Dharma talk

What are Koans?

Senior student, Alladin Jones, gives us instructions about how to sit with a koan. Aitken roshi described them this way: “Koans are tiny doors that open to great vistas inviting us to wander through endless gardens. And they are the folk stories of Zen and like folk stories their expression is presentational rather than discursive. And they are poetic and

Read More

The Star

Rohatsu means the 8thday of December, the date traditionally commemorated as the day of the Budhha’s awakening. In this talk, Jane Andino looks at different versions of the enlightenment story, the sight of the Morning Star, and the significance for our practice. This talk was given on Day 1 of the Rohatsu sesshin 2019

Read More

Honouring our Ancestors

Gillian Coote, roshi tells the stories of some of our ancestors who appear in the dedications we chant in our sutra service, including Choro Nyogen and his internment poems (written in the USA during WWII). She offers the koan ‘Mu’, and reflects on this monk’s – and our – doubt that, though all beings by nature are Buddha, this can’t

Read More

Ordinary Mind – Nothing in the Way

Settling into samadhi on the zafu at sesshin 
on the first day is often attended by a jungle of thoughts, fleeting or solid – daydreams, schemes – 
and here lies our greatest challenge. In this teisho, Gillian talks about different ways to gather focus by using koans, breath counting or shikantaza. This talk was given on Day 1 at SZC’s

Read More

Old age, sickness & death

“In all of the worlds, what is most wondrous? That no man, no woman, though they see people dying all around them, believes it will happen to them” King Yudhisthira, Mahabharata, Hindu epic poem. Jill Steverson talks about the privilege and challenges she experienced being with her mother through her journey of frail age and recent death. Also how sharing

Read More

Dogen & Buddha Nature

The question, “What is Buddha?” or, “What is Buddha Nature?” is a constant theme within Buddhism. Dōgen, the founder of Sōtō Zen Buddhism in Japan, has something interesting to say on this topic. Dōgen tells us that: Buddha Nature and becoming a Buddha always occur simultaneously. Paul Maloney, roshi explores in this talk, some of the implications of this statement,

Read More

The Creative Dance

Jane Andino, musician and apprentice Zen teacher, delves into our understanding of the creative and expressive world as it relates to our Zen practice. She uses Case 82, Blue Cliff Record as an entry point into this discussion. This talk was given on day 4 of the SZC Winter sesshin 2019

Read More

Dependent Co-Arising

Our ancestral teachers spoke of Zen as not relying on words and letters, but they did not neglect words and letters. They used words. They were not used by words. From the records of their sayings, it is clear that they were well versed in the Buddha’s sutras, as were their students. Unlike those people raised in Buddhist cultures, who

Read More

post categories

Popular Class