Today I’m sitting at home feeling quite fatigued. My partner and daughter Lily both have Covid and I potentially have it. Apart from tiredness and the occasional cough, we are all doing ok. I’m feeling a great sense of gratitude to all those scientists, researchers and all the other people that worked so hard in a short amount of time
Peter Bursky explores ‘Qinglin’s Poisonous Snake’, Case 59 of the Book Of Serenity In this talk we meet a couple snakes on the road in the form of a monk and Ch’ing-lin Shih-ch’ien. Their dialogue explores the shape shifting nature our practice takes when we embody the endless dance of form and emptiness. Knowing that everything is empty is fine, but unless
Jane Andino begins with Case 36 of the Blue Cliff Record where Ch’ang-sha goes on a picnic. Other themes are the Buddha’s awakening, authentic practice, and our Zen tradition that flows and evolves. This talk was given on day 4 of the SZC Rohatsu sesshin 2021
Peter Bursky finds relief in Nan-ch’uan’s light and lucid statement “Ordinary Mind is Tao”, case 19 of the Wu-men Kuan. Rather than asking us to stop fighting ourselves to craft something better, it asks us to feel our moment to moment experience as a way forward to a life of flowing simplicity and grace. This talk was given on day
Jane Andino looks at the reinterpretation by Ch’an Buddhism of the Te or virtue of the Tao Te Ching, the famous Taoist text. She discusses how Zen transformed the language and imagery of Taoism to express its own message of wisdom and compassion. This talk was given on day 2 at the SZC Rohatsu sesshin 2021
Beloved Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh passed away peacefully at his root temple Tu Hien Temple, in Hue, Vietnam at the age of 95 on January 22, 2022. Thay (Vietnamese for teacher) was a world-renowned spiritual leader, prolific author, poet, relentless peace activist. As a pioneer of engaged Buddhism, Thay adopted the slogan, “There is no Way to Peace,
In a couple millennia’s worth of meditation instruction we find a wealth of shared experience that has allowed teachers to craft useful teachings that help point students in the right direction. In our inherited traditions of Buddhism, Taoism and Ch’an, various approaches to guidance arose out of the insights these traditions collectively experienced. The most obvious approach, which resonates most
A monk asked Zhaozhou, “Does the dog have Buddha nature, or not?” Zhaozhou said, “Wu.” Peter Bursky takes up Zhaozhou’s famous “Wu” (Mu) koan, diving into a scholarly take on its etymological beginnings and usage in Taoist thought & practice, whilst envisioning a freshened take on its endless depths through the ‘named’ and ‘nameless’ of Taoism. This talk was given by
How do we find abundance in our lives in this time of lack and insecurity? Jane Andino looks at Case 10 of the Wu-Men Kuan as a starting point for a reflection on following the Zen path of practice, leading to peace but also responsibility. This talk, given by apprentice teacher Jane Andino was given at the zazenkai in January 2022
After such a quiet period on the roads during lockdown, here in the Blue Mountains since Freedom Day we have had cars streaming up the Mountain highway, heading for Freedom. So I thought it might be a good time to explore what that word ‘freedom’ means for the follower of the Buddha Way. In case 1 of the Wu-men Kuan,
