Going to Abandoned Grassy Places – Introduction to long walking meditation (July 8, 2017)
The purpose of going to abandoned grassy places and doing zazen is to search for our self-nature. Now, at such a moment, where is your self-nature? This is the outdoor dojo. Unlike the indoor dojo: NO BELLS NO STRICT TIMING we rise and settle like geese – each alert to the others NO LOOKING INWARD INSTEAD, we walk in continuous attention to the moving intersection of time and space: where PAST meets FUTURE INSIDE meets OUTSIDE . . . at the constantly moving intersection of NOWHERE (now-here) Staying with clear heart and open mind in the openness of this intersection, we practice...
Read MorePurify – Already Pure, A Talk by Leland Shields (July 8, 2017)
In Red Pine’s translation of the Platform Sutra, it begins with these words of Hui neng and then those of a narrator within the text: “Good friends, purify your minds by reciting the teaching of Mahaprajnaparamita.” Then the Master stopped speaking, while he purified his own mind. (Red Pine, The Platform Sutra: The Zen Teachings of Hui-neng, 2006, p. 73) This can be a simple introduction, including a moment of Zazen meditation, or chanting one of the Prajnaparamita Sutras silently or out loud. The Prajnaparamita sutras are the Diamond Sutra and the Heart Sutra. Red Pine believed it...
Read MoreZen Practice: What About Thinking? – a talk by Madelon Bolling
Zen Practice: What About Thinking? In Zazen Universally Recommended, Dogen says: Think without thoughts. How do you think without thoughts? Nonthinking. This is the essential art of zazen. I am assuming that at least some here besides me wrestle with this unwieldy thing called thinking? If not, please just enjoy the story. Some years ago there was a gathering here at Dharma Gate where we were invited to ask practice questions. At last! I thought, and I asked how to deal with thoughts when sitting zazen. One of the senior students, triumphantly quoted Dogen: “Think without...
Read MoreIn-City Supported Personal Retreat (July 7 – 9, 2017)
With Madelon Bolling and Lee Shields 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 retreats has potential for profound richness in its time, and taken home thereafter. And a personal retreat has its own challenge of practice – with a release of aspects of form, how do you express your practice now? Separate from good and bad...
Read MoreZenkai May 14th, 2017 with Lee Shields
In the talk, Lee will look at the koan, “Tung Shan’s No Cold or Heat,” and how our practice addresses suffering as it shows up in our lives and relationships. Beginners who are interested in Zen and experienced Zen students are welcome. Schedule 8:15am Work period 9:00am Opening, Five Remembrances, Zazen 9:35am Zazen 10:00am Dharma talk 11:00am Zazen 12:00pm Informal lunch (Soup will be provided. Please bring food to share.) 1:00pm Sutras 1:30am Zazen, Interviews 2:50pm Closing, Great Vows
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