This life is a play and we are all the players. In an old story we meet Manjusri, Great Wisdom Bodhisattva as well as the Much Lesser Bodhisattva Delusive Wisdom and A Young Woman Meditating. And in them—as Aitken Roshi points out—we meet dimensions of ourselves. In all of this
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
In this guided meditation Peter takes us into the silence of mind and body and introduces us to the practice of Silent Illumination (shikintaza) – where we drop away obstructions to perceive reality clearly, transcending noise and separation. He quotes Zen Master Hongzhi, who describes Silent Illumination as the “field
The priest Ruiyan called “Master!” to himself every day and answered himself“Yes!”Then he would say “Be aware!” and reply “Yes!”“Don’t be deceived by others!”“No, no!”Peter delves into the profound meaning behind this seemingly simple practice of Ruiyan Shiyan, moving beyond interpretations of self-affirmation or mere remembrance. Connecting it to Ruiyan’s
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
Join Peter for a talk exploring Zhaozhou’s famous koan, “The Cypress Tree in the Courtyard.” Found in the Wumenguan and Book of Serenity, this koan, often presented in a shorter form, offers profound insights when viewed within its broader dialogue. Peter will delve into the context provided by the Record
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
This talk by Peter explores how to work with delusion. The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, from the Book of Serenity, has four lines which offer profound instructions on how to work with delusion: “At each moment, don’t raise delusive thoughts. Don’t extinguish your varied, delusive mind. Dwelling in a setting of delusive
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
In this guided meditation Will gives instructions on how to work with the koan ‘who is hearing?’. ‘Who is hearing’ is one of the primary koans taken up by students of Zen under the supervision of a Zen teacher. This practice instruction wasgiven by apprentice teacher Will Moon during the
