Buddhism

Save a Ghost

In our Miscellaneous Koan collection there is a koan that asks us to “Save a ghost”. It offers us a rich contemplation on the nature of salvation, and what manifesting that salvation for others looks like. The great vow of saving the many beings means bringing forth our practice, which in turn means actualising the Bodhisattva path and responding to

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All Things Pass Quickly Away

These words are dedicated to Tony, who fully lived his wild and precious life with generosity and love, until June 20 this year. The disease Tony had, MND, is known as the One Thousand Day Disease, but we didn’t know this when he was diagnosed. We knew the disease was a muscle thief, and grieved when his hands seized up,

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Poisonous Snake

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

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Ordinary Mind is Tao

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

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Finding Peace

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,

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Zhaozhou’s “Wu”

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

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The Great Freedom

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,

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Zhaozhou’s Cypress Tree

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 cuts away all time allows us to experience the exact

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