Yang-shan had a dream in which he went to Maitreya’s realm and preached to the assembly (Case 25 Wu-men Kuan). In this teisho about a teisho, there is some discussion of the teachings of Nagarjuna and its influence on the Ch’an or Zen school. In Yang-shan’s teaching we are brought back to this very moment, to the Kanzeon view of
Jane Andino, roshi explores our ignorance of our true nature, and the path of practice through which we can realise for ourselves that hidden jewel of Buddha nature. The talk begins with an excerpt from the commentary on Case 37 of the Book of Serenity where Master Yunan asks, ‘What is your Buddha nature?’ This talk was given at the Zazenkai
You are probably familiar with the quote: ‘There is no way to peace; peace is the way.’ I guess after seeing that on so many SZC T-shirts, I had assumed it was a Buddhist quote; but no. The author of that line is A.J. Muste, a Dutch-born U.S. clergyman of the 1920’s who eventually became a Quaker, a pacifist and
Dongshan’s question is ‘How will you take your activity of seeing into self-nature into the ups and downs of the grassy world?’ Jane looks at the Way of practice, setting off on the pilgrimage of each day to reach the place of no grass. This teisho by Jane Andino was given on day 4 of Winter sesshin 2025 and explores
‘What is it?’ is a question that Zen masters have asked through the ages to students of the Way. This talk explores this question through the teachings of Case 49 of the Book of Serenity, ‘Dongshan Holds a Memorial Service’. In this case we investigate Transmission, what is transmitted, as well as Yunyan’s famous phrase ‘Just this, this!’. Jane Andino
“Where have you been?’ is a common opening phrase from the teacher in many koans. In this talk about case 15, Book of Serenity, ‘Yangshan thrusts his hoe in the ground’, Jane discusses aspects of this koan in relation to the story of the Buddha’s awakening and to our own realisation. We can appreciate the dance of words between Guishan
On my office wall hangs a scroll which inspires me each day, and which was given to me by my teacher Paul. The calligraphy says, ‘Every day is a good day’, a famous phrase of Yun-men. There is an enso below the calligraphy. This could be the fullness of the sun of every day; it could be the completeness of
In Dogen’s ‘Instructions to the Tenzo’, he describes Three Minds, a division which provides a framework for all daily tasks. As well as Joyful Mind, Kind Mind, and Great Mind, we study Dogen’s question ‘What is practice?’. This teisho was given by Jane Andino roshi on Day 4 of Winter sesshin 2024 at the Annandale zendo
In ‘seeing the reflection’ and ‘seeing the portrait’, we find that which we can’t put into words. This teisho looks at Case 98, The Book of Serenity, and also explores the Soto ancestor side of our Zen lineage, Dongshan. This teisho was given by Jane Andino, roshi on day 3 of Winter sesshin 2024 at Annandale
‘No-gate is the gate of liberation; no-mind is the mind of the wayfarer’. These are the words of Hsuan-sha, quoted by Wu-men in his postscript to the Wu-Men Kuan. This talk explores the path of the wayfarer, the path of freedom. This talk was given by Jane Andino, roshi on Day 2 of Winter sesshin at the SZC Annandale zendo.
