On Divisiveness – a talk by Madelon Bolling
On Divisiveness Everywhere the fog has blown away revealing what I have been unwilling to acknowledge. Separateness is fiction. In Dai-O Kokushi’s On Zen, we recite, “There is a reality even prior to Heaven and Earth,” Heaven and Earth being the spiritual and material realms, respectively. But this line affirms that there is a reality, a condition of possibility underlying what we call "spiritual" and what we call "material." Saying this reality is prior means it gives rise both to what we call spiritual and what we call material. This reality prior to...
Read MoreTwo-Day Zen Retreat with Jack Duffy (November 12,13 , 2016)
Three Treasures Sangha is hosting a two-day retreat with Jack Duffy Roshi at Dharma Gate zendo on November 12-13th. Jack Duffy will give a talk each day and hold dokusan (practice-related interviews). Everyone is welcome even if you haven’t attended a Three Treasures Sangha retreat. If you’re looking for other opportunities to sit Zen with Three Treasures, check out our Calendar. For more information about this or other retreats, contact ttssangha@gmail.com. SCHEDULE Saturday, August 13th 8:15am — Work period 9:00am — Chanting...
Read MoreThe Practice of Mutual Support — Leland Shields, July 10, 2016
I’d like to start with a story from the Record of Lin-chi When Lin-chi was one of the assembly of monks under Huang-po, he was plain and direct in his behavior. The head monk praised him saying: “Though he’s a youngster, he is different from the other monks.” So he asked:” Shang-tso, how long have you been here?” “Three years,” replied Lin-chi. “Have you ever asked for instruction?” “No, I’ve never asked for instruction. I don’t know what to ask,” replied Lin-chi. “Why don’t you go ask the head Ho-shang of this temple just what the cardinal principle of the Buddha-dharma is?” said the head...
Read MoreThe Great Vows Project -A Talk by Larry Keil (June 12, 2016)
I wanted to share with you a project I have been working on for the past couple of months. This project is a rewording of the Great Vows for All. This came about when I was reading the Diamond Sangha newsletter and noticed that some of the teachers were looking at a rewording of the four great vows. I was not particularly taken with some of what they came up with, so wondered what words I might use if I rewrote the vows. This became an engaging task for me–trying to be as faithful as possible to the meaning of the original Chinese characters and yet using words more familiar and with...
Read MoreOne-Day Zen Retreat (Zazenkai) with talk by Larry Keil (June 12th, 2016)
Please join us for a day of sitting and a dharma talk. Larry will talk about the great vows and his personal project of rewording them a bit to resonate more closely with his own experiences. He hopes to keep the talking part short and then have a good discussion with time for whoever wants to contribute their wisdom. Schedule 9:00am Opening, Five Remembrances, Zazen 9:35am Zazen 10:30am Dharma talk by Larry 11:30am Zazen 12:00pm Informal lunch (Soup will be provided. Please bring food to share.No time to pull together food? – Come anyway.) 1:00pm Sutras 2:00pm Zazen, Interviews 2:50pm...
Read MoreMahaprajapati and the Philosophers’ Stone, a talk given by Madelon Bolling (May 8, 2016)
To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening. (Dogen: Genjo Koan, Aitken and Tanahashi trans.) Mahaprajapati and the Philosopher’s Stone The first of the women ancestors honored in our dedication chant is Mahaprajapati Gautami, foster mother of Shakyamuni Buddha and founder of the women’s order. In a sense she’s ancestral mother of all who sit and practice here. Today I’ll tell a little of her story—and though the Philosophers’ Stone seems like something belonging more to...
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