mind. I’m talking about things that cannot be properly described with words, but “mind” to me , as opposed to one’s body, that’s a valuable discrimination.

ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Texts-and-Translations/Jinacaritam-Victorious-Buddha/Jinacaritam-Victorious-Buddha.pdf

Thank you for making these talks available

Haha the guy sat himself to death lolllll. Inspiring!

As an English speaker in Japan I feel so blessed to have these talks because I have not found a living teacher of Zen here to follow, even though my Japanese is pretty good. (I am sure there are some, and if someone wants to tell me who they are, I would very grateful for that, too.)

I wonder what karmic causes led me to listen to this lesson on the Pragnya Paramita today....)) A deep sense of illusion ? Greetings from the land of Po.

thanks and greetings from Poland!

Love from Turkey, thank you sir you have been completely helpful to a kid whom 21 years old student and had some serious questions towards to world therefore the himself. I have been practicing zazen for 1 years and it is good for nothing. I would like to write paragraphs and so on however just i can say is just thank you seriously from my heart.

Could you share the website you mentioned, please? I am interested about the book too, please help me to find it!

Regarding Uchiyama's idea that "Westerners" would require an intellectual explanation of Zazen before they could practice -- that requirement is rooted in the white European academic tradition and has to do with the privileges of hegemony, as well as the white European narrative tradition -- there are many groups of people in the United States that would not have required such an exaggerated approach.

I am grateful for having a chance to listen from across the ocean!

P R O M O S M 😪

Deep bow from Australia ❤

What in sangha friends and family gets us to get to the cushion in form of support? Isnt it likely their opinion of us? I recognize my personal problems in regard to growing up the way i have are the cause of my misunderstanding and i presume it has to do with the acceptance of another person's love and care. I just can't see it. I used to be endlessly mocked for practicing. ^ think i found it.

thanks !

I am struggling with a decision and i went to sit. I was opening the hand while things arise again and again. I am now done sitting, I gained nothing and i burst out laughing. Thinking that sitting was somehow going to give me the missing piece of the puzzle while logically always saying it is good for nothing 😂.