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
Subhana explores what sprinkling Holy Water on the Dragon’s Tail might mean. The Christian legend of Martha and the Dragon reveals a beautiful teaching of cultivating compassion to those parts that we don’t like; pain, jealousy, judgemental reactivity and old unworthy beliefs the “dragon” parts of ourselves. Instead of slaying the dragon or hating ourselves, we offer it compassion and
Peter introduces us to the first paragraph of Master Hongzhi’s “Practice Instructions”. In these opening lines, Hongzhi’s gives us a sense of the infinite potential that we each possess, a wonderful field of boundlessness within our own experience. “With thoughts clear, sitting silently, wander into the centre of the circle of wonder…” This talk was given by Peter Bursky at the Zazenkai in March
Maggie explores and valorises the role of ceremony in Zen practice. Ritual objects and actions help us to forget the self and be fully present. They bring sangha into a harmonious one. Beyond formal practice in the dojo, any action in life can be taken with loving care and presence, in the interest of all beings, our mahasangha of One.