April 7-day intensive retreat talks
April 7-day intensive retreat talks by Leland Shields and Madelon Bolling on the writings of Dogen: Day 1: Leland Shields, Every Moment Zen Day 2: Leland Shields, No Self – No Separation Day 3: Leland Shields, No Self – Embodied Self Day 4: Madelon Bolling, No Self – Resistance and the Mind of War Day 5: Leland Shields, Attention to the Myriad Dharmas Day 6: Leland Shields, The Moon Brings Forth Two
Read MoreTending the Flame, Not Worshiping the Ashes — Lee Shields, May 8, 2022
Last week I attended the Diamond Sangha Teachers Circle gathering by Zoom. There were teachers from many countries and time zones, from New Zealand and Australia, to London and Germany. It was my first time participating in this august group of sincere people, dedicated to carrying Zen forward in gratitude. Rather than a talk on koans, I’d like to share some of the discussion that I think will be of interest to our Sangha. Some of the topics discussed included thoughtful innovations to our form and practice, and the inclusion and exclusion of social action, and if included, how. There will...
Read MoreThe Moon Brings Forth Two — Leland Shields — Intensive Day 6, April 15, 2022
In Dharma Hall Discourse 168, Dogen wrote this: The moon brings forth one, we pick up a brush and record it as good fortune. The moon brings forth two, the clear intention of the ancestral teachers. The moon brings forth three; a thousand ancient ones submit to Gautama. Although this is the case, is there a dragon or elephant here who can come forth and meet with Daibutsu’s staff? After a pause Dogen said, [Although the same fruit] it is called an orange in Huabei [north of the Huai River], and called a tangerine in Huainan [south of the Huai River]. Dogen, Eihei; Leighton, Taigen Dan...
Read MoreAttention to Myriad Dharmas — Leland Shields, Intensive Day 5, April 14, 2022
Earlier in the retreat I presented Dogen’s often-repeated words from Actualizing the Fundamental Point: To study the Buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by the myriad dharmas. To be enlightened by the myriad dharmas is to bring about the dropping away of body and mind of both oneself and others. Yasutani, Hakuun; (translation) Jaffe, Paul, Flowers Fall: A Commentary on Dogen’s Genjokoan, 1996. Now on the 5th day, please join me in forgetting the self, which is to engage in the myriad dharmas. “Dharma” is not a word...
Read MoreMadelon Bolling, No Self – Resistance and the Mind of War – Madelon Bolling, Intensive Day 4, April 13, 2022
In the opening of Fukanzazengi, Dogen wrote: Fundamentally speaking, the basis of the Way is perfectly pervasive . . . Surely the whole being is far beyond defilement . . . It is never apart from this very place . . . And yet, with just a hair’s breadth of distinction, the gap is like that between heaven and earth. Once the slightest like or dislike arises, all is confused and the mind is lost. Do you feel a squirmy sense of discomfort these days, a sense that I have to do something and I don’t know what to do? Maybe we chose to attend this intensive retreat for that very reason....
Read MoreNo Self – Embodied Self – Leland Shields, Intensive Day 3, April 12, 2022
Today I’d like to share some passages from Dogen’s Keisei Sanshoku “The Sounds of the Valley Streams, the forms of the Mountains.” Now with regard to your practice and vows, whether or not you have aroused the thought of enlightenment, whether or not you are practicing, do not let others know about it. Practice in such a way that it is not known. Never speak of it yourself. Dogen, Eihei; (translation) Cook, Francis Dojun. How to Raise an Ox: Zen Practice as Taught in Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo (p. 75). Wisdom Publications. Kindle Edition. And a sentence from a little further in the same...
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