“Mornings my thought is Kanzeon; evenings my thought is Kanzeon.” The Kannon sutra is an invocation to ourselves as Kanzeon bodhisattvas to live the timeless life and follow the Way of compassion. This talk also touches on the legacy of Torei Zenji. This talk was given by Jane Andino, roshi on the fourth day of Winter sesshin 2023
Ta-mei asked Ma-tsu, “What is Buddha?” Ma-tsu said, “This very mind is Buddha.” In this talk, Peter takes up the well-known case 30 of the Mumonkan. Shibayama Roshi said that “This very mind is Buddha’ is a very important philosophical saying which concisely depicts the essence of zen” yet any philosophical expositions on “This very mind is Buddha”, whether from Ma-tsu, Bodhidharma or
Hakuin Zenji is credited with revitalising the Rinzai (Linji) tradition in 18thcentury Japan. In this talk, Jane looks at aspects of Hakuin’s life which serve as a reflection on our modern-day Zen practice. She explores Hakuin’s art and calligraphy as teaching, and his efforts to transform Zen from a quietist practice to one of vigour, with emphasis on koan study.
There is only one true person of no rank, not two, always coming and going from the faces of each of you. Sometimes that one is cold wind, sometimes the crying of cicadas, sometimes loneliness, sometimes … Look! Look! Peter explores Linji’s famous phrase as it touches the heart minds of each of us. This teisho was given by apprentice teacher Peter
Dogen’s metaphor of Stone Woman giving birth to a child by night encapsulates the wisdom of seeing into the empty nature of the ‘self’ and all hence all phenomenal things. This realisation opens out to the way of true intimacy of interconnectedness with the 10,000 things of the world. The awakening to the interpenetration of emptiness and form emerges through
A monk says to Jingqing, “I am pecking from the inside, I beg you master, please peck from the outside”. Jingqing says, “But will you be alive?” This quote appears in the Blue Cliff Record, Case 16. The monk then says, “I am vigorously working this way, if I were not alive, I would be laughed at”. Jingqing responds, “You
Peter takes up two koans that revolve around the primary koan of “Who is Hearing”. Challenging the self to see where we begin and end, we eventually realise it’s not about beginnings or endings at all. There is only one timeless present, sometimes its valley streams, sometimes its rain drops… This teisho, given by apprentice teacher Peter Bursky, explores Xuansha’s
We recently honoured Sally Hopkins, who gave herself unstintingly to our sangha, and, in a couple of weeks, will honour Tony Coote, who gave so much to create Kodoji, our wilderness retreat centre. So, Gilly explores the concept of Dana, the Sanskrit word for giving or relinquishment. Dana is the first of the Ten Perfections, or Paramitas, the others being
Zen master Dogen-ji’s Mountains and Waters Sutra is full of beautiful poetic metaphors portraying the depth of the Mountains and Waters of the immediate present as the ancient way of all Buddhas. The Sutra encapsulates, the teachings of emptiness and form. The short-hand formula for insight and practice is; “First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain and
One of the joys of studying the Dharma, particularly in the context of Zen Buddhism, is to become acquainted with the words of the old teachers, individuals ever creative in their ability to express the inexpressible. One such was Hsüan-sha (835-908). He was a fisherman until at age thirty he took up the Buddha Way. As an ascetic he wore
