Podcasts about american zen

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2024 18:47

We closed the last segment with a quote from Master Dogen from Shobogenzo Zuimonki, regarding monastic practice in 13th century Japan: How do we practice the Way without being disturbed by the slandering remarks of others, and without reacting to the resentment of others, or speaking of the right or wrong of others? Only those who thoroughly devote even their bones and marrow to the practice can do it. These instructions and admonitions for practicing the Zen Way and maintaining harmony in the Zen monastic community, from over 800 years ago, come across with great currency, as if Dogen may have been attending some of our past board meetings. It just goes to show that people have always been people, and that conflicts arising in day-to-day dealings with the propagation of communal Zen practice have not changed fundamentally over the centuries, and even millennia, since the inception of Buddhism. I think it appropriate to raise some of these quintessentially Western attitudes that have come to my attention in the recent past, and especially during the pre- and post-COVID period we have all just come through. Like most of Dogen's teachings – which can sometimes come across as harsh shaming, or finger-wagging scolding – the old adage applies: “If you see yourself in this picture…” or “If the shoe fits, wear it.” Any and all criticism in Zen, whether implied or explicit, is intended to be reflected back upon ourselves, as in a Zen mirror, and not held up to denigrate others. This is in line with the Ten Grave Precepts, particularly those advising against discussing the faults of others, or praising oneself at the expense of others. While we encourage independence of thinking in Zen, and further, claim that zazen is one of the only dependable ways of developing it to fruition, this does not imply that we then become the sole judge, and final arbiter, of all behaviors of others in the sangha. This is one of the many misconceptions, or delusions, that arise in community practice. One of our longer-term members once declared, some decades ago, that, in his dealings with others, he saw himself as the kyosaku – the somewhat controversial “warning stick,” usually used to strike the shoulders to help you “wake up” during long retreats. He felt it was his role and, indeed, his responsibility, to administer the stick, metaphorically, to those he thought were out of line with the Zen Way. I reminded him, gently, that there is a reason why the stick has to be requested, in Soto Zen. We do not simply go around whacking people with it willy-nilly, without so much as a by-your-leave. Dogen said somewhere that we should never regard ourselves as someone else's “teacher.” If and when we put ourselves in the position of teaching others whatever we consider to be the necessary lessons in Zen, we should remember that in the design of communications, it is the message received – not the message sent – that counts. We may teach another person a lesson we think they need to learn, all right, but it is not likely to be the lesson we intended. Our actions will likely tell them more about us, than they do about them. Dogen admonished his young wards on this point, urging juniors, and seniors in particular, to avoid using harsh words and behavior in the unfounded belief that criticism, however warranted, will work to their benefit, or that of the target of their reproval, or of their fellow community members who may witness the confrontation. In some general comments about one of the attitude adjustments that all students of the Buddhist way should adopt, Master Dogen stresses listening, over expressing your own limited understanding. Especially in the beginning of your practice and study of the buddha-dharma, which, remember, may require many decades to mature. His remarks seem as timely today as in the 13th century, and taken with the above quote, comprise as good a model of independent thinking and interdependent action that you may come across: 6 — 12These days, many people who are learning the Way listen to a talk on the dharma, and above all want their teacher to know that they have a correct understanding and want to give good replies. This is why the words they listen to go in one ear and out the other. They still lack bodhi-mind and remain self-centered. First of all, forget your ego and listen quietly to what others say, and later ponder it well. Then, if you find some faults or have some doubts, you may make criticism. When you have grasped the point, you should present your understanding to your teacher. Waiting to claim immediate understanding shows that you are not really listening to the dharma. Note that the popular trope – “in one ear and out the other” – is apparently not of recent coinage. We have to be careful of a certain cultural arrogance, in assuming that our present situation is overly unique. “It was ever thus,” as we say. Or, in Zen terms: “Buddhas and ancestors of old were as we; we in the future shall be buddhas and ancestors,” taken from Dogen's Vow. But to become buddhas and ancestors we have to learn tolisten, and that entails learning how to listen; which means learning how to hear. You may protest that you already know how to hear! That is, you are hearing, and have been doing so all along. But training in design thinking, particularly in the Bauhaus tradition, says “not so fast.” You may think you are hearing, seeing, and feeling, but are you really? Drawing, photography, and the other visual arts are all considered ways of training the eye to truly see. The audial arts – music, singing, et cetera – are likewise ways of training the ear to hear. Kinetic body work – dance, theater, athletics and so on, train the body to feel, and to move in gravity with efficiency and elegance. Similarly in Zen training we find expressions such as attributed to Dogen's teacher in China, Tiantong Rujing, where he said something like, paraphrasing freely, “gouge out your eyes so that you cannot see and then you may be able to see for the first time...” cut out your tongue, plug up the ears, burn the body, etc. so that they may be replaced with the true body and senses of buddha-nature. This, obviously, on a much deeper level than the Bauhaus training is shooting for. But simply on a social level of discourse, the need to listen is greater than ever, what with all the voices vying for our attention. With the recent burgeoning of interactive meetings on the internet – which incidentally, Master Dogen did not have to contend with, fortunately for him – we have witnessed a dramatic evolution of etiquette in public dialog. Standard admonitions include not interrupting the speaker; keeping your comments brief so that more attendees have an opportunity to participate; directing your comments to the moderator or guest panelist and avoiding cross-talk; and generally resisting the impulse to hijack the proceedings to pursue your own agenda. This syndrome has long been a known issue in American Zen circles, where even in intimate, in-person settings, when called upon, certain members of the audience will suddenly turn to the audience to share their viewpoint, rather than deferring to the person hosting the dialog. This is at a minimum impolite, if not downright rude. But this is America, where all opinions are considered equal, especially by those who hold them. Dogen goes on to modify his admonition to privilege a discerning silence over blurting out our opinion at every opportunity; giving it some time to gain clarity; then engaging the dialog in a respectful way. Application to today's social media transactions is too obvious to point out, but I could not resist. Later on, Dogen repeats this instruction, indicating that the issue had arisen again, in real facetime dialog: 6 — 14Students of the Way, when you practice with a certain teacher and learn the dharma, you should listen thoroughly again and again until you completely understand. If you spend time without asking what should be asked, or without saying what should be said, it will certainly be your own loss. Teachers always await questions from their disciples and give their own comments. You should ask again and again to make sure even of things that you have already understood. Teachers also should ask their disciples whether they have really understood or not, and thoroughly convince them (of the truth of the dharma). Taking Dogen's point, and following along the lines of appropriate attitudes and behaviors in the context of Zen community — including its traditional respect for seniority and today's smugly iconoclastic attack on anything that smacks of authority — the usual caveats regarding comparisons between our practice of Zen and that of the ancients, particularly the social or sangha dimension, include the disingenuous excuse that in the time of Dogen and before, male patriarchy and misogyny were prevalent in society, so the societal norms, mores and memes do not apply to us in modern America. To which our female members and others would likely react with a great rollingof the eyes. Furthermore, the thinking goes, the practitioners of that time were primarily monastic. Thus, the rules and regulations (J. shingi) governing the behavior of nuns and monks were themselves not characteristic of the larger community in those days. That is, they were even less egalitarian than conventions prevalent in the cities and villages, among the leadership structures of the times, and so, therefore, how much more so today. A closer reading of history might expose the relatively mythological status of these notions, but we cannot be faulted too much for trying to back-plot our current views of what is right and wrong – including ethical behavior and social injustice – to a place in history where our perspective may have had little or no relevance whatsoever. We like to imagine that the arc of history is bending toward the modern concept of justice, as Master Martin Luther King suggests. Admittedly, the language and culture of Buddha's and Dogen's times were somewhat determinative, if not dispositive, of the form and character of Zen practice of the time, both on personal and social levels. Particularly on the level of personal practice — by which term today, we primarily refer to zazen — the tangible differences might be somewhere in the 5% range of effectiveness on outcomes, including such technical developments as those of clothing and seating options. In other words, Zen “gear” has undergone its own cultural evolution. But the age-old relevance of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path still holds. In the social sphere is where we will find the most salient differences that cause confusion, and to which we may point, if we are inclined to mount challenges to Zen orthodoxy. In this regard — the social propagation of Zen — I want to share a few reminders about our root lineage. Matsuoka-roshi was definitely not in a class by himself. He belongs to a small, rarefied club of ancestors who not only took on the propagation of Zen in their time and cultural milieu, but also transported, imported, the face-to-face practice and transmission of Zen to a whole ‘nother country. O-Sensei joins the likes of Bodhidharma, who sojourned to China, apparently on foot, from the Indian subcontinent around 500 CE. He stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Eisai Zenji and Master Dogen, who in the 12th and 13th centuries, respectively, traveled by sailing ship to China, bringing what they experienced there back to Japan. In the process Eisai revitalized Rinzai Zen, which had been predominant in Japan for centuries. Dogen Zenji introduced Soto Zen, emphasizing zazen over all other methods, around 1225. Matsuoka-roshi brought Dogen Zen to this continent in 1940, though the much longer journey by steamship may have been relatively safer, than those of Eisai and Dogen in ancient times. The period between each of these seminal international importations of Zen averages just over 700 years. I am gratified to be the recipient of the benefits of these great founders of our Zen past, as one of the current successors of Matsuoka-roshi. I am also somewhat concerned with the future of Zen, including the vitality of the branch of the tree that I have cultivated here in the Southeast Region of the USA. Thus this analysis. If you have any questions or comments on this subject, I would like to hear them. Tune in to the next episode of UnMind as we explore the future of Zen in America a bit further, with an intent to understand how the hybrid nature of our online and in-person interface may effect face-to-face transmission, for good or for bad, or, more likely, both.

