Faith
We’ve probably all heard the expression, “The great way is not difficult, it’s simply a matter of not picking and choosing.” The great Zhaozhou uttered these words, but he was not the first. In Verses on the Faith Mind (Xinxin Ming), the third Chinese ancestor, Sengcan writes, “The Great Way
Courage – Maggie Gluek, roshi
The task of offering “encouraging words” got me thinking about discouragement. “Courage” is at the root of both terms, deriving in the first instance from Middle English corage which means “heart as the seat of feeling.” The Zen path, like any path, presents obstacles and the possibility then of losing
Sangha relations: Kodoji Family Picnic Weekend
There is a ‘precious heart-to-heart connection sangha members experience’. SANGHA Gillian Coote, Roshi recently reminded us at the AGM: ‘In this time of increasingly virtual relationships, the importance of face-to-face communication in handing on the live coal of the Dharma, as Robert Aitken Roshi did, is ever-greater. Turning up for sangha
Every Time You Breathe In, Thank A Tree – Gillian Coote
At our recent samu at Gorricks Run, I asked Heath and Fleur (Nick and Jo’s children), whether trees breathed. They weren’t too sure, so we embarked on an experiment. We picked some leaves and put them in a glass of water, weighing them down with a little rock. We had
Frankland River Forest – 41A & B* – Diana Levy
It was war and the giants fell despatched by a scadgett, take this coupe and make of it a timber soup says the Forestry, so a yellow machine with a saw and a claw tracks its way to 41A, and the man inside with a job and a plan cuts
‘Not Knowing’ & ‘Destitute Mind’: Two teahouses of Nanzenji temple – Allan Marett
Once again I find myself writing out of the experience of pilgrimage to Shikoku. Like sesshin, pilgrimage has the capacity to shake up our lives: as we drop the regular routines and the concerns of our everyday lives and entering into a sustained period of practice, we create space for
Faith in Mind – Subhana Barzaghi
The opening paragraph in a much loved text Faith in Mind by the Third Zen Patriarch, Seng T’Sang, are very affirming and have direct implications for our practice. The Supreme Way is not difficult it simply avoids picking and choosing. When love and hate are both absent, everything becomes
Blog – Standing Your Ground, Maggie Gluek
‘Encouraging Words from the Teacher’ was published in the June/July 2017 Newsletter: An oft told story in these parts—and recently told at the autumn sesshin– is that concerning Hsueh-feng, snowed in with his dharma brother and mentor Yen-tou at a place called Turtle Mountain. While Yen-t’ou snoozed, Hsueh-feng spent most of the
Blog – Questions of Resurrection & Rebirth, Subhana Barzaghi
Chapelle du Rosarie: Questions of Resurrection and Rebirth An essay by Subhana Barzaghi, first published in Mind Moon Circle Spring 2016 edition. – One of my primary reasons for coming to the old historic village of Vence which is located on the slopes of the Côte d’Azur France was to