On this crisp Autumn night we explored the next step on the Noble 8-fold Path of transforming suffering into peace, joy and liberation: Courageous Action. It takes great courage to actually follow through on our intentions--fully and lovingly embracing the challenges of the bodhisattva path.
Link to Zoom recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/Dt3ocor309vTir-aGbLexn0k_EpjWi63-cY80_0IaFGG5i0H0DYNPU9JvmzE6FT-.zlWVEA6MsxaFqDWG
TOPICS: A practice period is about—PRACTICE—don’t expect change if you haven’t done the work!; reframing any difficulty with a smile and determination; the unstoppable power of focus, concentration, and mindfulness (our practices); yet leaving room for benefits of wu-wei; living a life of mutual benefit for all sentient beings, one moment/one choice, at a time is the way; gems of wisdom from Thich Nhat Hahn and Gil Fronsdal; and the wisdom and experiences of our sangha members shared with an open heart! [Pic of tea cup and Buddha as I work on this dharma talk]
Imagine if we all could learn this one skill: Appropriate Speech...
On this night we explored Step 3 of the Eightfold Path, what it means to be truly skillful with words (and thundering silence!), traits that seems lost in this present world. But can we bring it back, in ourselves?
Link to Zoom Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/U-4g7vVHz0Dake6k1L5Lx1PnxBFX00FR-ocBesri9iLyUAI9RzH7bACmgiYScZs5.xtWb5h6dTB1VrSv5
TOPICS: Thich Nhat Hanh's emphasis on the five qualities of "right speech;" Insight Dialog's re-interpretation of the 4 Noble Truths to the "Interpersonal 4 Noble Truths" and how relationships are another example of happiness and suffering being "not two;" a host of tips on the practice of appropriate speech across the wide spectrum of our life; sangha discussion sharpened the points with personal experiences and suggestions rich with potential. [Pic from beach near Monterey Bay Academy in Watsonville, by Taizan Gendo]
Gliding along the Eightfold Path of our Autumn '21 practice period, we arrived tonight at the second step--the benefit of care-fully reviewing and then setting our intentions. What will you do with the remaining time you live?
LINK TO ZOOM RECORDING: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/VSYyBFdJjULiMcFerGfm5zi6-2JXYyFCkOxGmm8KbpOgS0KxU6t9bKbCHE8reZVP.MfCgwUFzp407VdmK
Thich Nhat Hanh calls it "Right Thinking," and reminds us that amidst all this thinking we can access the helpful "maps" of our practice--mindful breathing, watering the seeds of joy, and spending more time in nature. His advice was to keep in mind 4 things: 1) Are You Sure?; 2) What Am I Doing?; 3) Hello Habit Energy!; and 4) Developing Bodhicitta—the mind of love. The sangha then added so much wisdom from experience—hope you will listen all the way through. And please join us—there is no better time to begin than THIS PRESENT MOMENT! [Painting is called "The Power of Intention" by Taizan Gendo]
This Dharma talk was given the night before our practice period intensive, and provides details you may not have known of what a Shikan Zazenkai is all about, explaining the forms and practices that instill meaning and beauty in every simple gesture and movement and breath.
Link to Zoom recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/QDDJ5qRMbWYTtG-jqHcmgY4SAFePmEbeMSUVKvxmsjiOuaQ4K3a4V5JsH9mULM1h.UTeu4Ue_yiEuW73c
In addition to helpful comments on the forms, we explore explanations on the where and why of our practice-- how to hold it accountable to actually changing your life--and the richness that allows us to commit to a path of peace, joy, and maybe even liberation...[Image is Schedule for Shikan Zazenkai]
Tonight we took a first step on the Eightfold path of our Autumn '21 Wild Country Zen practice period to transform suffering--the step of "Wise Understanding."