153: Design of Future Zen part 1

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2024 15:30

In the last UnMind segment on “Election Year Zen,” we stressed Zen's emphasis on thinking independently and acting interdependently, as a kind of rule of thumb for approaching the quadrennial campaign and politics in general. Returning to the main theme running through the UnMind podcast, the intersection of design thinking and Zen, the importance of independent thought and interdependent action to the future of Zen in America, and the world at large, takes on an even more central role. Especially in the context of Buddha's teaching of the codependent origination of all things sentient – the comprehensive model of the Twelvefold Chain. Physics might agree that even the insentient universe is co-arisen, despite the singularity of the “Big Bang.” The following thoughts were first shared in my opening remarks for the Silent Thunder Order's annual conference in 2022, themed “Clarifying Interdependence.” The title of my address was “Future Zen: Thinking Independently; Acting Interdependently” Buddha himself was clearly an independent thinker, the original Order of monks and nuns, an example of interdependent action, choosing to relinquish their place in the social order and hierarchy of the time, with its rigid caste system. Buddha was also a problem-solver of the highest order, having defined the problem of existence itself in terms of suffering, and prescribed a solution based on the real-world context, articulated as the Middle Way, and modeled as the Four Noble Truths, including the Eightfold Path as the plan of action. Simply stated, the propagation of genuine Soto Zen practice in America is the logical extension of that plan, but in order to realize that potential, we must adapt the design intent of the Zen mission to the cultural and technological evolution that has taken place over two-and-a-half millennia. Nevertheless, the basic challenge to practice has remained the same. As we chant in the Dharma opening verse: The unsurpassed, profound and wonderous Dharma is rarely met with even in a hundred thousand million kalpas. Now we can see and hear it, accept and maintain it. May we unfold the meaning of the Tathagata's truth. Accepting that the unsurpassed Dharma is rarely realized, even under the best of circumstances, we proceed with the Zen mission with lowered expectations, commensurate with geometrically expanded distractions currently on offer. These days, Buddha would not draw the typical crowd that attends a professional sports venue, nor even smaller concert venues. He might attract a considerable following online, however. Seeing and hearing the Dharma is now often first encountered online, via searching the plethora of web sites devoted to posting the teachings of Buddha and his successors, by following podcasts, or downloading audiobooks. “Doing your research,” as we say. For my generation, television may have been the medium in which one first discovered the hoofprints of the ox, in the form of the “Kung Fu” series of the 1970s. Seeing and hearing the true Dharma – as well as accepting and maintaining it – is still, however, a low-tech enterprise, requiring only the instrument of the human body, sitting upright and still in meditation. Unfolding the meaning of it, however, is another matter altogether, a near-impossible order of difficulty. In effect, it has to reveal itself to us. Meanwhile, we face a variety of conflicting interpretations of Zen, from the cultural milieu and idioms of today. For example, Zen is not really, or merely, a social program, as many of its proponents seem to feel. Interdependent action certainly entails the recognition of suffering in the form of social injustice, and the principle of karmic retribution does not explain or justify ignoring the suffering of others. The teachings of Buddhism are meant, first and foremost, to provide a mirror to ourselves, reflecting the good, bad, and the ugly without discrimination; focusing our attention upon our own follies, foibles, and foolishness; definitely not to be held up to criticize others. Our implementation of the “design of Zen” to-date – including the incorporation of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center (ASZC) in 1977, and the umbrella organization of the Silent Thunder Order (STO) in 2010 – has been intended to establish and maintain a stable training center, along with a service organization as we attracted affiliate centers, to facilitate the process of propagating what is called “Dogen Zen,” with the same intent of its 13thcentury founder, and his successors, especially Keizan Jokin Zenji. I use the term “design,” as this has been an intentional design process. ASZC is the home temple & training center of the STO network of affiliates, resulting from a group process of the individual efforts, financial support, and community service of hundreds of people over the past half-century or so. In carrying out this design intent, we are extending the legacy and lineage of our founding teacher, Matsuoka-roshi, who would frequently remind us that “Zen is always contemporary.” In a book surveying the origins of Zen in America, “Zen Master Who?” (2006), by James Ishmael Ford, we learn: Soyu Matsuoka ranks with Nyogen Sengaki and Sokei-an as one of the first teachers to make his home and life work in North America. He also seems to be the first teacher to clearly and unambiguously give Dharma transmission to Western students. I would add that these pioneers of American Zen also belong in the rarified ranks of those ancestors who traveled great distances and crossed cultural boundaries to bring the genuine practice to another country, a whole other continent, like Bodhidharma, and Dogen Zenji. Sensei, as he modestly asked us to call him, also is credited with opening the first Zen meditation hall, or zendo, for westerners. Needless to say, I was one of those Western students he transmitted, though he did so informally, rather than by the formal standards of Soto Shu, the headquarters in Japan. We inherit his estimable legacy and lineage, as well as those of the Kodo Sawaki-Uchiyama lineage, thanks to Shohaku Okumura-roshi. We also enjoy a link to that of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi through Seirin Barbara Kohn-roshi, who graciously agreed to be my Preceptor for my formal Transmission, or “Shiho” ceremony, after hosting my 90-day training period at Austin Zen Center in 2007. We may be somewhat unique in the American Zen cohort, having received formal recognition from three recognized priests, including pre- and post-WWII generation Japanese patriarchs, as well as an American Zen matriarch. Let us do what we can to honor our predecessors. We honor them most appropriately by thinking independently and acting interdependently. Before considering the future of Zen in America, we could do worse than to take a look at its past. In the Shobogenzo Zuimonki, collected and compiled under the direction of one of his dharma successors, Koun Ejo Zenji, some of Master Dogen's more offhand comments and spontaneous inspirations are recorded, apparently with little editing, much like our publications of “The Kyosaku” and “Mokurai,” the collected talks of O-Sensei. Dogen instructed, 4 — 13It is said in the secular world that a castle falls when people start to whisper words within its walls. It is also said that when there are two opinions in a house, not even a pin can be bought; when there is no conflict of opinions, even gold can be purchased. Even in the secular world, it is said that unity of mind is necessary for the sake of maintaining a household or protecting a castle. If unity is lacking, the house or the castle will eventually fall. Much more, should monks who have left home to study under a single teacher be harmonious like the mixture of water and milk. There is also the precept of the six ways of harmony.* Do not set up individual rooms, nor practice the Way separately either physically or mentally. [Our life in this monastery is] like crossing the ocean on a single ship. We should have unity of mind, conduct ourselves in the same way, give advice to each other to reform each other's faults, follow the good points of others, and practice the Way single-mindedly. This is the Way people have been practicing since the time of the Buddha. Echoes of Honest Abe's house divided against itself… a footnote explains the “six ways” reference: *The unity of the three actions – those of body, mouth, and mind, keeping the same precepts, having the same insight, and carrying on the same practice. This same precepts, insight and practice includes the harmony of sameness and difference, not an absolute identity. The milk-and-water bit reminds me of Sri Ramakrishna's expression that, like the swan, you have to be able to drink only the milk, mixed with water, to grasp the truth of this existence. This is the nonduality of duality. So here is the great unifying principle underlying Zen practice from the time of Buddha and Dogen down to the present. The past is prologue to the present, as is the present to the future, of Zen. This may not be true of our contemporary cultural and political institutions, however, as we are witnessing. Let us turn to Zen for something more substantial to hang our hopes on for the future. We will have to leave it here for now. Be sure to join us for the next three segments of UnMind, which will round out this contemporary take on the design intent of future Zen.* * * Elliston Roshi is guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and abbot of the Silent Thunder Order. He is also a gallery-represented fine artist expressing his Zen through visual poetry, or “music to the eyes.”UnMind is a production of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the Silent Thunder Order. You can support these teachings by PayPal to donate@STorder.org. Gassho.Producer: Shinjin Larry Little

144: Election Year Zen part 2

Alchemical Dialogues - from Lead to Gold

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2024 17:25

As promised, at the beginning of each month in 2024, we return to the topic of “Election Year Zen,” with my “DharmaByte” column (DB) for the Silent Thunder Order monthly newsletter, followed by my first subsequent “UnMind” podcast (UM) of the month. To review the underlying rationale for this approach to a topic most practitioners would prefer to avoid, please refer to last month's DB and UM if you have not already done so. In an earlier DB from June of 2023, I had broached this subject gingerly, and I touch upon it in my second major book, “The Razorblade of Zen.” In the newsletter column, I make the point that partisan politics in general is not a topic we would recommend bringing up in the context of the meditation hall — in Japanese called the “zendo” — a sensitive point which had come up in dialog with one of our affiliated Zen centers (quoting myself again): In a recent meeting with one of our affiliate centers, the focus was on “The Platform Sutra of Huineng,” in which he admonishes all to not find fault with others. One of the members who helps organize these events sent me some questions she wanted me to address, including the dilemma of how we are supposed to not find fault with people who are waging war on others, and committing atrocities such as bombing cities, civilians, and children. She was concerned that raising these issues might be too personal, in the context of a Zen community, where the underlying premise might be to provide some shelter and sanctuary from the insanity of the world. But I assured her that, no, these very events are apt examples of the very ignorance, and resultant unnecessary suffering, that are pointed to in the foundational teachings of Buddha. And that she is right to raise such questions in the context of Zen practice in modern life. It is my understanding that in the monasteries, and perhaps the smaller temples in cities and villages of the countries of origin of Zen Buddhism, the custom is to have little or no speaking in the zendo itself. As I learned in 1989, when visiting Eiheiji, the training monastery established by Master Dogen in the 13th century, ceremonial services are typically conducted in an entirely separate building, as are formal talks and other forms of dharma study. This tradition has carried over into the American Zen community, where we are encouraged to leave the zendo quietly after the meditation and gather in another chamber before engaging in dialog. So the idea that we preserve the sanctity of the zendo, and the sanity of its attendees, has some legs. There are good reasons for the specific designs of the protocols we have inherited from Zen's storied past. However, in most smaller temples and training centers, having multiple rooms, let alone separate buildings, in which to conduct various activities is a luxury that many cannot afford. This is the reason both the main altar (J. butsudan) and the smaller zendo altar dedicated to Manjusri are often in the same room, separated by space, or located on different walls of the meditation hall. So we compromise, and hold competing sessions at different times. The meditation hall becomes the dharma hall, then reverts back, when sitting in zazen. Silent, upright seated meditation is the hallmark of Zen, taking precedence over all other activities, fostered by instruction periods for newcomers. However, Zen is not unconnected from reality outside the temple, and the zendo does function as a kind of social sanctuary, as does zazen itself, in the personal sphere. We can manage to accommodate both personal practice and social service functions in the same space, by scheduling them at different times. This does not mean, however, that everyone has to participate, just as everyone need not attend all newcomer instruction sessions. Which is why instructions are not given with every session in the zendo. Members who do not want to discuss buddhadharma on any other than the personal plane are welcome to avoid attending dharma dialogs that have a social slant. But if we prohibit such discussions, we are sidestepping our civic responsibility, which, if you study the Buddhist canon, from Buddha on down to the present day, you will see that the ancient sages and their modern counterparts have not shied away from the subject. When it comes to indiscriminate bombing of civilians and children, we are no longer in the realm of politics. If we are silent, we become complicit. Buddha, I believe, would have spoken out against this betrayal of compassion and wisdom. As did Matsuoka Roshi, concerning the corrupt regime in Vietnam, and other atrocities of his time. We can look to the teachings and meditation practice of Zen Buddhism to find a degree of solace and sanctuary from these insults to humanity, but we cannot run, and we cannot hide from them, ultimately. But we do not have to join the partisan divide, either. To provide some historical context for this discussion, we refer to the foundational documents of the founding fathers of this nation, the oldest surviving democratic republic. In the prior installment on this matter, we quoted the famous first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. Let us continue with the second section: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Aye, there's the rub: if “all men” — which phrase we now define to include all women and all children, of all races, ethnic backgrounds, and countries of origin — are indeed created equal, and endowed with “unalienable rights,” then there is no rationale, no excuse, for waging war in which innocents are slaughtered as “collateral damage.” — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. If the very purpose of government is to secure such rights as to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then the institutions of government — including first and foremost the military — must be prohibited from depriving citizens of any country of these rights, with or without the concept of a “Creator.” They go on to define the remedy: — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. So here is the ostensible rationale for the recent attempts to overthrow the present government, though the events of January sixth clearly appear to have partisan roots. At the time of this writing, of course, this ultimate right was claimed in the context of Great Britain's “crazy” King George, and his autocratic grip on the colonies. The history of protests of the original tea party and privileged Tories — loyalists and royalists, or “King's men” — illustrates that the times were probably as divisive, or even more so, than our present partisan divide. Anticipating that this passage might be construed to lend support to purely partisan motives, the framers optimistically hang the hope of future jurisprudence on the dictates of prudence itself: Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Leaving aside for now the determination as to which causes should be eschewed as “light and transient,” this suggests that this call to arms is based on the degree of oppression the hoi polloi are willing to bear. This returns to the theme of the last segments of UnMind, with their emphasis on the intersection of design thinking and Zen, where in both arenas, one of the central questions bearing on happiness and suffering is, How much is enough? If the majority of people are fat and happy, and “kitchen table” issues — the price of eggs, bread and butter — are relatively bearable, little attention will be devoted to overthrowing the government, no matter how corrupt. “Let them eat cake” works, if there is fairly widespread access to cake. The division of the citizens into haves and have-nots, with those at the top of the game, the “one-percenters,” raking in wealth that is unimaginable, and inaccessible, to the rest, may be much more exaggerated today, as well as more obvious and available to scrutiny, owing to the ubiquitous availability of 24/7 real-time news media. A recent newspaper column revealed the staggering increases in incomes of the country's top three or four wealthiest individuals, compared to their more meager incomes of only a few years ago, alongside the minimum wage, which has remained static in the same time period, This disparity of incomes has national and international implications as an impetus to immigration, to make matters more complicated. You may argue that these captains of industry deserve the income they earn, but that stretches the concept of earning to the breaking point. You cannot “earn” this level of income in any rational sense of the word. Corporate income comes from “owning,” not earning. We are not going to solve these problems in this analysis, but we can at least compare and contrast the current cultural norms and memes that attempt to justify them, with the teachings of Buddhism, such as encouraging us to engage compassion in dealing with our fellow travelers in the dusty realm of Samsara, the everyday world of patience. So we have to practice patience with a situation that seems to have no justification whatever, or very little from this perspective. While the case can be made that not all people are created equal, it can be argued that to the degree reasonable, the playing field should be leveled. A child born with a silver spoon in their mouth, whether currently or 2500 years ago, is no more deserving than a child born into a family that doesn't even own a spoon. To argue that those parents should not have children who cannot afford to have children ignores the reproductive drive of the species, which pays little regard to the material circumstances of its sperm donors and receivers. Once a child is born, it has the same potential for realizing its buddha nature as any other child, regardless of the causes and conditions into which it is born. And we cannot misuse the Buddhist take on karma and karmic consequences to dismiss these disparities, nor the social injustices that often accompany them, out of hand. The teachings of Buddhism were never intended to be held up to others as a criticism or justification for inaction, but to be reflected back upon our own follies, foibles and failings. This is the “mirror of Zen,” which reflects the good, bad, and the ugly without discrimination. We come to see ourselves in this mirror, along with all others, in our extended dharma family. Buddha was said to have come to see everyone as his “children,” and not in a condescending way. To close this segment, I will lean on Master Dogen's admonition to “thoroughly examine this in practice.” Let us return to our cushions, but not turn our back on those who have not even been exposed to this excellent method. Our mission is clear. We need to wake up on every possible level. Compassion and wisdom — like charity — begin at home.* * * Elliston Roshi is guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and abbot of the Silent Thunder Order. He is also a gallery-represented fine artist expressing his Zen through visual poetry, or “music to the eyes.”UnMind is a production of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the Silent Thunder Order. You can support these teachings by PayPal to donate@STorder.org. Gassho.Producer: Shinjin Larry Little

