| Date | Title & Details | Speaker | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/26/2014 |
Dongshan is UnwellCase 94 in the Book of Serenity tells of a time when Master Dongshan (Tozan Ryokai) was very ill. A monk came to him and asked, “Is there someone who does not get ill?” Donshan answered, “There is,” and the dialog goes on from there. Does this contradict the First Noble Truth? What’s going on here? Both Kyogen and Gyokuko have been sick the past few weeks, as have other Zen Center residents and members. Over the past few months a number of teachers and their close friends have died, an interesting time. In this January 26 talk Kyogen addresses this koan and tells some stories related to it. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Kyogen Carlson | ||
| 01/19/2014 |
Being a Good Host to Your LifeCategories: Dharma Talks |
Kakumyo Lowe-Charde | ||
| 01/12/2014 |
Taking Joy Seriouslywas “Taking Joy Seriously, or Can a Buddhist Have a Good Time?” In our practice we explicitly examine the causes of suffering as we study the Second Noble Truth. Dogen said that “To study Buddhism is to study the self.” Are we just a mass of suffering? How is studying the nature of joy a serious practice, and what can it teach us about enlightenment? Categories: Dharma Talks |
Elizabeth Erin Luthy | ||
| 01/05/2014 |
Excesses Such as GreedAs we start up again on our regular schedule, we sometimes find that we can look back at holiday excesses and have remorse, vowing to do differently. How can we take vows in a skillful way? Genko shares something of her own struggle with addictive behavior and how she is finding ways through it with wisdom, compassion and persistence. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Genko Rainwater | ||
| 12/08/2013 |
The Morning StarFor Buddhists all over the world, Sunday December 8th marks the annual celebration of Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment under the bodhi tree. For our community, it also marks the end of our weeklong Rohatsu retreat during which each of us take up the Buddha’s koan of the meaning of human suffering. Through his deep resolve to sit, the Buddha endured seductive temptation, frightening taunts and attacks from Mara throughout the night, until he finally awoke when he saw the morning star in the eastern sky. What is it that he saw? This Rohatsu reflection is on living the Buddha’s enlightenment story – something we each take up intimately from our own meditation seat, meeting Mara and the morning star in this very zendo. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Debra Seido Martin | ||
| 12/01/2013 |
Three Zen Masters: The Challenge of our DifferencesShin’ei traces the lives of three enigmatic Zen Masters to explore the nature of freedom, dedication and authority. She also speaks to the imagination through the voice of her own life and practice. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Alison Shin’ei Brown | ||
| 11/24/2013 |
Receiving Food, Receiving DharmaIn the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, many of us plan meals, plan for preparing and eating food. Bukkai talked about how the simple repetitive aspects of our lives having to do with food can become serious spiritual practice. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Jill Bukkai Washburn | ||
| 11/17/2013 |
Cultivating TrustWhat is it that we can trust and rely upon during our most difficult times in life? How does practice support us when we inevitably face challenges? This talk is about how the path of practice can be viewed as a process of cultivating increasing confidence and trust in our own Buddha Nature. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Jody Shintai Dungay | ||
| 11/10/2013 |
The Precious Mirror SamadhiPart of our regular Sunday morning chanting service, “The Precious Mirror Samadhi” by Dongshan Liangjie (Tozan Ryokai) is compelling, beautiful, and most find it utterly mysterious. With imagery like “a silver bowl filled with snow,” and references to “the Illumination hexagram,” it is an utterly Chinese expression of Dharma. Related to and developed from the earlier “Harmony of difference and Sameness,” it expresses the development and maturation of practice and awakening over time, which makes it unique in the liturgy. Co-abbot Kyogen Carlson spoke about the imagery and our lineage expression of this often misunderstood work. Watch for more talks on our commonly used liturgy in the months ahead. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Kyogen Carlson | ||
| 11/03/2013 |
Founders DayOn Sunday November 3rd, our Founders’ Day Festival, Kakumyo Lowe-Charde spoke about the three figures honored on our Founder’s shrine, exploring the particular juxtaposition of confidence and humility in their lives and practice as well as in our relation to them as individuals and archetypes. Those three are Keido Chisan Koho Zenji, Houn Jiyu Kennet Roshi, and Nyogen Senzaki. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Kakumyo Lowe-Charde | ||
