Tag: Dharma Talk
As we struggle to get by and overcome obstacles, we can get confused, angry, and sad. As we develop our practice and self-awareness, subtle changes in outlook have the capacity to transform our view of life and suffering in radical ways. This talk was given Sunday, October 8.
We often put karmic themes and their resolution in a vague category that adds lots of extra noise and opinion and dilutes the teaching about how to affect change. This Sunday the talk will focus on some specifics about seeing through our afflicted habit patterns. This talk was given Sunday, October 1.
This Sunday we celebrate the Two Ancestors Memorial, honoring Eihei Dogen and Keizan Jokin. As part of that, we chant the “Life Span Chapter” of the Lotus Sutra, which describes the Buddha enlightened since the remote past, or the eternal Buddha. As the seasons change, time passes, people are born, sicken, and die, and yet… Read more »
How do we carry our deepest intentions with us as we move through our daily life, including when at work? Last week, many in the sangha participated in the Heart of Work retreat. Each day, the retreat started and ended with meditation in the zendo, but the main venue for the retreat was our individual… Read more »
We want to be “more” aware, but doing so is not actually a process of becoming aware of more. It’s more a matter of lessening the obstacles to awareness. As we clarify mind, the play of arising phenomena includes some that were previously submerged. On Sunday we explore this dynamic, and see how it might… Read more »
The Sun Face Buddha lives for 1,800 years. The Moon Face Buddha lives for one day. But the length of the life is not what makes either a Buddha. This talk was given Sunday, August 27.
As a lay person, sometimes it is a challenge to integrate practice into our lives. How do we practice with what is? How do we allow the unique experiences of our lives to unfold with the awareness and attention of practice? Carrie Schulz offers a student talk exploring this. This talk was given Sunday, September… Read more »
by Jyoshin Clay Editor’s Note: This talk was given August 20, 2017. The recording failed for it, so Jyoshin graciously shared her notes. “Hide and Reveal,” by Ken Arnold What you cannot see, What sunlight hides in the artful Tangle of spring, Draws you in. Notice how the moss on this stone Layers down its… Read more »
We habitually locate ourselves, or rather our sense of self, at the center of our own story, our own narrative, the center of our drama. Often when people come to practice, there is a sense that giving up our story is part of the task of the practitioner and fear of losing ourselves arises. However,… Read more »
The source of respect is the unlimited heart of Buddha Nature. Jealousy and envy arise when we entertain the anxiety that there is not enough of something for us. Starting from the Buddha’s generous predictions of Buddhahood for his disciples, Gyokuko will explore our practice of giving and receiving respect. This talk was given Sunday,… Read more »
Memory is unpredictable. Certain events remain vivid; others fade away. Many of us will lose memories as we age. What is it in our practice that is remembered, no matter what? How do we retain wisdom even in forgetfulness? This talk was given Sunday, July 30.
Genko tackles the topic of Time: what is it? how do we work with it? some of the many aspects of time as something that exists, or maybe not. Are we moving forward? What about developmental stages? What about how much time we’ve had in practice? And of course, Dogen’s fascicle, “Uji,” addressing existence-time, has… Read more »
Drawing upon Dogen’s “Teachings of the Inanimate,” Seido talked about Buddhism’s approach to our conflicted relationship with the natural world and how the nondual leaps beyond false divisions. Where does nature begin and end? Where does sentience begin and end? This subject welcomes our direct experience in the natural world, our heartfelt concern for the… Read more »
Three of the aspects of the Enlightened Mind are not achieved through will, intention and rational thought, and yet they are not achieved without good will, good intentions and clear reasoning. Gyokuko will play with the interplay during her Dharma Talk this Sunday. This talk was given Sunday, July 9.
A question we often get asked is “what is enlightenment,” followed closely by “how do I get it?” Kakumyo explores this realm in his Sunday talk. Come see whether he actually answers these perennial questions. This talk was given Sunday, July 2.
What happens when Indra, King of the Gods, sees a line of ants marching across the floor? A little storytelling about Indra leads us to contemplation of how we all fit together in the big scheme of things. This talk was given Sunday, June 25.