Unraveling Religion’s Part 3 As A Fly On The Wall: Eavesdropping On Human Musings, Existence, and ‘Coming Home’

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2024 19:24

In Part 3 Lisa, Rich, and Joel examine the secret to the existential dilemma and how to resolve it. The answer, 'service.' Also, surfing and meditation and the story of Reb Zusha, a Hasidic Master. A Jewish Kabbalistic look at death, judgment, and Heavenly Decrees, ultimately who judges us? Does human life have spiritual veils and what do they hide? Also discussed is American Zen Buddhism and the two most influential books in American Zen, 'Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind' and 'The Three Pillars of Zen.' From Zen Mind, Beginner Mind, 'The basic teaching of Buddhism is the teaching of transcency or change.' and 'That everything changes is the basic truth for each existence.' What actually determines the quality of our life: is it what we receive from others, or what we give to others? What is our relationship to Death? What are we forced to let go of in life and what returns to us in the future? These explorations build into a final poem Lisa wrote and reads.

death religion rich mind beginners zen buddhism existence coming home unraveling musings eavesdropping fly on the wall american zen

008-Kung Fu Cowboy & A Cat Named Bear: Supersoul 13 - Episode 1

las vegas san diego bear named cowboy kung fu bhagavad gita venice beach supersoul hindu temple american zen

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2023 36:11

The KUNG FU COWBOY "new adventures" began in 2014 with the completion of the LEVEL 8 = MEMORIAL DAY ALBUM album by American Zen. During 2013 while working as a nomadic stagehand from Las Vegas to San Diego... I stumbled onto the book, Bhagavad Gita, while stopping at their Hindu Temple in Venice Beach for a free dinner. The book changed my life and perspectives of spirituality in many ways. I hope you will enjoy shaking up your spiritual world with these concepts and new ideas to consider. I will continue reading the book. Actually, I just finished reading the entire book for an AUDIOBOOK I will release in 2024. But these podcasts will allow more explanations and stories...

Teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck #3

Rochester Zen Center Teisho (Zen Talks)

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2023 43:36

September 2023 Sesshin, Day 5 Commentary on the teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck (Part 3). Source: Everyday Zen: Love and Work by Charlotte Joko Beck. Edited by Steve Smith. Harper Collins, 1989. Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck #3 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

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Teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck #2

Rochester Zen Center Teisho (Zen Talks)

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2023 44:28

September 2023 Sesshin, Day 4 Commentary on the teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck (Part 2). Source: Everyday Zen: Love and Work by Charlotte Joko Beck. Edited by Steve Smith. Harper Collins, 1989. Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck #2 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

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Teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck #1

Rochester Zen Center Teisho (Zen Talks)

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2023 46:28

September 2023 Sesshin, Day 3 Commentary on the teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck (Part 1). Source: Everyday Zen: Love and Work by Charlotte Joko Beck. Edited by Steve Smith. Harper Collins, 1989. Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck #1 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

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111. Analysis & Analogy

memoir pioneer american zen

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2023 0:14

You can analyzeAnything into nothing —Apt analogy.* * *In this segment of UnMind we continue exploring the intersection of Design Thinking and Zen praxis. That last 10-dollar word we may take up in future under “Praxis & Practice.” They are not exactly synonymous. But for now I want to focus our attention on analogy, its usage in Zen teachings, and its reliance on the faculty or process of analysis, one of the most powerful tools of the human mind. In his seminal teaching, Genjokoan—Actualizing the Fundamental Point, Master Dogen makes a point of pointing out that he is using analogy in a very intentional way, to get his point across. After a long and varied passage — using firewood and ash to illustrate the relativity of time by analogy, then pivoting to the all-too-human experience and perception of birth and death as analogous to firewood and ash, followed by the famous section on the moon reflected in a dewdrop, further citing oceans and mountains as exemplifying the knowns and unknowns of duality versus nonduality, finally pausing to declare that “All things are like this” — he launches into an even longer passage on birds and fishes in their respective elements, ending with:If the bird leaves the air it will die at once If the fish leaves the water it will die at once Know that the water is life and the air is life the bird is life and the fish is life Life must be the bird and life must be the fish After this charming semantic reversal of conventional causality — citing life itself as the primary cause — he affirms that he is purposefully using analogy:It is possible to illustrate this with more analogies Practice-enlightenment and people are like this“All things are like this” narrowed down to the nature of practice-enlightenment and people. He continues, finally arriving at the point of this series of analogies, addressing the “So what?” question: Now if a bird or a fish tries to reach the end of its element before moving in it this bird or this fish will not find its way or its place When you find your place where you are practice occurs actualizing the fundamental point When you find your way at this moment practice occurs actualizing the fundamental point So the point of all this analogizing is to bring the person listening to the point of actualizing the fundamental point of Zen practice in their own space — “where you are” — and time — “at this moment.”Note that “practice occurs”: it is not something that we do, not something that we can actually do. The etymology of “praxis” hints at this: late 16th century: via medieval Latin from Greek, literally ‘doing', from prattein ‘do'. Just as Dogen points out, in Zazenshin—Lancet of Zazen, that the clarity of our original mind is “actualized within non-thinking” and “manifested within non-interacting,” here he indicates that the main thing we practice in Zen, in the form of zazen, is ultimately a form of “non-doing.” This idea also finds resonance with the first major Ch'an poem from the 7th Century, Hsinhsinming—Trust in Mind: No comparisons or analogies are possible In this causeless, relation-less stateTake motion in stillness and stillness in motionBoth movement and stillness disappearWhen such dualities cease to existOneness itself cannot existTo this ultimate finality no law or description appliesIt is difficult to embrace the idea that any so-called state of awareness would have no cause. It seems obvious that something, some set of circumstances, must be determining, to some degree, the state of mind we are in at all times. We might want to altogether abandon, or at least challenge, usage of the term “state” to identify a level of awareness on this order of comprehension. The apprehension of nonduality — or duality within nonduality and vice-versa — may involve a kind of realization that cannot even be regarded as a form of awareness. Here words fail.Amongst the words that no longer have any real relevance or resonance, when the above kind of conclusion comes about as a result of Zen training, is the term “Zen.” At this point it seems we have come to the end of analysis, in that the utility of analytical thinking has become the futility of relying on a kit of tools that have reached the limit of their usefulness. The spirit of inquiry now returns to a more primitive or primeval level of sheer observation, in which language and labels no longer stick. My teacher described this aspect of Zen as something “round and rolling, slippery and slick.” A well-known female Zen teacher named Toni Packer (1927-2013) was known for turning down the offer to succeed Philip Kapleau Roshi, one of the first generation of formally recognized American Zen priests and author of an early classic, “The Three Pillars of Zen,” one of the first Zen books I remember reading. I became aware of Ms. Packer when a young man who had been practicing with her community visited us in Atlanta back in the late 1980s or early 1990s, if memory serves. He began questioning the way we were doing things, from our style of walking meditation to our exposition of the dharma, based his exposure to Packer's approach to taking the Zen out of Zen, and who had written a book that he mentioned. I asked to read the book, which surprised him; apparently he assumed that I was set in my ways. After reading the book, I suggested he give a guest talk to the group, since he felt so strongly about the matter. During the talk, in which he ran down the litany of all the challenges to our way of practicing, the reaction in the room was, in effect, that he seemed to think he was the only person who had thought of these seeming contradictions, when in truth every one listening had been there, done that, in the history of their practice. Ironically, the whole point of Packer's book was to admonish the reader to avoid falling into comparative thinking.Comparative thinking is fundamental to analysis itself. It is difficult to imagine any kind of analytical process that does not involve some form of comparison. But if you arrogate to yourself the ability to judge the practice of others, and especially to challenge established communities of Zen practitioners, this is to make a fundamental error, a type of category error. It presupposes that the efficacy of Zen and the method of zazen depends upon the particular performative rituals and the environmental setting that surround and hopefully support the central practice of meditation. If the effect of Zen depended upon specific details of group practice protocols, an argument could be made that one approach is probably and provably more effective than another. But this would not explain the enlightenment of some of the outstanding Ancestors, such as Huineng, who experienced profound insight with no history of practice or dharma study. Others had no substantial insight until they had left behind the formal practice altogether, beginning with Buddha himself. As Master Dogen himself instructed:From the first time you meet a masterWithout engaging in incense offering; bowing; chanting Buddha's name;Repentance or reading scripturesYou should just wholeheartedly sitAnd thus drop away body and mindWhile Dogen surely engaged in all of these activities, he recognized that they were peripheral, to the personal experience of insight, and meant to be supportive, to the central practice of zazen, the effect of which does not depend on the peripherals. Nor does the essential process of divesting ourselves of the social, cultural and personal baggage we have accumulated during our short lifetimes depend upon our powers of analytical thinking. You cannot analyze your way to Zen's insight; you cannot think your way to spiritual awakening. But that does not mean that analysis or thinking is the problem. It is our misunderstanding of the functioning, and consequent misuse, of this powerful tool that is likely to be our downfall. One of my mentors from the world of design science, R. Buckminster Fuller, defined human intelligence as our ability to extract general principles from particular case experiences. After so many repeat experiences of witnessing fast- and slow-moving entities — such as rabbits and turtles, or rafts and rocket ships — the child comes to know the meaning of “fast” as opposed to “slow,” as a universal operative principle not limited to any particular example. “All things are like this,” to coopt one of Master Dogen's frequent tropes, which captures the general utility of analogizing. Likewise, the sheer repetition of taking up the posture, breathing, and open awareness of the method of Zen, holds out the possibility that under such intensive observation, the constructed self will implode, revealing the underlying “true self,” the practitioner having successfully extracted the general principle from the many case experiences of engaging unfiltered awareness again and again and again. In the next UnMind we will take up another universally operative principle — gravity — compared and contrasted with its more human aspect — gravitas — and their relation to Zen and Design Thinking. Meanwhile please recognize the relative futility of depending upon analysis in your Zen practice, especially in meditation. You might instead consider how zazen compares and contrasts, by analogy, with the other operative dynamics of your life, such as your profession, or health and wellness initiatives.* * *Elliston Roshi is guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and abbot of the Silent Thunder Order. He is also a gallery-represented fine artist expressing his Zen through visual poetry, or “music to the eyes.”UnMind is a production of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the Silent Thunder Order. You can support these teachings by PayPal to donate@STorder.org. Gassho.Producer: Shinjin Larry Little

Discussing Memoirs of an American Zen Pioneer

Ordinary Mind Zendo

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2023

With Guest Linda Lehrhaupt

Cuke Audio Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2023 100:40

Linda Lehrhaupt is an American Zen teacher, mainly in Germany, and the Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Mindfulness-Based Approaches (IMA). She began teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in 1993 See institute-for-mindfulness.org. Her group in Germany is zen-herz.de (Zen Heart). She's a teacher in the White Plum Asangha. See openmindzen.com. She's a co-author of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: The MBSR Program to Enhance Health and Vitality, and author of Tai Chi as a Path of Wisdom.

