This talk by Jane Andino deals with the question presented in many koans: ‘What is Buddha?’ What does it mean to be awake? What does it mean, in the words of Yuanwu’s pointer to Case 7 of the Blue Cliff Record, to ‘have personally heard the single word before sound?’
Peter Bursky weaves his own discovery of Dogen’s Mountains and Waters Sutra into a wander through the opening paragraph of this beautiful and poetic text. Mountains and waters encompass much of what the form of Zen practice, art and language is, and it’s like this because they are the form
This beautiful piece of music was played on guitar at Jane Andino’s transmission ceremony in June 2022, by her husband Ricardo. The title of the piece, La Negra Noche, literally means ‘the black night’ but Ricardo translates it as ‘The dark night’which resonates more with the spiritual. Composer: Emilio UrangaGuitarist:
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
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
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
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
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
A monk asked Zhaozhou, “What is the mind that Bodhidharma brought from the west?” Zhaozhou said, “The cypress tree in the courtyard.” Peter Bursky explores Zhaozhou’s well-known Cypress Tree koan from the perspective of some of the traditions greatest trouble makers, including Zhaozhou, Bodhidharma and Iron beak Jiao.The realisation that
