What Are We Really, A Talk by Madelon Bolling
What are we, really? The Sixth Patriarch, Hui-neng said, Good friends! You already possess the prajna wisdom of enlightenment! . . . Buddha nature isn’t different for the ignorant and the wise . . . (Platform Sutra, section 12) Now, how can that be? You mean, we ignorant folk have the prajna wisdom of enlightenment? Already? Kodo Sawaki said, Zazen is becoming a Buddha while you are a deluded person. So what does that look like? In an online message, Henry Shukman once referred to “A sense of being held by all experience.” By becoming mindful of the full range of sense-experience going on...
Read MoreNothing extra, nothing left out – a talk by Leland Shields
Blue Cliff Record, Case 12: Tung Shan’s Three Pounds of Hemp A monk asked Tung-Shan, “What is Buddha?” Tung Shan said, “Three pounds of hemp.” Thomas Cleary, BCR 12 Blue Cliff Record, case 19: Chu Ti’s One Finger Ch’an Whenever anything was asked, Master Chu Ti would just raise one finger. Thomas Cleary, BCR 19 Blue Cliff Record case 27: Yun Men’s The Body Exposed, The Golden Wind A monk asked Yun Men, “How is it when the tree withers and the leaves fall?” Yun Men said, “Body exposed in the golden wind.” Thomas Cleary, BCR 27 On most retreat days here, we begin by some of us vacuuming the...
Read MoreThe Teachings of a Whole Lifetime – A Talk by Madelon Bolling (February 11, 2024)
A monk asked Yun Men, “What are the teachings of a whole lifetime?” Yun Men said, “An appropriate statement.” (Blue Cliff Record, Case 14) * * * There is a reality even prior to Heaven and Earth. Indeed it has no form, much less a name . Eyes fail to see it: it has no voice for ears to detect. . . . It is Dharma, truly beyond form and sound. It is Tao, having nothing to do with words. (Dai-O Kokushi: On Zen) * * * None of us can fix this world. Terrible things are happening here every day....
Read MoreTTS Annual Appeal Letter
If we weren’t unanimous about keeping our lives so much in motion, if we could do nothing for once, perhaps a great silence would interrupt this sadness, this never under-standing ourselves and threatening ourselves with death. From the poem “Keeping Quiet” by Pablo Neruda December 2023 Hello TTS members and friends, Recently I have been struggling with how to respond to the suffering and misery coming about from current wars being waged around the world. What can I do to reduce the harm and, more particularly, what can a small sangha do to make a difference? How can we help...
Read MoreZenkai (November 12, 2023) with Lee – 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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