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108. Three Jewels Design III

Eclectic Soundtrax Podcast (ESP)

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2023 12:18

Designing SanghaSangha is the fruitOf all of our endeavors —If harmonious.* * *angha is also an operative dynamic of our world. Community already exists; it is just not always very harmonious. Why would Buddha have established the original Order of monks and nuns, when he had a perfectly serviceable community in the form of the Shakya clan, and enjoyed a position of high honor and privilege within it? Why do we seek out groups of like-minded folks, often turning away from the family and friends we grew up with? Why do we reject the smorgasbord of ersatz communities on offer in the wider society, and turn instead to groups who insist on sitting quietly for irrationally long periods of time, occasionally inviting someone to hit us with a stick? It is because, as Matsuoka Roshi would often say, “Civilization conquers us!”One could argue the case that Buddha was basically a late-blooming adolescent, a rebel who rejected his father's plans for his future; and potentially a draft-dodger who, as a member of the warrior caste, did not relish the idea of taking orders from the Brahmins, for instance to wage war on the neighboring tribes. One could also reasonably wager that had he been of the lower castes — an untouchable, for example — he would not likely have gotten away with his renegade movement. I submit that we are doing essentially the same thing in America today that Buddha did when faced with the dilemma of introducing a “third way,” in contrast to the probably polarized choices that denizens of proto-Hindu India faced in his day and time. In my recent book, “The Razorblade of Zen,” I delve into the choices we face today between the extremes of theism and religion on one end of the societal spectrum, with rationalism and science at the other end. Zen presents as the Middle Way, positioned between, and inclusive of, the extremes. You don't know where the middle is until and unless you go to the extreme.This vacillation, from high to low, from sensations such as exhaustion or hyper-energetic, or swings in emotions from anxiety to serenity, extreme states from depression to mania, or from one concept to its opposite, seems to be built-in to the very manner in which our mind functions. As Master Dogen reminds us in Fukanzazengi:Think neither good nor evil right or wrongThus stopping the functions of your mindGive up even the idea of becoming a BuddhaSo thinking good or evil, right or wrong is the natural functioning of the mind — monkey mind, that is.Such thoughts, emotions and states can be experienced on a strictly personal level, but they tend to influence our behavior and reactions in the social sphere as well. Which is where Sangha comes into play. One of the prevailing memes about the residential or community practice in vogue today in Zen circles is that the process is akin to stones in a fast-running creek or river — they become smooth by rubbing against each other. This analogy to rubbing off the rough edges simply by being tossed into the same tumbler for some time has its limitations. Most communities are highly intentional in their design. They often include “mindfulness gotchas” built into the day-to-day routine of the practice place.Consider that we all have other choices these days. Whether or not we live in an intentional community, and for how long, is largely dependent upon other factors, such as resources and alternatives, otherwise known as “privilege.” Most Americans practicing Zen today are vastly more affluent and thus more privileged, than was Buddha in his environ. This is one factor explaining the predominantly white and upper-middle-class skew of the leadership of American Zen. My generation is the second, after those members of my father's cohort, the “greatest generation” who went overseas in WWII. They became the first generation of American Zen practitioners and priests, having been exposed to the virus in the Pacific basin. My teacher, like theirs, was Japanese. We are now beginning to see the first generation of younger Zen students who came by it honest — their parents were into Zen.The current influx of 20- and 30-something Zen seekers are a different animal, having grown up in a post-digital and highly interconnected world, with access to most of its intellectual resources. This naturally affects how they engage with the world, and calls into question the place of Zen training, with its emphasis on face-to-face transmission of the Dharma. Why are they coming to Zen? Same reasons you and I did. I was in my mid-20's when I met Sensei; he was in his mid-20's when he came to America, as was Dogen when he travelled to China, all to find the secret of Zen, which was missing from life.Sensei would often say the secret to Zen is “Confidence in everyday life.” I would add balance to that claim, recognizing the many more tugs and pulls that are keeping us off-balance today. But we also now have many more avenues for outreach and engagement. Pre-and post-COVID, I have enjoyed many long-term, robust Dharma dialogs online, with students I have never met in person. We are actively redesigning the interface of the teacher-student relationship in all fields, including Zen.If we are to give up even the idea of becoming a Buddha, what about taking up the role of Bodhisattva?The “idea of becoming a Buddha” is relatively easy to dissect and dismiss, along with the idea of becoming anything we are not already. Or giving up the idea may create a higher likelihood of actually realizing Buddhahood. In any eventuality, it would certainly change our relationship with our community. Or would it?If we are already Buddha — that is, awake but not fully so — what effect would becoming even more awake have on our relationship to our Sangha? And by extension, to the community-at-large? Awake to what? is the question begged. Awake to the community as harmonious, that is, as genuine Sangha? Awake to our personal role in assuring that the community is as harmonious as possible, and maybe improving our performance in playing that role?We have a relatively recent usage in the realm of politics of the adjective, “performative.” This points out what some may regard as the hypocrisy of certain pols who represent positions and policies as if they truly believe in them, as we say in the religion of ideology; but an underlying suspicion suggests that they are only performing for the audience to gain or retain the votes of their constituency. Whatever the utility of this critique, and its potential influence on the future of governance, it seems we might benefit from adapting and applying it to our own role within Sangha, and by extension to society in general. While “performing” in front of others, we might pay attention to the fact that we are performing, and consider whether our actions are merely performative, or genuinely in line with our intention.Sangha is a two-way street. At least. We affect the practice of the community and the community affects our practice. It can go either way. Too much emphasis on fitting into the community, and your zazen may be neglected. Too much emphasis on personal practice, and disharmony may result. It's a balance, like most things. And Sangha is not really necessary on the personal level: see Bodhidharma. On the social level, however, the design of the community becomes crucial to its survival and success, which is measured by its beneficial effect on its members Zen lives, no matter how many or how few. If we can strike a balance between the three legs of the Zen stool — Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha — we may have a chance at experiencing the liberation that the Ancestors have assured us hangs in that balance. Zen is about true freedom or liberation: from self-imposed as well as societal constraints; it is innately apolitical. Freedom from cultural memes and mores, yes, but the Zen worldview is not a form of license; the “Zen person has no problem following the sidewalks,” as Sensei would often remind us. We followers of Zen are already the ultimate in non-conformity — no need to make a point of it. Finally, freedom from anxiety, analysis paralysis, weariness and confusion; but not based on a belief system about reality but a direct transformation of our grasp of reality.In the next series we will look at the intersection of certain selected pairs of phenomena that I find to be related to both Zen and Design Thinking. Of course I would be hard-pressed to find anything that does not relate to both of these parallel influences on my life. Meanwhile please practice-practice-practice Buddha-Dharma-Sangha.* * *Elliston Roshi is guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and abbot of the Silent Thunder Order. He is also a gallery-represented fine artist expressing his Zen through visual poetry, or “music to the eyes.”UnMind is a production of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the Silent Thunder Order. You can support these teachings by PayPal to donate@STorder.org. Gassho.Producer: Shinjin Larry Little

Eclectic Soundtrax Podcast - #80 w/ Sicard Hollow

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2022 67:50

On this episode we chat with Sicard Hollow, a four-piece progressive bluegrass band with a passion for pushing the boundaries of the genre. Formed via mutual connections in the Nashville music scene, these psychedelic punk-grass rockers found themselves tired of existing institutions telling them who to be and what to sound like, and before they met in 2018 none of the members even considered playing bluegrass. Matt Rennick (violinist) was working on electronic music while Will Herrin (mandolin/vocals) was playing guitar in rock bands. Meanwhile singer/guitarist Alex King had spent years as an artist without an art-form, searching for a home by pouring his sweat and heart into whatever project he was a part of. As they were individually navigating a fickle industry they collectively stumbled across something that felt genuine, bluegrass. Heavily influenced by the Grateful Dead and New Grass Revival, these young pickers bring fresh vitality to a timeless style and approach it with a combination of fearless improvisation and instrumental prowess. Their debut album, Secret of the Breeze, was produced by Dan Davis at Zac Brown and Oliver Wood's Southern Ground Nashville studio. The goal was to capture the spontaneity, passion, and energy of live shows, and the result was a perfect encapsulation of the band's genre-kicking tenacity. As fate would have it however, the band's emergence coincided with the shutdown of live music due to pandemic fears, and they were forced to cancel their entire release tour supporting their debut studio record. Aside from a live performance at the Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville, the band turned inward to reflect on their identity and work on new material with a desire to create songs that could add their generation's voice to a classic genre of music. With the help of producer John Mailander (Billy Strings, Bruce Hornsby) and recording/mixing engineer Dan Davis, the band further honed their identity. The result was an explosive combination of pop-punk melodies, psychedelic instrumental breaks, and existential song-writing all packaged as a bluegrass quartet dressed in tattoos and tie-dyes. Since their inception, Sicard Hollow has been on a journey of self discovery, challenging themselves to put a unique stamp on bluegrass music while touring extensively and growing their sound with every performance. The new album, Brightest of Days, is a perfect example of how the group can pay homage to their bluegrass roots, while blowing the door open on the expectations of the traditional style. A positive skepticism toward the mainstream permeates the entire record, with songs like “Forecast of Life” and “Where I'm At” impressing a new-American-Zen that dances through the chaos. Sicard Hollow: Website | Spotify | Apple Music | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | ESP: SUBSCRIBE, LIKE, FOLLOW

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Ep. 125: THAT IS NOT YOUR MIND with Robert Rosenbaum, PhD

Ultraculture With Jason Louv

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2022 69:57

Robert Rosenbaum PhD is an American Zen teacher of Dayan (Wild Goose) Qigong with over thirty years of experience as a neuroscientist, psychotherapist and behavioral medicine specialist. In this episode, Robert and Jason discuss his new book, That is Not Your Mind, the effects of meditation on the brain, the Mindfulness movement, Zen practice, the commercialization of Buddhism, and much more. Get access to our extensive list of courses at Magick.Me, including the brand new mega-course MASTERING MEDITATION, right here: https://www.magick.me/ Get a copy of Robert's new book here: That is Not Your Mind! Zen Reflections on the Surangama Sutra

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The Future of American Zen: Questions and Concerns

San Francisco Zen Center Dharma Talks

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2022 48:30

07/10/2022, Tenzen David Zimmerman, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Abbot David considers various questions, concerns, challenges, and visions related to the future of American Buddhism and Zen.

concerns zen buddhism american buddhism american zen green gulch farm

Untangling Karma, Uncovering Infinite Wisdom

SparkZen

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2022 52:57

Judith Ragir is a Dharma teacher in the Zen lineage of Katagiri Roshi, with whom she studied for 17 years. Untangling Karma is a memoir of accepting and healing personal trauma, both on and off the meditation cushion. “In Buddhism, the personal and the systemic are interwoven. Ragir lets fall the stereotypical cool, calm Zen teacher’s demeanor to reveal her complicated, emotional self. She discusses what she has done to find greater inner peace as well as the personal impacts of transferring an Eastern philosophy onto her Western mind and applying a male-inspired monastic model to herself as an American woman, Jew, and mother. Untangling Karma is at once a love letter to Zen Buddhism and a critique of turn-of-the-century American Zen.”Judith Ragir co-founded Clouds in Water Zen Center in St. Paul, MN, where she currently serves as the Senior Dharma Teacher Emeritus. She’s had careers as a modern dancer and a doctor of Chinese medicine. She’s also an avid and accomplished quilter. Her writing has appeared in the anthologies: The Eightfold Path, Zen Teachings in Challenging Times; The Hidden Lamp; The Path of Compassion; Receiving the Marrow; and Seeds of Virtue, Seeds of Change.SparkZen is a labor of love fueled by a deep aspiration that all beings may know peace. To support this work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Peace. Get full access to SparkZen at sparkzen.substack.com/subscribe