Link to Zoom Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/yqXL0m6dYa0gKYhipNh6MGFMo-LGx4ji53NUCXT6sU-oLA9LykYpe99JoSVjpzvs.VB-mwLnRxDyZjfMO
TOPICS: This chapter in our reference book "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching" by Thich Nhat Hanh is called "Right View," but why we changed it to "Wise Understanding;" before speaking, acting, or even setting intentions, understanding (listening and studying and reflecting) seems like the wisest strategy in developing well being; how much can we really "know" and what are the limits of our understanding?; unreliable perceptions should caution any thoughts of certainty; relative vs. absolute truths; toxic inputs in daily life; turning off (or at least really limiting) our consumption of social media and news for the remaining 8 weeks as an experiment; reminders of the "nutriments" that can water the seeds of our happiness or our suffering; what are the ingredients and indicators of wise understanding leading to true "well being?" [Pic taken from deck in Aromas, by Taizan Gendo]
We began our Autumn Practice Period by care-fully examining some essential but perhaps unorthodox understandings of the Four Noble Truths by Thich Nhat Hanh and Taizan Gendo —including the absolute truth that suffering itself, though very real, cannot be located.
LINK TO ZOOM RECORDING: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/A9gPbQJQF-AVWeKoEKWp4LxCpgEVvEwyCbtx_2OnI0oRJJk_Ad6JMcdCJ_3g9vbo._WPV5G5s8k6fgMLT
TOPICS: As we begin our working closely with the Eightfold path’s step by step prescription to transform--but not eliminate--our suffering into peace, joy, and liberation, we explored how the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism can be understood with deeper richness; the essential requirement to “sit with” each understanding, not just to accept them; to test each of the Eightfold steps in your meditation practice—not just reading, listening, and talking; the direct relationship of emptiness to suffering; encouragement to start your journal, to draw, and express your suffering, from your heart; prepare for Step 1 on the Eightfold Path for next week: “Wise Understanding.” [Painting called "Autumn in Wild Country" by Taizan Gendo and Rhoda Bloom-Erath]
On this last week before beginning our Autumn practice period on the Noble 8-Fold Path we explored ways to optimize this rare opportunity to awaken and transform our life recognizing this is it!
Zoom recording link: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/ai8N7oHlnG-iIIIFE_pG-Zc58HWIu7Cejd0_pnjVqWo9QYcTCy2NOsW0fmBIaibS.JuSBQ51a3T9uAaL7
TOPICS: Clearing out the overgrown habits blocking our path; setting the table for a full meal of growth; reducing superfluous preferences; whole-hearted effort not an option; difference between a zen practice and a book club, academic class, or stress reduction social event; our civilization's situation: nothing sadder or worse than doing something really well that shouldn't be done at all; how to change patterns of practice to include the "magic" times between normal awake and sleep; Thich Nhat Hanh's formula for meditation: Stopping+calming+resting equals healing. [Pic is calligraphy by Taizan Gendo and friends: "The Wind Blows but does not Stir the Moon in the Sky Above," from class at Jikoji Zen Center with Gerow Reece]
With two weeks until the start of our Autumn Practice Period on the Noble Eight Fold Path, we explored further the Heart of Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Nhat Hahn, with focus on the true sources of suffering and happiness.
Link to Zoom recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/7bN3TCVGczHwQRVncMWby5uJ3QhcjgeYUTw67I6idJBlPTlIFaz9lTWUiOH7Z3O4.GCJs4sQy67NWvF4v
TOPICS: Touching our suffering with courage; true friendship’s essential role in sangha (from Stephen Batchelor’s book “Buddhism Without Beliefs;” recognizing the “nutriments” we take in that can cause happiness OR suffering; learning what nourishes joy; the path to well-being; happiness and suffering are not two; the ignoble eight fold path (wrong view, wrong action, wrong speech, etc); reading and listening to theories in not enough—mindfulness in practice is required; and much more! [Painting is called "Snowfield and Spirits" by Taizan Gendo]
Tonight (Sept. 1, 2021) I introduced some highlights from a book called “The Heart of Buddha's Teachings” by Thich Nhat Hahn which we will use in our upcoming practice period on the Noble 8-fold Path.
Link to the Zoom Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/V5M-VMgfysy0nSkCKhWQSOnnuzRi0JjMnprjaY3Y1qd7V2LbrFHzl40Gkxf2hp3O.8UU1dT9TGY2LgL1C
TOPICS: With the world on fire (literally and in our own minds), transforming habit energy and suffering into peace, joy, and liberation through our practice; mindfulness as the antidote to toxic energy by stopping, calming, resting, and healing; the 3 Marks of Existence; 3 Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha); 6 Paramita’s (Highest Virtues); the mind of love (Bodhicitta) and unavoidable suffering; the yin and yang of our existence; theory and words no substitute for actual experience; making Zen your own, in support of becoming skillful and compassionate. [Pic on trail near Novato, California, by Taizan Gendo
Tonight's talk was about preparing for the Autumn Practice Period that starts Sept. 22, describing the opportunity to deepen and explore for 10 weeks the Buddha's promise inherent in the 4th Noble Truth--that by following these paths we can transform our suffering to liberation.
