Fully Engaging Body and Mind — A Talk by Madelon Bolling (May 11, 2025)
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. To call it Mind or Buddha violates its nature, For it then becomes like a visionary flower in the air. It is not Mind, nor Buddha; Absolutely quiet and yet illuminating in a mysterious way, It allows itself to be perceived only by the clear-eyed. It is Dharma, truly beyond form and sound; It is Tao, having nothing to do with words. (Dai-O Kokushi: On Zen) PSC We do not exist as separate beings. All our efforts to rid ourselves of ego are...
Read MoreNo Persons – a Talk by Madelon Bolling (July 14, 2024)
Changqing addressed the monks, saying, “If I truly expound the vehicle of our school, then I should simply close the door to the Dharma hall. Therefore I’ll just say that in the inexhaustible Dharma there are no persons.” 1 PSC As we continue to see one another in zenkai, or at Zoom sitting practice on weekday mornings, gardening once a month on a Saturday, one thing becomes clearer and clearer. No matter our current age and condition, we are all getting older. And here and there, one by one, without exception, we will all die. As much as we may wish otherwise, our bodies and those...
Read MoreLotus Flowers and Lotus Leaves – A Talk by Leland Shields (July 13, 2024)
A monk asked Chih Men, “How is it when the lotus flower has not yet emerged from the water?” Chih Men said, “A Lotus flower.” The monk said, “What about after it has emerged from the water?” Men said, “Lotus leaves.” (Translation) Thomas Cleary, Blue Cliff Record, p. 139. The story of an unnamed monk asking two questions of Chi Men comes to us from ancient China in the concise language that was the style of Zen then and now. This exchange is not so foreign or far away, though. It is ours this weekend as we wonder what it is we’re doing here, at...
Read MoreZen Talks from the 2024 Spring Sesshin
Relinquish Yourself, a talk be Lee Shields Not Wind, Not Flag, a talk be Lee Shields Wanderring Among the Poor, a talk be Lee Shields Voice of the Bird, a talk by Madelon Bolling The Zazen of the Mahayana, a talk be Lee Shields Blinded by Gold Dust, a talk be Lee Shields
Read MoreBlinded by Gold Dust – A Talk by Leland Shields (April 5, 2024)
One day the Counselor Wang visited…Master [Lin-chi]. When he met the Master in front of the Monk’s Hall, he asked: “do the monks of this monastery read the sutras?” “No, they don’t read sutras,” said the Master. “Then do they learn meditation?” asked the Counselor. “No, they don’t learn meditation,” answered the Master. “If they neither read sutras nor learn meditation, what in the world are they doing?” asked the Counselor. “All I do is make them become buddhas and patriarchs,” said the Master. The Counselor said: “Though gold dust is valuable, in the eyes it causes cataract [can blind...
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