Ep155 - Hardcore Zen - Brad Warner

Guru Viking Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2022 96:30

In this episode I am joined by Brad Warner, Zen teacher and best-selling author of ‘Hardcore Zen' and ‘The Other Side of Nothing'. Brad recounts his unusual childhood, his passion for Punk rock ethics, and reveals what thwarted his teenage desire to become a born again Christian. Brad describes his first encounter with Zen, shares the secret of his decades of daily practice, and explains why he is at odds with the culture and institutions of mainline American Zen. Brad also discusses his awakening experience, the significance of dharma transmission, his new book on ethics, and what Dogen's mysterious metaphors have in common with the TV show ‘Ancient Aliens'. … Video version: www.guruviking.com/podcast/155-hardcore-zen-brad-warner Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast'.  … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 00:48 - Brad's writing process 01:54 - ‘I'm not saying it was Aliens, but it was Aliens' 03:25 - Brad's unusual upbringing 06:22 - Finding Zen and moving to Japan 09:38 - Punk rock ethics 11:38 - Trying to become a Christian 14:39 - Practice vs belief 18:09 - At odds with institutional Zen 20:57 - Brad's Zen vs American Zen 25:08 - American Buddhist politics 26:25 - The secret of Brad's daily meditation practice 36:01 - Meditation consequences permanent or temporary? 39:11 - The danger of stopping practice after awakening 40:56 - Nishijima Roshi cutting Brad down 46:36 - Brad's awakening experience 49:37 - Receiving Dharma transmission 54:01 - Links to SFZC 55:09 - Dharma transmission wars and institutional power 01:02:06 - Secret lineage of transmission 01:05:06 - Will Brad give dharma transmission? 01:09:35 - What if Nishijima Roshi had moved to the USA? 01:13:41 - Does Brad have a teacher now? 01:17:15 - Brad's new book about ethics and non-duality 01:25:13 - Dogen's elusive metaphors 01:30:44 - Brad on race and being a foreigner … To find out more about Brad Warner, visit: - http://hardcorezen.info/ - https://www.youtube.com/c/HardcoreZen For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi' by Steve James

EP129: "My Dog Doesn't Worry About The Meaning of Life" Charlotte Joko Beck

The Builder's Journey

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2022 12:53

Charlotte Joko Beck has left us with many a memorable quote. Charlotte Joko Beck (March 27, 1917 – June 15, 2011[1]) was an American Zen teacher and the author of the books Everyday Zen: Love and Work and Nothing Special: Living Zen.[2] "Everyday Zen: Love & Work" by Charlotte Joko Beck offers a warm, engaging, uniquely American approach to using Zen to deal with the problems of daily living—love, relationships, work, fear, ambition, and suffering. Everyday Zen shows us how to live each moment to the fullest. "Nothing Special - Living Zen" by Charlotte Joko Beck. WHEN NOTHING IS SPECIAL, EVERYTHING CAN BE The best-selling author of 'Everyday Zen' shows how to awaken to daily life and discover the ideal in the everyday, finding riches in our feelings, relationships, and work. 'Nothing Special' offers the rare and delightful experience of learning in the authentic Buddhist tradition with a wonderfully contemporary Western master. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ SpeakUp-ReachOut https://www.speakupreachout.org/ 970-632-3858 Colorado Crisis Services 1-844-493-8255 https://coloradocrisisservices.org/ Hope Center Eagle River Valley 970-306-4673 https://www.yourhopecenter.org/ www.TheBuildersJourney.com Alex K. Mintling Plumb Kendall Solutions Alex@PlumbKendall.com www.RemodelVail.com Music Provided by our proud sponsor: Plumb Kendall Solutions www.RemodelVail.com Music Sourced from www.Pond5.com

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73. Zen & Design: Skillful Means

Ancient Wisdom / Modern Mind with Jason Cain

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2022 12:47

What is the problem?Buddha defined it as Dukkha —I say Upaya.* * *We launched the UnMind podcast the third trimester of 2020, in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. Running through the end of 2021, they featured various individual episodes and series of commentaries on selected historical teachings of Zen Buddhism from India, China and Japan. We wrapped up with Matsuoka Roshi's excellent overview on finding your way amongst the Zen ways, “Dhyanayana,” from Mokurai, the collection of his later talks from the 1970s and 80s. A most appropriate conclusion to the year, as he compares and contrasts various Zen approaches, recommending Soto Zen as the upaya, or skillful means, of our times. Of course, Sensei was somewhat biased in this regard, but he had an informed grasp of Rinzai and other Zen pedagogies on offer in Japan as well as the West. His focus was on isolating the vehicle best suited for our times. This is in line with the founder of Soto Zen in China, Tozan Ryokai, as reflected in his Ch'an poem Hokyo Zammai, Precious Mirror Samadhi:Now there are sudden and gradual in which teachings and approaches ariseWith teachings and approaches distinguished each has its standardsWhether teachings and approaches are mastered or not reality constantly flowsThe operative phrase here is that last: “reality constantly flows.” By recommending Soto Zen's direct approach through upright seated meditation, zazen, Matsuoka Roshi directs our attention to the reality that is constantly flowing in front of our face. However diverse the choices served up on the spiritual smorgasbord of modern meditation in America, and however interesting the times in which we live, zazen is the most skillful means for dealing with the real koan presented by everyday life.When we consider Zen's central focus on zazen rather than, say, the koan practice of the Rinzai approach, we can evaluate it scientifically as a method. But like aerobics or calisthenics, we have to experience Zen meditation directly in order to clearly understand and appreciate how it works. Simply sitting still enough for long enough that the effects of zazen begin to set in place, whether sudden or gradual, short- or long-term, is irreducibly simple. But it entails some complexity on both personal and social levels.In this new year, we introduce a departure from our past approach to the UnMind podcast. We will explore the intersection of design thinking and Zen practice, including creativity in general, the inflection point and perspective from which I have lived most of my life. In this new set of fifty or so episodes, we set the context with a model of the world as manifested in four concentric spheres, from the inner personal sphere to the outer social, natural, and universal spheres. Reality is constantly flowing in and through the interfaces of all four, as interactive spheres of influence.Meditation is located in the inmost sphere, our personal intimate bubble. Here we find the posture, breath and attention of zazen, in O-Sensei's tripartite breakdown. Likewise, you can locate the other dimensions of the Eightfold Path within each of these spheres, some crossing the boundaries between. The Three Actions of Buddhism are said to be of body, mouth and mind, bridging the personal and social, with some effect in the world of nature.Sensei's simple three-point model of Zen's intentional-attentional approach to meditation includes a fourth point, namely yourself. This quartet completes a triangular pyramid, the simplest of regular geometric solids, in the three-pointed base of the cross-legged posture, with your head at the apex. A tetrahedron is the most stable of forms found in nature, such as molecules of carbon, which can manifest as soft as soot or as hard as diamond. Assuming the posture brings its stability into your life.Crossing the boundary zone into the next sphere out, the surrounding social milieu, there arises the practical matter of finding time for zazen in the midst of our modern, hectic schedules. Add to that the social issue of how it affects our relationships at home, at work and elsewhere. Since we are not monastics, the world of the householder is the environ of our practice, extending to the workplace and other locales. In effect, it constitutes our monastery without walls.Most of the friction in daily life is found at the boundaries between the spheres. The interface of the social with the natural is the inflection point of our current struggles with pandemic, and looming disasters associated with climate change. This is the passing pageantry of life, the backdrop to Zen.The method of Zen, centered around zazen, is taken up as skillful means. This expression primarily refers to the pedagogy by which the ancestors transmitted Zen practice to their students. But the various means by which this transpired constitute a problem-solving activity. The example of the teacher is necessary to developing an appropriately receptive attitude toward the potential of leading a Zen life. But this is not the Zen of pop culture, so-called American Zen, but of Zen Buddhism, the genuine article. Including how and where it all started with the historical Buddha. The original Order in India was an experiment in intentional community, a radical departure from the caste system of the time, structured around the practice of meditation. As such, it was a design initiative.There are many dimensions where Zen and design thinking overlap, particularly in the design of zazen. Various sub-routines such as counting the breath, posture correction, and walking meditation become natural extensions of Zen meditation. Zen protocols form bridges between the personal sanctuary of sitting and the social necessity of taking action in the world. Balance and centering, stillness or samadhi, is key to outcomes in both. Zazen itself is the most we can do to actualize “engaged Zen.”Design done right is also a way of engaging the world and, like Zen, has developed an entire philosophy as a side-effect. Professional design training emphasizes skillful means in the form of sophisticated problem-solving schema. I was exposed to this worldview in my late teen years at the Institute of Design, Illinois Tech, under the rubric and tutelage of what is known as the Bauhaus method. Its origin was in the famous pre-World War II school in Weimar, Germany. Just as zazen is a process of immersing ourselves in our own sensory awareness, design-build activities require immersion in materials, tools and deliberate processes, both innovative and productive. Both methods are empirical.Design and Zen both go beyond their popular misconceptions. Design is often relegated to interior design as dealing only with surface appearance, merely manipulating decorative materials, form and color to achieve a more pleasing aesthetic effect, basically superficial. But like Zen, design as a way of engaging reality goes deeper. It penetrates to the level of functionality, the essential underlying activity. “Form follows function” is a precept of design, akin to Master Dogen's principle of zenki, “total function.”Comparing design thinking with Zen's non-thinking, a host of congruent concepts, parallel processes and shared values becomes startlingly obvious. Beginning with intensive personal investigation of media and materials, whether inborn as body-and-mind in Zen, or those of the external world in design, the scope of application and resultant sphere of influence in each area naturally expands over time.R. Buckminster Fuller, an exemplar and mentor to several generations of design professionals, called his process “comprehensive anticipatory design science.” His work influenced broad segments of society, with unique contributions to the educational and architectural fields, to the mathematics of engineering characterized by his iconic domes, including early design programs targeting the stewardship of global resources. His disciples are continuing these traditions yet today.Both Zen and design disciplines entail individual effort as well as group collaboration. Designing and redesigning the most efficacious processes in each requires experimentation and creativity.We will continue this line of thinking in the next episode. Meanwhile, look at what Buddha did. What problem did Buddha solve, would you say? Or what problem did he define?* * *Elliston Roshi is guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and abbot of the Silent Thunder Order. He is also a gallery-represented fine artist expressing his Zen through visual poetry, or “music to the eyes.”UnMind is a production of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the Silent Thunder Order. You can support these teachings by PayPal to donate@STorder.org. Gassho.Producer: Kyōsaku Jon Mitchell

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind | Audiobook

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2021 176:03

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few. So begins this most beloved of all American Zen books. Seldom has such a small handful of words provided a teaching as rich as has this famous opening line of Shunryu Suzuki's classic. In a single stroke, the simple sentence cuts through the pervasive tendency students have of getting so close to Zen as to completely miss what it's all about. An instant teaching on the first page. And that's just the beginning.

