All Beings by Nature are Buddha: A Talk by Madelon Bolling (May 10, 2026)
All beings by nature are Buddha A Talk by Madelon Bolling, May 10, 2026 In the Book of Serenity, Tozan Zenji teaches us: Don’t try to seek yourself. Don’t try to figure out who you are. The “you” found in that way is far from the real you; it is not you anymore. But when I go on my way, wherever I turn, I meet myself. [#49] The Huayan school says, “Inner reality is complete, words are partial; when words are born, inner reality is lost.” [Book of Serenity, #49] One of the first instructions I received from Korean Zen master Seung Sahn was to consider “What am I?” This...
Read MoreZenkai (June 14, 2026) with Lee Shields – In Person and Zoom
Three Treasures Sangha will hold this event in-person at our Dharma Gate facility and live by Zoom. Registration information (for in-person) and current Covid-19 Guidelines are posted below the schedule. Guidelines are likely to change before the event, so check again as the date gets closer. If you are able, please join all or part of this opportunity for intensive practice with others. Zoom Link: Send email to ttssangha@gmail.com. If this will be your first event with TTS, we will arrange for an orientation prior to the...
Read More2-Day Zenkai with Lee and Madelon (July 11-12, 2026) In person and Zoom
With Lee Shields and Madelon Bolling Many of us have regimented lives, with infrequent opportunities to ask, with an open mind, how we might deepen practice. Traditionally, Zen training included disciplined training periods alternating with periods of greater free time or travel, even as the spirit and dedication of practice continued. A personal retreat has potential for profound richness that can be taken home thereafter. And a personal retreat has its own practice challenges: how will you express your practice if you are released from aspects of form? Separate from good and bad student,...
Read MoreHeshan’s Knowing How to Beat the Drum — a talk by Leland Shields (April, 2026)
Blue Cliff Record Case Forty-Four: Heshan Beats the Drum Leland Shields, April 12, 2026 [Heshan] said, “Cultivating study is called listening, ending study is called nearness; going beyond these two is really going beyond.” A [practitioner] came up and asked, “What is real going beyond?” [Heshan] said, “Knowing how to beat a drum.” The [practitioner] then asked, “What is absolute truth?” [Heshan] said, “Knowing how to beat a drum.” [The practitioner] then asked, “I do not question ‘mind itself is Buddha’—what about ‘not mind, not Buddha’?” [Heshan] said, “Knowing how to beat a drum.” Then...
Read MoreZenkai (May 10, 2026) with Madelon – In Person and Zoom
Three Treasures Sangha will hold this event in-person at our Dharma Gate facility and live by Zoom. Registration information (for in-person) and current Covid-19 Guidelines are posted below the schedule. Guidelines are likely to change before the event, so check again as the date gets closer. If you are able, please join all or part of this opportunity for intensive practice with others. Zoom Link: Send email to ttssangha@gmail.com. If this will be your first event with TTS, we will arrange for an orientation prior to the...
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