The Zazen of the Mahayana – A Talk by Leland Shields (April 6, 2024) – Sesshin Day 5
For all of us children of wealthy homes wandering among the poor, let’s return to Hakuin’s, “Song of Zazen,” Tuesday we left off on this verse: Lost on dark paths of ignorance, we wander through the Six Worlds; from dark path to dark path we wander — when shall we be freed from birth and death? Hakuin then changes course without answering when or if we will be freed– he turns instead to zazen. Oh, the zazen of the Mahayana! To this the highest praise! Devotion, repentance, training, The many Paramitas — all have their source in zazen. Those who try zazen even once wipe away...
Read MoreVoice of the Bird, A Talk by Madelon Bolling (April 4, 2024)
Voice of the Bird for sesshin, April 2024. Asan of Shinano lived in Japan in the eighteenth century. She was a sincere student who meditated assiduously. One morning, drifting in and out of sleep and struggling to stay present to her koan, she heard a rooster crow. Her mind suddenly opened, and she exclaimed: The fields, the mountains, the flowers, and my body, too, are the voice of the bird. What is left that could be said to hear? [From Dongshan’s Five Ranks (Bolleter), p.101.] PSC Chinese Zen master Seng-Tsan noted in the 6th century: “To seek Mind with the mind is the...
Read MoreA Rich Man Wandering Among the Poor, A Talk by Leland Shields (April 3, 2024)
All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddha. How sad that people ignore the near and search for truth afar: like someone in the midst of water crying out in thirst; like a child of a wealthy home wandering among the poor. (Hakuin, “Song of Zazen”) Hakuin begins “The Song of Zazen” with a clear statement: all beings are Buddha. As clear as it is, when in doubt we can still equivocate – who or what is Buddha after all? Aren’t we supposed to slay any Buddha we meet? So Hakuin goes on to remove that...
Read MoreNot the Wind, Not the Flag, A Talk by Leland Shields (April 2, 2024)
Case 29 of the Gateless Barrier: Hui-neng: “Not the Wind; Not the Flag” Two monks were arguing about the temple flag waving in the wind. One said, “The flag moves.” The other said, “The wind moves.” They argued back and forth but could not agree. The Sixth Ancestor said, “Gentlemen! It is not the wind that moves; it is not the flag that moves; it is your mind that moves.” The two monks were struck with awe. Aitken, Robert. The Gateless Barrier: The Wu-Men Kuan (Mumonkan) (p. 228). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition. Step back. Watch the flag yourself, flapping in the wind. Is it wind...
Read MoreRelinquish Yourself – A Talk by Leland Shields (April 1, 2024)
Daito Kokushi’s Admonition Oh you [monastics] who are in this mountain monastery, remember you are gathered here for the sake of religion, and not for the sake of clothes and food. As long as you have shoulders you will have clothes to wear. As long as you have a mouth you will have food to eat. Be ever mindful throughout the [twenty-four] hours of the day, to apply yourself to the Unthinkable. Time passes like an arrow, never let your mind be disturbed by worldly cares. Ever, ever be on the look out…Oh [monastics], be diligent, be diligent. D.T. Suzuki, The Manual of Zen Buddhism, 1935....
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