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Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen CyberTemple-028

future training song mixed buddhism paths copyright archives lyrics mastered patriarch shaolin enlighten zen buddhist podcast blog american zen

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2021 10:43

Podcast 28 of the Zen Buddhist Podcast "Dharma and a Song" hosted by Buddha Zhen, Patriarch and Buddhist Scientist, of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple. Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang, founder of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple leads Zen Buddhist lessons to be aired and broadcast over the internet discussing Chinese Chan Buddhism from the Shaolin Zen Cyber Temple Sangha. Buddhism Basics: "Page 8 - Path 2 of the 5 Paths" Podcast Host: Buddha Zhen "Spirit Wolf of Truth" Dharma Online: shaolinZEN.org Buddhism Basics BUDDHISM DHARMA FOR TODAY: Path of Training FEATURED DHARMA: "Path 2 of the 5 Paths of Buddhism" Author: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Spoken by: Buddha Zhen "Spirit Wolf of Truth" Published by Shaolin Communications Used by permission of Shaolin Zen Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com Page 8 of the "BUDDHISM BASICS" explains how training determines the future of the path we live. THE 5 PATHS: 2. PATH OF TRAINING This is the simplest, and the hardest part of life. Each of us is on a path, whether we realize it or not. Buddhism seeks to enlighten us as to what our PATH is. INTRO MUSIC: "In The Pool of Enlightenment" Composer: Shen-Lang Zhen Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com FEATURED SONGS: "I Want To Improve Everyone" (rough unmixed track from upcoming American Zen album) "But I Got" (written during children's birthday party) Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, LEVEL 4 = Kung Fu Cowboy PART 2: 3RD DEGREE MASTER MASON Produced by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: LEVEL 4 = Kung Fu Cowboy (The Hippy Coyote is Buddha Zhen.) BACKGROUND MUSIC SCORE: "Inner Will" Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Theme song of SCM Demo Team during 1990s.) Podcast BLOG and ARCHIVES: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET Podcast RSS FEED: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET/rss Podcast LISTS: ZENbuddhistPODCAST.com iTunes Podcast: Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. Copyright 2011 shaolinMUSIC.com All rights reserved. Lyrics, music, and poetry used by permission of shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Contact Buddha Zhen at: buddha1@BuddhaKungFu.com and visit his website at: BuddhaZ.com

Ep98: Meido Roshi - Hidden Zen

Guru Viking Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2021 103:46

In this interview I am joined by Meido Roshi, Rinzai Zen Abbot of Korinji Monastery, Wisconsin, and author of ‘Hidden Zen: Practices for Sudden Awakening and Embodied Realisation’. In this episode we discuss how childhood existential panic set Meido Roshi on a quest for spiritual meaning, travelling Asia to meet famous meditation masters such as Shri Munindra, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, & Sheng Yen before finally finding a home in the practice of Zen. Meido Roshi details his years of rigorous training, his subsequent awakening, and critiques the shortcomings of today’s American Zen lineages. Meido Roshi reveals the Rinzai Zen principle of ‘Ba’, how to cultivate spiritual charisma and use it to impact others, and offers a comparison of the different flavours of spiritual charisma possessed by the masters that he has met. … https://www.guruviking.com/ep98-meido-roshi-hidden-zen/  Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 00:56 - Childhood existential panic and religious personality 05:42 - Attraction to the Catholic priesthood 07:27 - Encounters with Anagarika Shri Munindra, Chokyi Nyima, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, & Sheng Yen 10:29 - Meeting Tenzan Toyoda Rokoji, Meido’s first teacher 12:19 - Comparing the spiritual charisma of various enlightened masters 15:37 - Meido Roshi’s view on perennialism 17:46 - Deficiencies and shortcomings of Western Zen 26:18 - Conflation of Zen and psychotherapy 27:48 - What can be changed in Zen? 32:40 - Is Meido Roshi’s critique of American Zen inconsistent with his own modifications to the tradition? 38:00 - Why have the techniques in ‘Hidden Zen’ been unknown by scholars and practitioners? 41:18 - 7 years of intense apprenticeship with Tenzan Toyoda Rokoji 44:02 - How Tenzan Toyoda Rokoji burned through Meido’s cloudiness 47:11 - Acknowledged by Tenzan Toyoda Rokoji 48:27 - Hard training or abuse? 51:42 - Traditional martial arts training 54:19 - 15 years with Hosokawa Roshi 57:05 - Training with So'zan Miller Roshi 59:10 - The progression of the Zen path towards and beyond Kensho 1:04:08 - Profound states of Samadhi + shattering vs distraction 1:07:41 - Prerequisites and obstacles to profound Samadhi 1:10:29 - Individualism and bad habits in meditators 1:14:08 - Spiritual charisma as a teaching tool 1:20:22 - How to train spiritual charisma in Rinzai Zen 1:23:55 - How Meido Roshi uses spiritual charisma with students 1:25:57 - Developing Siddhi and special powers 1:31:23 - Siddhi in Meido Roshi’s teachers 1:34:59 - Meido Roshi’s own Kensho experiences … To find our more about Meido Roshi, visit: - https://www.korinji.org/ … For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

spotify training spiritual wisconsin hidden childhood catholic traditional attraction comparing zen encounters profound individualism samadhi deficiencies prerequisites acknowledged steve james siddhi kensho conflation rinzai zen american zen meido tulku urgyen rinpoche meido roshi

Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen CyberTemple-025

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2021 16:16

Podcast 25 of the Zen Buddhist Podcasthosted by Buddha Zhen of the shaolinZEN.org Cybertemple. Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang, founder of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple leads Zen Buddhist lessons to be aired and broadcast over the internet discussing Chinese Chan Buddhism from the Shaolin Zen Cyber Temple Sangha. Buddhism Basics: "Page 5 - The Nature of Buddhism" Podcast Host: Buddha Zhen "Spirit Wolf of Truth" Dharma Online: shaolinZEN.org Buddhism Basics BUDDHISM DHARMA FOR TODAY: "Control your thinking." FEATURED DHARMA: "The Nature of Buddhism" Author: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Spoken by: Buddha Zhen "Spirit Wolf of Truth" Published by Shaolin Communications Used by permission of Shaolin Zen Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com Page 5 of the "BUDDHISM BASICS" explains that controlling our thinking is controlling our responses. Buddha Zhen reads quotes from the Original Buddha Shakyamuni. Buddha explains that "emotions interfere with your intellect." Shakyamuni Buddha is challenged before entering a town. "You are right to have doubts... don't be fooled by clever logic... when you know that any teachings... when used in your life are not profitable you should reject them." What you share is what you have. What you have is what you accept into your life. What are you accepting? Look at what you share. INTRO MUSIC: "Dao Mountain" (Pipa song by Buddha Zhen for performing the Yang Style Tai Chi Short Form.) Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Original flutes recorded in Salt Lake City, Utah.) FEATURED SONG of Master Zhen's DHARMA AND A SONG: "You're Lazy" (Instrumental foreboding of harsh lyrics to come--with kazoo.) Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Acoustic guitar and drums are basic tracks of album in production by American Zen.) BACKGROUND MUSIC SCORE: "Boundless Space" (Solo flute by Buddha Zhen in Utah.) Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Warrior style meditation song of the Northern Chinese and Mongols.) Podcast BLOG and ARCHIVES: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET Podcast RSS FEED: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET/rss Podcast LISTS: ZENbuddhistPODCAST.com iTunes Podcast: Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. Copyright 2009 shaolinMUSIC.com All rights reserved. Lyrics, music, and poetry used by permission of shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP

Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen CyberTemple-024

america american japan songs warrior mixed published archives monk mastered shaolin zen buddhist podcast blog featured songs american zen

Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2021 9:19

Podcast 24 of the Zen Buddhist Podcasthosted by Buddha Zhen Patriarch and Buddhist Scientist of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple. Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang, founder of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple leads Zen Buddhist lessons to be aired and broadcast over the internet discussing Chinese Chan Buddhism from the Shaolin Zen Cyber Temple Sangha. Buddhism Basics: "Go to American Zen website, section: LEVEL 1." Podcast Host: Buddha Zhen "Spirit Wolf of Truth" Dharma Online: shaolinZEN.org Buddhism Basics BUDDHISM DHARMA FOR TODAY: "Whatever is running counteractive..." FEATURED DHARMA: "Entrance page of LEVEL 1 website" Author: Bankei (Japanese warrior Monk) Spoken by: Buddha Zhen "Spirit Wolf of Truth" Published by Shaolin Communications Used by permission of Shaolin Zen Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com Buddha Zhen explains this ancient wisdom from the warrior Monk, Bankei, of Japan. INTRO MUSIC: "In The Pool of Enlightenment" (Long song about self-enlightenment.) Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Inspired by Chan Buddhist teachings.) FEATURED SONG of Master Zhen's DHARMA AND A SONG: "All Screwed Up" (Rock'n'roll song about the unzen American families of modern day America.) Composer: The Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard O'Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Zen Buddhism STARTS at LEVEL 1.) Podcast BLOG and ARCHIVES: zenbuddhistpodcast.libsyn.com Podcast RSS FEED: zenbuddhistpodcast.libsyn.com/rss Podcast LISTS: ZENbuddhistPODCAST.com iTunes Podcast: Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen Copyright 2010 shaolinMUSIC.com All rights reserved. Produced by Richard Del Connor for shaolinRECORDS.com Published by shaolinCOMMUNICATIONS.com Songs, lyrics, music, poetry, photography, essays, short stories, and webpages used by permission of shaolinMUSIC.com Contact Buddha Zhen at: buddha1 @ BuddhaKungFu.com and visit his website at: BuddhaZhen.com

Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen CyberTemple-023

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2021 16:41

Podcast 23 of the Zen Buddhist Podcasthosted by Buddha Zhen, Patriarch and Buddhist Scientist, of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple. Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang, founder of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple leads Zen Buddhist lessons to be aired and broadcast over the internet discussing Chinese Chan Buddhism from the Shaolin Zen Cyber Temple Sangha. Buddhism Basics: "Page 4 - Effort" Podcast Host: Buddha Zhen "Spirit Wolf of Truth" Dharma Online: shaolinZEN.org Buddhism Basics BUDDHISM DHARMA FOR TODAY: "Kung Fu translates to, "time and effort." Everything is time and effort so everything is Kung Fu. Put out THE EFFORT to be good and do good." FEATURED DHARMA: "Effort" Author: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Spoken by: Buddha Zhen "Spirit Wolf of Truth" Published by Shaolin Communications Used by permission of Shaolin Zen Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com Page 4 of the "BUDDHISM BASICS" explains how capitalism has diluted the quality of the world. "We have become comfortable with not expecting the best of any product," reads Buddha Zhen. INTRO MUSIC: "Road To The Mountaintop" (Pipa song by Buddha Zhen for performing the Yang Style Tai Chi Short Form.) Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Additional drums added to 1994 tracks in 2007.) FEATURED SONG of Buddha Zhen's DHARMA AND A SONG: "You're Lazy" (Country kazoo music for couch potatoes and computer gamers.) Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Fromt the KUNG FU COWBOY Part 1: King Solomon's Temple album by American Zen.) BACKGROUND MUSIC SCORE: "Inner Will" (Solo flute by Buddha Zhen in Utah.) Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Elk hide drum built by Buddha Zhen of Elk and maple.) Podcast BLOG and ARCHIVES: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET Podcast RSS FEED: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET/rss Podcast LISTS: ZENbuddhistPODCAST.com iTunes Podcast: Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. Copyright 2010 shaolinMUSIC.com All rights reserved. Lyrics, music, and poetry used by permission of shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP

008-History of American Zen: Flower Power, Acid, “God Will Protect” 1966-1969

Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2021 29:37

OPENING SONG: “Peace Of Mind #2” from LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind by American Zen. CLOSING SONG: “God Will Protect” from LEVEL 2 = Christ Killer album produced by Richard Del Connor and released on Shaolin Records independent record label founded in 1984. The Hippy Coyote (Richard Del Connor) tells about his last year at UCLA when he worked for the UCLA Extension Department and was also hired out to the Director’s Guild where he was paid by the hour to inspect their brand new Blue-Ray movie disks before they were put in to the DGA Archive. “I was a psychedelic hero back in those days…” Coyote recollects about his acid popping days in the 1960s. He gets carried away revealing his counter-culture flower power lifestyle from 1966 to 1969. His psychedelic friends were also the musicians he was performing with…. https://www.PsychedelicRockOpera.com Coyote talks about sleeping in the canyons or between school buildings on their weekend acid trips… These are stories he never told his kids. Coyote talks about dodging the police after curfew… Utah Phase 1 is only available as a PDF download from Shaolin Records: https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/utahphase1-R.html The 8-LEVEL Buddhist journey of “America’s First Buddhist Rock Band™” AMERICAN ZEN: LEVEL 1 is starting a family in Utah. LEVEL 2 is battling the Mormons in Utah. LEVEL 3 is being accepted and loved by everyone… including the Mormons. LEVEL 4 is the THE Kung Fu Cowboy being a Freemason for 7 years. LEVEL 5 is becoming a Pipe Carrier “Medicine Man” of the Lakota Sioux. LEVEL 6 is my “hanblechia” vision quest at the Pineridge Reservation in South Dakota. LEVEL 7 is being a traveling stagehand and “Philosopher Poet” performing poetry and flute. LEVEL 8 is about soldiers telling their war stories. It’s been an amazing adventure unlike any life story you’ve ever heard or known. Impossible for anyone to duplicate, but hopefully inspiring and enlightening. It was for me. The song, “Simple Lady” is produced by Richard Del Connor. LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind album is available directly from Shaolin Records at https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/americanZenLevel1-R.html - LEVEL 2 = Christ Killer album produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records: https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/americanZenLevel2-R.html - American Zen Official website: https://www.AmericanZen.org - Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. https://www.ShaolinRecords.com - Copyright 1984-2021 Shaolin Communications https://www.ShaolinCOM.com - Music used by permission of Shaolin Records and licensed by Shaolin Music. ASCAP https://www.ShaolinMusic.com