Link to Zoom recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/6rfuIfXi5lAY0966jP7VpBLNImiaEkbDrML0BZRud8lSR1PcjULHDsUwfZBrbinU.90F4BuEVI0VP3UZv
TOPICS: Gathering our energy and excitement for upcoming 10 weeks of concentrated practice; description of half-day sits, Zen service, chanting— all rituals of connection and meaning; outdoor kinhin (walking meditation); the beauty (mindfulness) in zen aesthetics, robes, candles, bowing, art, and tea ceremony; role of religion is where science leaves off (mysteries of this life); using our own adjectives substituting for the word “right” before each of the 8 “paths;” sharing my own personal “issue” of suffering of animals and children and a paradox of Zen—choosing the peace of “no opinions” no fixed views, or the Bodhisattva path of advocating for the voiceless no matter the cost as engaged Buddhism? [Painting is called, "The Dream I Left Behind" by Taizan Gendo
Tonight we set the topic and dates for our Autumn '21 Wild Country Zen Practice Period. The topic will be “The Noble 8-fold Path,” and the PP will begin on the Fall equinox (September 22) and continue thru November 20th. We will also have two 6am-noon Saturday "Shikan Zazenkai" meditation days (Sat., Oct 2 & Sat. Nov. 20).
LINK TO ZOOM Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/EQB5CS3jy_n0jbi-AmCPja1lk1Y1SpLxRlyQakNLmscogkS-rUNzP42jzV2G9xvR.GBXyTl703K7Bp_Ar
TOPICS: As Zen is a path of liberating insight, the 8-Fold Path is the "how" we can practically put these precious insights to work in our life; setting intentions; the raw materials of building an ethical conscience; karma and forgiveness; dealing with “overwhelm” in general by becoming specific; Buddha’s doubts about the success of teaching the reality of this life; and of course, a sangha-wide discussion and sharing of hard-won wisdom by each member. [Pic by Taizan, on ridge above Jikoji Zen Center]
On this mid-summers evening (Aug. 11, 2021) we began as always with "sitting in a kelp forest," a guided meditation to allow us to calm and settle into a receptive awareness, leaving the agitation of a world on fire for just a few precious moments together.
Link to Zoom recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/A9U8NnwWSNja7oT0AdNnkDaMPPEr8JOEyIQRhv-5i-PH4BTPGDVfaVS0qf2Ae-l1.2DcdpAVOgf7BhkRC
TOPICS: Tonight's talk was another look into fundamental questions: what is the point of this practice? How can we apply the wisdom and practice of Zen to the suffering of the world? And looking ahead to the Autumn '21 Practice Period, how might we engage our practice with a renewed vigor and creativity? Our whole sangha discussion revealed many possibilities...
[Pic by Taizan, below Sunset Beach CA]
On this beautiful Wednesday night…Readings from Dogen's "Shobōgenzo-zuimonki" were woven into a tapestry with excerpts from "Drawing on the Artist Within" by Betty Edwards, all in support of the importance of practice-creativity, a dharma talk and discussion called "Zen Practice as Art, Creativity, and Direct Perception."
Link to Zoom recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/3cOJHvAbKfv3goUAg4JNdSwUjavZuzmmKfHhFqtDyxj85NEemmpcbOYN00sbm2UW.w3vsU6NdeTiuvwLd
Topics included: the virtue of study and continual practice, yet all that is REQUIRED for awakening is direct perception--the flowering of a dedicated practitioner; the visual language that may point to a deeper perception of shunyata (emptiness); and how each of us can make our whole life a work of art, IF we can truly wake up! [Pic by Taizan, home living room altar]
Tolerance and acceptance are highly valued traits in our practice; but when is tolerance of the intolerable no longer wise?
