“Even prior to heaven and earth”
By Madelon Bolling This piece was originally given by Madelon as a dharma talk at the Three Treasures Sangha zazenkai on June 8, 2014. [Note: Daio Kokushi is a dharma name. Daio means “great Yes,” “great affirmation,” or “great response.” Kokushi is the Japanese version of a Chinese term meaning “national teacher,” pronounced like the English “coke-she.” The middle “u” is silent.] In his verse, “On Zen,” Daio Kokushi (1235-1309) wrote, “There is a reality even prior to heaven and earth.” We often recite this fairly automatically, so today I’d like to consider it with more respect. “Respect”...
Read MoreZazenkai, June 8: Even Prior to Heaven and Earth
Please join us on Sunday June 8 at Dharma Gate for a one-day zenkai with Madelon from 9am to 3pm. There will be an informal lunch, with soup, as well as brad & cheese for sandwiches, provided; please bring other sandwich fixings or other food to share. We will consider hints given in Daio Kokushi’s verse On Zen, settling in to the deep attraction that practice holds even in the presence of the contradictions of daily experience. The schedule will be as follows: 9:00 Opening, Five Remembrances, Zazen 9:35 Pointers: selected lines of On Zen, Zazen 10:30 Recitation: Daio...
Read MoreWild Sacredness: Floating through the Grand Canyon
Here begin the terrors Here begin the miracles ―The Legend of the Grail Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time? That the river is everywhere at the same time, and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past nor the shadow of the future. ― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha “Oh, Eeyore, you are wet!” said Piglet, feeling him. Eeyore shook himself, and asked somebody to explain to Piglet What happened when you had been inside a river for quite a long time. ― A.A. Milne Something certainly does happen, being inside a...
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