2012
Lingzhao and the Bodhisattva Way
January 12, 2012 | Cerro Gordo Temple | Santa Fe, NM
When we take up the bodhisattva way, one of our ancestors is a young woman from the Tang dynasty, Pang Lingzhao, whose name means Spirit Shining. She's the one who reminds us that we are all falling together through this world, and how we can do that with grace.
subects : Pang Lingzhao, Layman Pang, Mrs. Pang, Vimalakirti, illness, aspiration
When we take up the bodhisattva way, one of our ancestors is a young woman from the Tang dynasty, Pang Lingzhao, whose name means Spirit Shining. She's the one who reminds us that we are all falling together through this world, and how we can do that with grace.
subects : Pang Lingzhao, Layman Pang, Mrs. Pang, Vimalakirti, illness, aspiration
Lingzhao and the Bodhisattva Way |
Desert Rain Retreat
February 2012 | Desert Rain Zen Group | Tucson, AZ
This collection of foundational dharma talks was given at a retreat in which a ceremony for sensei Tenney Nathanson was performed. Topics covered include an introduction to retreats; the foundations of koan practice; teachers, traditions, and lineage; and mindfulness and concentration practices.
subjects : Santoka, retreat, relaxation, silence, koan practice, Tenney Nathanson, Andrew Palmer, Sarah Bender, sensei, mindfulness, concentration, tathagata
This collection of foundational dharma talks was given at a retreat in which a ceremony for sensei Tenney Nathanson was performed. Topics covered include an introduction to retreats; the foundations of koan practice; teachers, traditions, and lineage; and mindfulness and concentration practices.
subjects : Santoka, retreat, relaxation, silence, koan practice, Tenney Nathanson, Andrew Palmer, Sarah Bender, sensei, mindfulness, concentration, tathagata
I Relaxing into Retreat | ||
II Introduction to Working w | ||
III Teachers, Lineage, Tradit | ||
IV Mindfulness and Concentrat |
Reconsidering Mindfulness
February/March 2012 | Cerro Gordo Temple | Santa Fe, NM
The way we seem to be assimilating Buddhist teachings in the West is as mindfulness, which has many helpful applications. It also has some pitfalls, which become clear when we consider mindfulness in its traditional context. These talks explore mindfulness not so much as a miner's lamp practice of attention but as heart-mindfulness,
with its sense of open and loving attention, focus on unselfing, appreciation for what we can't make conscious, and constant recollection of the vastness of the present moment.
subjects : mindfulness, unselfing, heart-mind, private buddha,Yehuda Amichai, Simone Weil
The way we seem to be assimilating Buddhist teachings in the West is as mindfulness, which has many helpful applications. It also has some pitfalls, which become clear when we consider mindfulness in its traditional context. These talks explore mindfulness not so much as a miner's lamp practice of attention but as heart-mindfulness,
with its sense of open and loving attention, focus on unselfing, appreciation for what we can't make conscious, and constant recollection of the vastness of the present moment.
subjects : mindfulness, unselfing, heart-mind, private buddha,Yehuda Amichai, Simone Weil
Reconsidering Mindfulness I | ||
Reconsidering Mindfulness II | ||
Reconsidering Mindfulness III | ||
Reconsidering Mindfulness IV |
The Lankavatara Sutra & the Poet Issa
March 2012 | Mountain Cloud Zen Center | Santa Fe, NM
The Lankavatara Sutra says that we project thoughts into the world and think they're real, but it's possible to drop those projections and return to our heart-mind's natural unity with the world. In 18th-century Japan, Kobayashi Issa turned these teachings into poetry, showing us how to move toward this liberating state of projectionlessness in the midst of our poignant lives.
subjects : Lankavatara Sutra, koan introduction, D.T. Suzuki, Issa, dreaming, reincarnation, tathagata
The Lankavatara Sutra says that we project thoughts into the world and think they're real, but it's possible to drop those projections and return to our heart-mind's natural unity with the world. In 18th-century Japan, Kobayashi Issa turned these teachings into poetry, showing us how to move toward this liberating state of projectionlessness in the midst of our poignant lives.
subjects : Lankavatara Sutra, koan introduction, D.T. Suzuki, Issa, dreaming, reincarnation, tathagata
Lankavatara Sutra & the Poet Issa I (PDF only) | ||
Lankavatara Sutra & The Poet Issa II | ||
Lankavatara Sutra & The Poet Issa III |
Koan Ancestors
November 2-4, 2012 | Mountain Cloud Zen Center | Santa Fe, NM
One of the most beautiful aspects of the origin of the koans is their deep connection to the Chinese language, especially in its earliest forms. We spent a weekend getting to know some characters that are ancestors to the koans, amazing creatures who offer us the possibility of beautiful interruptions, which break what appear to be inevitable karmic chains, returning us to the realm of the free self and the original vow.
One of the most beautiful aspects of the origin of the koans is their deep connection to the Chinese language, especially in its earliest forms. We spent a weekend getting to know some characters that are ancestors to the koans, amazing creatures who offer us the possibility of beautiful interruptions, which break what appear to be inevitable karmic chains, returning us to the realm of the free self and the original vow.
Koan Booklet (Koan Ancestors I) | ||
Koan Ancestors I | ||
Koan Ancestors II | ||
Koan Ancestors III |
Nonduality as Shimmer and Flow
April/May 2012 | Cerro Gordo Temple | Santa Fe, NM
Nonduality is an iron cliff of a word, so these two talks attempt to create some footholds by considering the essence of nonduality as the shimmer of things, and its activity as the way everything is flowing in and out of everything else.
subjects : nonduality, tathagatha, alaya vijnana, simultaneity, Middle Way, function, Lankavatara Sutra, Platform Sutra
Nonduality is an iron cliff of a word, so these two talks attempt to create some footholds by considering the essence of nonduality as the shimmer of things, and its activity as the way everything is flowing in and out of everything else.
subjects : nonduality, tathagatha, alaya vijnana, simultaneity, Middle Way, function, Lankavatara Sutra, Platform Sutra
Nonduality as Shimmer I | ||
Nonduality as Flow II |
Embracing Change
August 2012 | Omega Institute | Rhinebeck, NY
These three talks were given as part of a Shambhala Foundation weekend on Embracing Change in Your Life. Do you trust your life? How is change sometimes like geology, sometimes like seasons, or weather? What's it like to actually rest in not knowing?
subjects : change, transition, Dharma, trust, life, seasons, geology
These three talks were given as part of a Shambhala Foundation weekend on Embracing Change in Your Life. Do you trust your life? How is change sometimes like geology, sometimes like seasons, or weather? What's it like to actually rest in not knowing?
subjects : change, transition, Dharma, trust, life, seasons, geology
Embracing Change I | ||
Embracing Change II | ||
Embracing Change III |