Here is the Zoom link:
Topics: Opening your heart with empathy to hearing the cries of the world is NOT a recipe to give you the peace of equanimity—it is often gut wrenching, despair-making, even as it is essential to remind us of our bodhisattva vow to ease the suffering of ourselves and all sentient beings. To act with wisdom, or restrain from acting when wiser, we practice by sitting a while in meditation; to gain the insight of skillful means we unfold the dharma together, and examine the wisdom available to us from the past and the present. Instead of denying reality, or becoming numb to those cries, instead of generating elaborate myths of future rewards, ultimate answers, or a comforting meaning in suffering, our Zen practice encourages us to be with things exactly-as-they-are, just “thusness” and “suchness.” But HOW do we respond to the cries of the world, and "come to terms" with the costs of compassion? [Painting by Taizan, called "Flames of Ignorance"]
Tonight we marked the 19th anniversary of Kobun Chino Otogawa's death. Both of my primary teachers, Carolyn Atkinson and Shoho Michael Newhall, are Dharma heirs of Kobun, and so our Wild Country Zen sangha is part of this wonderful lineage.
Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/FfVZraruFMcUiQnDZOVuFrO0miaD4PIPsdcV1SLyFTAPvpd7_4jRAjegUgUfDKY.Rb19WWZVnr8VINQS
Topics: I shared a visualization of sitting zazen in a Kelp Forest, looking up through the streaming sunlight as the tide shifts back and forth--and how this is how a dharma talk might be received, as a feeling-connection (not just words), in tune with the rhythm of the ocean, of life itself; and in this spirit I told a few of the classic Kobun stories that demonstrate a brave openness to whatever life is at this present moment--the difficult with the sweet, but always with a melting heart of kindness, even in the face of suffering we cannot "fix." After we each shared from the heart, each with a different facet of the jewel, we sailed into the evening in the quiet peace of our practice... [Pic by Taizan, at Gerow Reece's tea hut]
On this night (Wed., July 14, 2021) we danced some more with the essential Zen concept of “satori”—the direct experience of things as they are, available to all, transcending time, history, culture, race, gender, and personality.
Here is the Zoom link:
Topics: Readings from Zen Master Keizan’s “Denkoroku,” (Transmission of Light) on the insights that loosen the hold of delusion; a reading balancing traditional with a neuroscience understanding of satori from neurologist Dr. James Austin’s “Meditating Selflessly;” describing the potential of allocentric vs egocentric consciousness; desire for "instant satori" and the importance of preparing the ground (paying our dues) for the gifts of insight, whether sudden or gradual, with a steady and sincere practice of zazen; and lastly, my story of sudden awakening in a Yosemite stream…
[Pic by Taizan, Merced River, Yosemite, CA]
Tonight we talked about the light--about awakening, satori, the en-lighten-ment experience--as the counterpoint to the deep shadows, which together make up a rich life...
Link to Zoom recording:
But how do we allow our hearts to melt that gold? To completely feel the tenuous and fragile connection to it ALL--the suffering, the ecstasy, and everything in between--with skillfulness and compassion? Some insights were gleaned from "On the Way to Satori," by Gerta Ital, describing a hard-core, Rinzai approach of "sudden awakening" after sleepless, freezing cold sesshins that dissolve your limits; as well as a counterpoint: the slow-cooker Soto "gradual awakening" method of awakening, built up, like a beach, over a long time. Both are leavened by our Zen practice of zazen meditation, with paths that converge to a stillpoint from each wildly different direction...And down to earth, we talked about doing another "Shikan-Zazenkai," an evening and half-day Wild Country Zen sesshin in the near future...Join us! [Painting by Taizan, called "Like a Fish Slipping Out of the Net"]
The link button below will take you to 18 MORE Zoom recordings from 2021 (called Dharma Talks Jan6-June30). I break up the pages to have 18 weeks (18 talks) each in chronological order. But you can listen to them in ANY order--they are on a wide range of Zen topics--check out the titles and descriptions and explore!
This link button below will take you to a special dedicated page of Zoom recordings of our Wild Country Zen/Jikoji Practice Period "Explorations of Shunyata (Emptiness)." Included are 8 rich dharma talks by wonderful teachers, approaching this central Zen theme from a different "Lens."
all photos and Paintings by Taizan Gendo except where noted Copyright © 2021 Wild Country Zen - All Rights Reserved.
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