Yun Men said, “See how vast and wide the world is! Why do you put on your seven-piece robe at the sound of the bell?”This talk explores why do we practice? Honouring your longing, the sacred splinter in your heart that brings you in search of the Tao, to alleviate suffering.And it includes four guidelines from the Complete Enlightenment Sutra
Zen practice is the way of true intimacy, the falling away of self and other dichotomy and dualistic ways of seeing the world. Awakening can happen in so many ways, with a true encounter. Includes Stories of true encounters; Shakyamuni Buddha’s awakening experience with the morning star, Mahakasyapa – twirling of the flower, Kuei-shan, encountering the live coal in his heart, Dong-shan
Subhana introduces us to Silent Illumination practice. This guided meditation helps to stabilise just sitting, from breath, expanding to whole body breathing, to letting go of body, just listening, letting go thinking mind, noticing space between the thoughts. Letting go ideas of body and mind. Learning to rest in the silent, open, vast timeless illumination of awareness. Non-doing – letting
In this talk Subhana helps us to work skilfully with both our minds and emotions. The meditation instructions of mindfulness of mind include; thought, cognition, concepts, stories, ideas, perceptions and consciousness itself. The practice is to notice what are the 10 top tunes that go through your mind and how not to get hijacked by those familiar deep-seated patterns of
Beginnings and endings herald in the New Year. It’s already the 4th of January, as I write this, and summer rolls on into heatwaves, punctuated with relief from evening storms. How do we meet beginnings and endings – birth and death, renewal and decline, cycles that are never ending? Transience is stamped and woven into the very cellular fabric of
Suchness is also referred to as Tathagata another name for the Buddha – the one who is thus gone, thus comes, the one who sees reality as-it-really-is.The teachings of suchness are encapsulated in the much-loved succinct Bahiya Sutta.The Sutta instructs us how to practice just seeing, just hearing, just sensing, just cognising, and thus how to realise the end of
The Heart Sutra is the essence of the wisdom teachings of liberation. It is a summary of the Buddha’s awakening experience under the Bodhi Tree. This dharma talk explores and clarify the wonderful yet highly misunderstood teachings of emptiness. Empty of what? Emptiness does not mean annihilation or nihilism or that you do not exist. After investigating all 5 skandhas / aggregates –
The ocean of inter-being is our true nature. Subhana explores how we can embody the wonder and joy of Indra’s Web of interconnectedness and can enlarge our vision to see our shared world more spaciously and more compassionately. Can you see a cloud in your cup of tea? The present moment is an open field of benefaction. Our interpersonal and relational field and
The Heart Sutra is the essence of the wisdom teachings of liberation. It is a summary of the Buddha’s awakening experience under the Bodhi Tree. In this dharma talk Subhana explores and clarifies the wonderful yet highly misunderstood teachings of emptiness. Empty of what? Emptiness does not mean annihilation or nihilism or that you do not exist. After investigating all 5 skandhas / aggregates –
On the great road of Buddha ancestors there is always unsurpassable practice, continuous and sustained. It forms the circle of the way and is never cut off. Between aspiration, practice-enlightenment, and nirvana, there is not a moment’s gap. Continuous practice is the circle of the way. —Eihei Dogen As we herald in the New Year, we kick start our practice
