Be Yourself, a talk by Madelon Bolling (September 16, 2023)
Nanyue Polishes a Tile Nanyue Huairang asked Mazu Daoyi, “Worthy monk, why do you sit in meditation?” Mazu replied, “I wish to become a buddha.” Huairang picked up a tile and started to rub it against a stone in front of Mazu’s hermitage. Finally Mazu asked him what he was doing. Huairang replied, “Polishing it to make a mirror.” “How can you make a tile into a mirror by polishing it?’ asked Mazu. “How can you become a buddha by sitting in meditation?” responded Huairang. [Case 139 in Entangling Vines] [PSC] As a...
Read MoreTalks from 7-Day Intensive (September 9-16, 2023)
Beginning Anew A talk be Lee Shields The permeability of our skin – the whole of our training is for the development of compassion talk by Lee Shields (Text available to members and participants by email request to ttssangha@gmail.com) The koan of groups – Don’t think good don’t think evil A talk be Lee Shields (Text available to members and participants by email request to ttssangha@gmail.com) Be yourself A talk by Madelon Bolling Always in relationship – The oak tree in the courtyard A talk...
Read MoreFailure is a Friend — A talk by Madelon Bolling (July 9, 2023)
Hakuin Zenji said, “They translated prajna as wisdom. All people have it. No one’s excepted. It’s faultlessly perfect in each one of us…” [Dokugyo Shingyo: Acid comments on the Heart Sutra] We go to extraordinary lengths to arrange our lives around this practice. We come to the zendo and sit, hear the Dharma as recorded and passed down for centuries. But it all comes down to this: this inexplicable thing we are looking for – It… is… here. Not just in this building or this room or in the presence of this group, but wherever you are, at any time of day or night,...
Read MoreTalks from 3-Day Zenkai (July 7-9, 2023)
Practicing together with suffering – the cold kills you A talk be Lee Shields (Text available to members and participants by email request to ttssangha@gmail.com) Failure is a Friend: A talk by Madelon Bolling Read talk
Read MoreOn Dealing With “Self” When There Is No Such Thing – A Talk by Madelon Bolling (June 11, 2023)
A monk asked, “How should one act during every hour of the day such that the ancestors are not betrayed?” Yunmen said, “Give up your effort.” The monk said, “How should I give up my effort?” Yunmen said, “Give up the words you just uttered.” (Ferguson, p. 287) Today I want to explore a little more about living and working with thoughts. Thinking is a defining feature of our life, and one that’s often experienced by Zen students as the bane of our existence. In the presence of these thoughts, then, “How should one act during...
Read MoreLoneliness without separation – bare mountains and fallen leaves (A talk by Lee Shields)
Text available to members and participants by email request to ttssangha@gmail.com).
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