008-CoyoteRadioTV: Homeless Life, “Liars are Losers” poem, Judgment, “In Dreams” and “Christ Killer” by American Zen

jesus christ music dreams killers judgment losers homeless copyright poem liars coyote tacoma peace of mind north hollywood in dreams audio podcasts american zen

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2021 24:41

Opening song: “In Dreams” from the LEVEL 3 = I Want You To Love Me album by American Zen, produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/americanZenLevel3-R.html Outro Song: “Christ Killer” from the LEVEL 2 = Christ Killer album by American Zen, produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. These “May Day PODCASTS” are the first podcasts VIDEOTAPED and AUDIO PODCASTS recorded separately. So the YouTube Videos do not have the music on the beginnings and endings of the podcasts. If there is background music in the audio podcast, these songs also won't be in the video podcasts recorded simultaneously. So watch both to get or see the entire production. Richard Del Connor is “The Hippy Coyote,” who explains how the homeless shelter was “ripping off the system” being overpaid and overcharging the government $150 per day for a 10'x10' room with four homeless people crammed together resulting in $600 per day charges… So instead of only keeping him there for “less than three weeks” while waiting for Section-8 housing, they kept him for an entire year before he decided to go back to living on the street in his Tacoma truck until he obtained the Section-8 housing several months later after sleeping in a North Hollywood parking lot… Coyote tells some stories of the weirdos in his shelter, being treated badly, prejudice… - “Stuff The Coyote Likes™” https://www.CoyoteRadio.TV - The song “Whose Heaven Is This?” is from the album LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind by American Zen https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/americanZenLevel1-R.html - American Zen Official website: https://www.AmericanZen.org - Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. https://www.ShaolinRecords.com - Copyright 1984-2021 Shaolin Communications https://www.ShaolinCOM.com - Music used by permission of Shaolin Records and licensed by Shaolin Music. ASCAP https://www.ShaolinMusic.com

008-Buddha Z Explains: Humans Being Salmon? May Day Podcast 2021, "Again" poem, 4 Noble Truths Explained, "A Long Way Home"

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2021 54:06

This is the "May Day Podcast 2021" in which Buddha Z explains that 70% of Americans are slaves, 20% are slave owners, and 10% just laugh at us. This was intended to be a simultaneous video recording but Richard neglected to press the record button on his iPhone. So he recorded the VIDEO VERSION separately after this and posted it at the YouTube CHANNEL: Buddha Z https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxF4C6CjvqTpSuZVviiiRlw Intro song is "4 Noble Truths" by Buddha Z, recorded in his Tacoma in 2015. These are the rough tracks. The album is planned for release on Buddha's birthday, April 8, 2022. The outro song is "A Long Way Home" is from the first American Zen album, LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind about Coyote wishing he was back in California instead of battling the Mormons. https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/americanZenLevel1-R.html The music by Buddha Z will be a different style of music he calls "Buddhist Rap." As a "Buddhist Rapper," Buddha Z can be more cynical and perhaps less respectful of those he disagrees with. Thus the entirely different styles and different careers can be different artistic goals for Richard Del Connor who is also, "The Hippy Coyote," of American Zen. Buddha Z has his first book published at Amazon.com Supersoul 13 -- Discovering the Soul of God. This is a great book to introduce Americans to Hindu philosophy and the book, Bhagavad Gita, about Krishna. Shaolin Communications received permission to publish excerpts of the book, Bhagavad Gita, and comment on them as they inspired him and improved his life. The SUPERSOUL THEORY is that every person has TWO SOULS. One soul belongs to God and the other to the person. Check out the paperback book: Supersoul 13 at Amazon.com https://smile.amazon.com/Supersoul-13-Discovering-Soul-God-ebook/dp/B00IRRF12U/ Buddha Z Official Website and Blog: https://www.BuddhaZ.com Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. https://www.ShaolinRecords.com Copyright 1984-2021 Shaolin Communications https://www.ShaolinCommunications.com https://www.ShaolinCOM.com Music used by permission of Shaolin Records and licensed by Shaolin Music. ASCAP https://www.ShaolinMusic.com

007-History Of American Zen: LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind - The Customized Fender Stratocaster of Rory G and UTAH PHASE 1 book

america history hollywood peace mind utah impossible phase mormon south dakota coyote peace of mind freemasons customized level1 fender stratocaster lakota sioux american zen

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2021 46:36

OPENING SONG: “Peace Of Mind" #2 from LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind by American Zen. CLOSING SONG: “Black Of Night” from LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind produced by Richard Del Connor and released on Shaolin Records independent record label founded in 1984. Richard Del Connor explains the American Zen musicians from 1991 to 2014. Richard focuses on Rory G of American Zen. He explains the guitars he played and how they were customized. The history and origins of The Hippy Coyote as a photographer in the 1980s. “Rocktography by The Coyote” were the ads he ran in Hollywood newspapers. The Hippy Coyote reads his book, UTAH - PHASE 1 which contains the poetry not included on the American Zen albums, LEVEL 1 = Peace of Mind and LEVEL 2 = Christ Killer. He starts by explaining the cover picture drawn by artist Damien Hunter. The motorcycle chopper in the photo was designed by Coyote and Damien in 1989 with Michelle riding on the back. “Save The Coyote” is on the billboard in the artwork. “Please don’t read this book if your a Mormon,” he reads on the COPYRIGHT PAGE of the Utah - Phase 1 book. Utah Phase 1 is only available as a PDF download from Shaolin Records: https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/utahphase1-R.html The 8-LEVEL Buddhist journey of “America’s First Buddhist Rock Band™” AMERICAN ZEN: LEVEL 1 is starting a family in Utah. LEVEL 2 is battling the Mormons in Utah. LEVEL 3 is being accepted and loved by everyone… including the Mormons. LEVEL 4 is the THE Kung Fu Cowboy being a Freemason for 7 years. LEVEL 5 is becoming a Pipe Carrier “Medicine Man” of the Lakota Sioux. LEVEL 6 is my “hanblechia” vision quest at the Pineridge Reservation in South Dakota. LEVEL 7 is being a traveling stagehand and “Philosopher Poet” performing poetry and flute. LEVEL 8 is about soldiers telling their war stories. It’s been an amazing adventure unlike any life story you’ve ever heard or known. Impossible for anyone to duplicate, but hopefully inspiring and enlightening. It was for me. The song, “Simple Lady” is produced by Richard Del Connor. LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind album is available directly from Shaolin Records at https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/americanZenLevel1-R.html American Zen Official website: https://www.AmericanZen.org Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. https://www.ShaolinRecords.com Copyright 1984-2021 Shaolin Communications https://www.ShaolinCOM.com Music used by permission of Shaolin Records and licensed by Shaolin Music. ASCAP https://www.ShaolinMusic.com

007-Kung Fu Cowboy & A Cat Named Bear: ScorpionResurrection.com Premiere, Supersoul 13, Trombones...

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2021 47:13

Kung Fu Cowboy has been preparing his next album being produced by Richard Del Connor (his legal name). The last steps to prepare for this album were to acquire TROMBONE SOFTWARE for the album. I became known as the “Kung Fu Cowboy” during the 1980s because I always wore a cowboy hat and people knew I studied or practiced my Kung Fu on a daily basis. Billy Cobham, REO Speedwagon, Smokey Robinson and many other artists would see Richard practicing between takes on the movie sets instead of standing around or eating bagels… From 1984 to 1988 Richard, who was mostly known as “The Coyote,” specialized in rock concert photography because he enjoyed the music and hung out with the artists backstage at the concerts. “Rocktography by The Coyote” were the ads he placed in newspapers or used as photography bylines. At rock ’n’ roll concerts and punk rock concerts he was the only person in the entire audience wearing a cowboy hat. He also used this technique to prevent people from standing close behind him as he blocked their view standing at 6’ 1” tall PLUS the cowboy hat. “People didn’t push or bother me when I was shooting partly because of my cowboy hat,” Coyote explained. Shaolin Records is now armed with 3 trombone programs to create our Shaolin Records 9-piece Scorpion Orchestra to record this debut album of Kung Fu Cowboy. Hopefully the next podcast will include our first efforts in creating this revolutionary blues rock band. The song “Kung Fu Cowboy 2” is ready for the trombones. The song “What Do We Have Now?” was added after KFC got excited about it at the end of the podcast. Because he’d also mentioned in the podcast talking about the NEW RELEASE of www.ScorpionResurrection.com — the “House of Rejection” song is added to the ending also. Supersoul 13 - Discovering the Soul of God by Buddha Z is available as a KINDLE book from Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IRRF12U OR: a PDF book directly from the publisher, Shaolin Communications at: https://www.shaolincom.com/Products-S/Book-Supersoul13.html The song, “Kung Fu Cowboy 2” is from the upcoming album by Kung Fu Cowboy: Scorpion Resurrection. KFC announces the launch of his new website: ScorpionResurrection.com This new Shaolin Records website will feature the music of Kung Fu Cowboy. The homepage is launched with the song “House of Rejection” from his American Zen album: LEVEL 3 = I Want You To Love Me. https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/americanZenLevel3-R.html — The American Zen Website: LEVEL 3 section https://www.americanzen.org/LEVEL_3/enterL3A.html — American Zen Official website: https://www.AmericanZen.org — Kung Fu Cowboy FACEBOOK page: https://www.facebook.com/kungfucowboy1 — Copyright 1984-2021 Shaolin Communications https://www.ShaolinCOM.com Music used by permission of Shaolin Records and licensed by Shaolin Music. ASCAP https://www.ShaolinMusic.com

007-CoyoteRadioTV: Website Premiere of CoyoteRadio.TV using Blog Posts

america music los angeles england rich utah premiere salt lake city copyright coyote peace of mind blog posts american zen

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2021 23:45

"No, It Wasn't A Dream" is the original song recording by The Hippy Coyote of his ex-wife who called him "Coyotito." "No, It Wasn't A Dream" was written as she drove off after a romantic afternoon in his North Hollywood Condominium. Coyote did not foresee that this would be the last time he would see her. "No, It Wasn't A Dream," is not on any American Zen albums because American Zen, "America's First Buddhist Rock Band™," wasn't created until a couple years later in Salt Lake City, Utah. All bands and songs written before American Zen are mostly considered THE RICH bands which started in 1976. Richard Del Connor didn't become "The Coyote" until 1984 performing the "Coyote In A Graveyard" rock opera in Los Angeles night clubs. The end song is "In The Darkness" (instrumental version). This song was written in Utah and released on the first American Zen album, LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind. The story though, is about a very talented artist from England who was signed to his music publishing company, Shaolin Music. Unfortunately for everyone, when Richard Del Connor (a.k.a. Richard O'Connor) moved to Utah he lost all of his movie and record company connections and was unable to launch this other songwriter's career. Big mistake! During the first year in Utah, Richard moved three times and suffered a deep winter of snow, ice and regret. The connections promised to Richard for his record company relocation did not materialize. So launching this songwriter's career did not materialize either. The relationship between Richard and his artist became bitter, and this song, "In The Darkness," emerged. The lyrics to "In The Darkness," are so dark that Richard did not want to perform the song with the bands he struggled to create in Salt Lake City. So the lyrics became a poem, recited on side-2 of the album, LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind, which was released in Utah on cassette tapes. The cassettes had 11 songs on side-A and 11 poems on side-B. “Stuff The Coyote Likes™” https://www.CoyoteRadio.TV The song “In The Darkness” Is from the album LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind by American Zen https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/americanZenLevel1-R.html American Zen Official website: https://www.AmericanZen.org Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. https://www.ShaolinRecords.com Copyright 1984-2021 Shaolin Communications https://www.ShaolinCOM.com Music used by permission of Shaolin Records and licensed by Shaolin Music. ASCAP https://www.ShaolinMusic.com

007-Buddha Z Explains: What is Love? Love is a Verb! "Don't Marry A Girl With A Dog" and "Thank You" by American Zen