| 10/20/2013 |
Sangha Forum (Fall 2013)Twice a year, the governing bodies of Dharma Rain Zen Center meet with the Sangha to present information about what they have been doing and to get feedback and input about what’s coming up. At this forum, members from the Dharma Council, Board, and Mandala Council will all do brief presentations. A prominent theme will be the upcoming move and how it affects every aspect of the organization. Come by and get up-to-date and give us the benefit of your experience. Categories: Sangha Forum |
Board of Directors, Dharma Council | ||
| 10/13/2013 |
Alone, TogetherThe Buddha told his followers to “walk alone like a rhinoceros” – but he told this to people living intimately in community. What does it mean to stand alone? How do we do this together? What is true solitude? We live so close to others that it can be hard to know what one truly desires and what is added by those around us. There is a sacred aloneness in which we can stand firmly in the midst of all things, and we discover this side by side. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Sallie Jiko Tisdale | ||
| 10/06/2013 |
Sangha as RefugeThe Buddha famously told Ananda that good spiritual friends are the whole of the holy life. Sangha includes teachers, friends and supporters, and also those who challenge us in many ways. Co-Abbot Gyokuko Carlson speaks about Sangha as refuge, and the various ways that manifests. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Gyokuko Carlson | ||
| 09/29/2013 |
Two AncestorsCategories: Dharma Talks |
Sallie Jiko Tisdale | ||
| 09/22/2013 |
The Meaning of LifeNo, this is not a Monty Python sketch, or anything like that, although bringing up the issue, these days, is taken as absurd. Not long ago I found myself telling someone that you can, in fact, discover the meaning of life, or at least your deeper purpose. However, when you do you will find it impossible to explain. Having thought about this some more, I have decided to venture out onto a very rickety limb and present this as a Dharma Talk, and now that I have, I’m most curious as to what I will say. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Kyogen Carlson | ||
| 09/15/2013 |
Ever NearerCategories: Dharma Talks |
Kakumyo Lowe-Charde | ||
| 09/08/2013 |
The Place of Study in PracticeCategories: Dharma Talks |
Genko Rainwater | ||
| 09/01/2013 |
Fall Term, Ango, the Temple Calendar and moreCategories: Dharma Talks |
Jill Bukkai Washburn | ||
| 08/18/2013 |
Being BodiesCategories: Dharma Talks |
Sallie Jiko Tisdale | ||
| 08/11/2013 |
The Awesome Presence of Active BuddhasWe are on silent retreat this week, studying the Dogen Shobogenzo fascicle “Gyobutso Yuigi,” the Awesome Presence of Active Buddhas. The focus of the sesshin is to sustain practice during an intensive period, acting out our Buddhahood in the meditation, disciplines and rituals of a traditional Zen retreat. Sesshin gathers our intention in a resolute and dignified manner so that we can put it directly on what is most important. We do this for a week in a structured and supportive container, and then bring the perspective gained to the rest of our life. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Kakumyo Lowe-Charde | ||
| 08/04/2013 |
Summertime and the Subject of FaithThis Sunday Seido will be talking about the seasonal changes we experience during summer practice where discipline loosens and the natural world presents itself in full color. What do we learn about ourselves during this time? What emerges in our relationship to zazen and what obstacles present themselves during a time of year typically marked by less structure? Seido draws on the teachings from “Affirming Faith in Mind,” a 6th Century Chinese Chan poem chanted in many Zen temples, that offers us a way of practice regardless of the season based in a profound insight into Buddhist faith that invites us to lean into the fabric of our lives. Categories: Dharma Talks |
Debra Seido Martin | ||
| 07/28/2013 |
Making SpaceCategories: Dharma Talks |
Jyoshin Clay | ||
| 06/30/2013 |
Taking a Stand: Finding Our Way on Social IssuesCategories: Dharma Talks |
Kyogen Carlson | ||
| 06/23/2013 |
Being SilenceCategories: Dharma Talks |
Kakumyo Lowe-Charde | ||
| 06/16/2013 |
How We Express Our PracticeCategories: Dharma Talks |
Anthony Fujaku Stevens | ||
| 06/09/2013 |
With Respect to ObjectsCategories: Dharma Talks |
Genko Rainwater | ||
| 05/19/2013 |
RujingCategories: Dharma Talks |
Kyogen Carlson | ||
| 05/12/2013 |
Quiyan Gives BirthCategories: Dharma Talks |
Debra Seido Martin | ||
| 05/05/2013 |
Living in Indra’s NetCategories: Dharma Talks |
Rick Fumyo Mishaga | ||
| 04/28/2013 |
The Task of AwakeningCategories: Dharma Talks |
Sallie Jiko Tisdale | ||
| 04/21/2013 |
Wrapping Ourselves in Buddha’s TeachingCategories: Dharma Talks |
Jody Shintai Dungay | ||
| 04/14/2013 |
Sangha Forum (Spring 2013)Categories: Sangha Forum |
Board of Directors, Dharma Council | ||
| Date | Title & Details | Speaker | Listen | Download |