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2021 25:09

Buddha Z reads his poem, “Don’t Marry A Girl With A Dog,” to explain how to succeed in marriage. After 50 years of love, romance, love, lust and marriages… Buddha Z also explains he has DATA and STATISTICS about other people’s marriages. He challenges the listener to find among their relatives and parents of their friends any marriage that has lasted more than 20 years, and if so WHY? He talks about having had lots of love in his life… but they’re all gone. All the love is gone… What is love? Love is benefitting the partner. “If your life isn’t better with them, you’re better off without them,” he summarizes. He explains that “Love is a verb…” Buddha Z isn’t against love, he just explains that even insects have sex, so love is an animal thing… or an insect thing… Buddha Z apologizes for not publishing the first book of his 8-book series on Buddha’s Birthday April 8, 2021. This podcast is performed on April 22, 2021 and Buddha Z says he didn’t celebrate on 4/20 because he’s poor and doesn’t know a pothead he’d like to party with currently. Buddha Z is writing the 8-book series, 4 Noble Truths Explained -- by Buddha Z to be available at: https://www.ZenBuddhistPodcast.com The podcast concludes with the song, “Thank You,” from the American Zen debut album, LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind. Buddha Z explains that he wrote this song while he still believed the love between him and his wife would last forever. Then he explains that she dumped him a year or two later… Buddha Z has his first book published at Amazon.com Supersoul 13 -- Discovering the Soul of God. This is a great book to introduce Americans to Hindu philosophy and the book, Bhagavad Gita, about Krishna. Shaolin Communications received permission to publish excerpts of the book, Bhagavad Gita, and comment on them as they inspired him and improved his life. The SUPERSOUL THEORY is that every person has TWO SOULS. One soul belongs to God and the other to the person. Check out the paperback book: Supersoul 13 at Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Supersoul-13-Discovering-Soul-God-ebook/dp/B00IRRF12U/ Buddha Z Official Website and Blog: https://www.BuddhaZ.com Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. https://www.ShaolinRecords.com Copyright 1984-2021 Shaolin Communications https://www.ShaolinCommunications.com https://www.ShaolinCOM.com Music used by permission of Shaolin Records and licensed by Shaolin Music. ASCAP https://www.ShaolinMusic.com

35. Lotus Sutra Quartet 3: What’s in a Lie?

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2021 16:08

A little white liecan go a long way — stoppingfools dead in their tracks* * *In the lifespan chapter, “Life of the Tathagata,” from “The Threefold Lotus Sutra” in the Kosei Publishing in Tokyo, the seventeenth (!) printing in 1999, which in itself is remarkable, we find a parable related by Buddha of a physician who has some number of recalcitrant sons, who drink his medicines while he is out of the country, apparently in an ill-advised attempt to get high. Upon returning they entreat him to help them, so he prepares an antidote to the poisonous effects they are suffering, which so far are fortunately less than lethal.Some, however, are unwilling to take their medicine, attributed to the deeper effect of the poisons. So he contrives a scheme to leave them with the medicine, and stressing his advanced age and approaching death, departs for yet another country (demonstrating that they got around a lot more than we might suppose, in those days, prior to the inventions of modern transportation). He then, quote:“…sends a messenger back to inform them: ‘Your father is dead.’”“Continuous grief brings them to their senses” the story goes on, and they finally “take their medicine.” This may be the origin of this modern trope. “The father, hearing that the sons are all recovered, seeks an opportunity and returns so that they all see them.” After the conclusion of the story, the Buddha asks the crowd:“All my good sons! What is your opinion? Are there any who could say that this good physician had committed the sin of falsehood?”To which the crowd roars, “No, World-honored One!” I take the exclamation points to mean the reaction of the crowd to Buddha’s exhortations was very much like the mob hysteria that sets in at a contemporary rally, whether for sports or politics, basically the same kind of game. Then the capping verse, so to say, in which Buddha draws the not-so-obvious comparison to his take on his own death:The Buddha [then] said: “I am also like this. Since I became Buddha, infinite boundless hundred thousand myriad kotis of nayutas of asamkyeya kalpas ago, for the sake of all living beings, by my tactful power, I have declared that I must enter nirvana, yet there is none who can lawfully accuse me of the error of falsehood.”Note the addition of asamkyeya to the boilerplate litany of numerical references meant to bring about a kind of cognitive dissonance in contemplating eternity. It means — what else — “innumerable” as defined on Google, or “1 followed by 140 zeroes.” So the basic take-home is — once a buddha, always and forever buddha.Between the time I began composing this third movement of the Lotus Quartet, and the time of this writing, I came across an interesting experience, perusing Wisdom Publications’ 2004 edition of “Dogen’s Extensive Record,” a contemporary masterwork of translation by Taigen Dan Leighton — one of the leading luminaries of American Zen, and Shohaku Okumura Roshi — one of my handful of direct Zen mentors. Okumura Roshi graciously performed my formal transmission ceremony, thus securing the credentials of our Silent Thunder Order, and cementing the Zen legacy of Matsuoka Roshi, my original root teacher. This segment is a kind of bow to mentors in general, and to mine in particular. Thus the emphasis on attribution.The Extensive Record is my bedside reading, meaning I digest one of the brief utterings of Master Dogen each night before sleeping and dreaming. There are hundreds of them in this one collection alone, so I calculate at this rate I will likely finish the book on my deathbed, which reflects a certain, appropriate kind of irony.On page 312 of this 700-plus page tome, about halfway through the main text, setting aside the extensive appendices, I came across the following, quoted not only in terms of content, but in printed form replicating the typographic layout to a respectable level:Like a Lotus in Flames348. Dharma Hall DiscourseThe sitting cushions of seven buddhas are now about to be worn through: the sleeping stick of my former teacher [Tiantong Rujing] has been transmitted. Eyes and nose should be upright and straight, headtop reaching up to the blue sky, and ears aligned above the shoulders. At this very time, how is it? After a pause Dogen said: Do not control the monkey mind or horse will. Make an effort like a lotus in fire.A footnote on this page explains that:“Sleeping sticks” (zenpan), literally “Zen boards,” were flat sticks placed between the seat and one’s chin to prevent monks from falling over when they slept sitting up all night. Apparently this was the practice at Eiheiji in Dogen’s time.What was particularly startling, to me, in this particular discourse, is that there are no less than four — count ‘em, four, five, counting the title — major teachings that I have come across in other contexts, and passed on to my long-suffering audience, in some cases I think received with some degree of skepticism as figments of my overweening enthusiasm, perhaps. But here is proof positive that I kid you not.The four are:1. Wearing out sitting cushions (J. zafu), as Dogen was said to have done in China, finally resorting to sitting on a rounded stone. Which story I took with a grain of salt, but apparently this was a common trope in Dogen’s time, the seven buddhas being those of prehistory.2. The “sleeping stick” — not to be confused with the kyosaku — I first became aware of in a video documentary of a relatively recent overnight sesshin in Japan. I assumed it to be a recent innovation for contemporary Zen namby-pambies, but now I grok that it goes back to 13th century China, at least.3. “Eyes and nose straight,” as Master Dogen is said to have responded when asked what he had brought back from China, I conflate with his “headtop reaching to the sky,” which Matsuoka Roshi updated to pushing your head into the ceiling, a tactile vision of the solidity and stability of zazen.4. “At this very time, how is it?” is a wonderful, all-penetrating question that Master Dogen raises again and again, particularly in “Uji: Being-Time.” So let me ask you — at this time, how is it?And then there is the obvious point that this wonderfully compact and dense teaching is titled — by the translators, I am sure — “Like a Lotus in Flames” — a serendipitous conjunction with the Lotus Sutra, which we are investigating here, and a reminder of another Dogenism — to practice zazen as if your hair is on fire.Zen Buddhist teachings that we find very familiar — to the point that they have become subliminally second nature for us — when we come across them in black and white, as we say, often stop us dead in our tracks, as if we are hearing them for the first time, and deeply. As if we have finally found the ancient treasure we have been seeking for so long.All along, in our practice path, we may have been mouthing the same ideas, thinking that we personally discovered them, and even originated their expression. This is most startlingly true of our personal mentors’ utterances and writings, particularly your root teacher in Zen. Their words become so ingrained that, like the sayings of our biological parents and grandparents, we come to own them.But when we come across them in writing, like the tracks of the ox in the oxherding paintings, it is a bit embarrassing to realize that we have lost track of their true source. We have not forgotten our teacher’s teaching, but had temporarily lost track of its authorship, which seems disrespectful. But actually, it is the highest expression of respect. We have assimilated these timely tenets, and made them our own. It is not the same as simply parroting our teachers’ words, and/or taking credit for their wisdom intentionally.When we have assimilated the teachings to the degree that they seem to come from within, rather than from without, we are humbled by the discovery that — while we are not exactly mistaken in embracing them as true for us as well as for everyone else — Zen is for everyone, after all — we feel guilty of appropriating them without attribution.In the world of letters, the scholarly discipline of stressing accurate attributions to the authors of origin is an ethical principle, a measure of professionalism. It has not been so strict a rule in the history of Buddhism, most likely because in the early going, the teachings were transmitted orally, and later, when they were finally written down, it was with ink and brush, or stylus, on leaves (or later in China, on paper), and adding footnotes would have been a bridge too far.Nowadays it is important to pay due respect to the origins of the teachings to the extent practicable, but it is less so in Zen than in other disciplines. It is not that Zen is not scholarly, but simply that the true teaching in Zen, its actual message, is to be found only in the realm of direct experience, which does not lend itself to attribution. One would have to attribute any such revelation or realization to God, or to the cosmic buddhas and bodhisattvas, as Dogen often does. It is only in the context of expression in print — or, these days, in audiovisual media — that diligent attribution makes any sense. Experience still trumps expression.This particular instance of being humbled by the discovery of preternatural clarity of expression in the literary legacy of Zen is its own kind of medicine. Humility in the face of the truths of Zen is not a choice. It is a fact. Like compassion, if humility is congruent with anything real, it is already true and existent. We can willfully resist, as in not coming into harmony with the Tao. But woe will be unto you, owing to your own horse will or donkey/monkey-mind stubbornness. Incidentally, here the horse represents willfulness, where it is usually contrasted favorably with the donkey, as in the ancient trope, the horse arriving (insight) before the donkey (stubborn ignorance) has left.Speaking of stubbornness, in the next, fourth and last movement of the Lotus quartet, we will take up the parable of the prodigal son, which Matsuoka Roshi always related as part of his sermon accompanying the Initiation ceremony (J. jukai), which is where I first came across this famous tale, long since appropriated by other religious and philosophical systems. Again, from the mouth of my living teacher, to the ancient written record, all speaking with one voice.* * *Elliston Roshi is guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and abbot of the Silent Thunder Order. He is also a gallery-represented fine artist expressing his Zen through visual poetry, or “music to the eyes.”UnMind is a production of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the Silent Thunder Order. You can support these teachings by PayPal to donate@STorder.org. Gassho.Producer: Kyōsaku Jon Mitchell

Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen CyberTemple-015

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2021 43:54

Podcast 15 of the Zen Buddhist Podcasthosted by Buddha Zhen of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple. Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang, founder of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple leads Buddhist Zen lessons to be aired and broadcast over the internet discussing Chinese Chan Buddhism from the Shaolin Zen CyberTemple Sangha. "Father's Day Podcast about CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER Movie" Buddha Zhen says that women can't plan their future because their bodies will defeat them. Using examples and enlightenment from the movie, Curse Of The Golden Flower starring Chow Yun Fat, Buddha Zhen tells how the movie answered all his questions about why his marriages and family didn't work. Discussing loyalty, filial piety, and Confucian concepts, Buddha Zhen explains that a family, a business, or an army operate under the same principles or failure will result. Buddha Zhen criticizes Christians for giving Jesus alien zombie powers. Muslims are called, "women," if they believe in vengeance... People are called, "stupid," if they don't try to learn, and women are criticized for not obeying their husbands. Buddha Zhen then rewrites the world's marriage vows to be, "Love, cherish, and protect," for the man and, "Love, honor, and obey," for the women. Podcast Host: Buddha Zhen "Spirit Wolf of Truth" Dharma Online: Shaolin Zen CyberTemple BUDDHISM DHARMA FOR TODAY: "Movie about Heavenly Family: CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER" FEATURED DHARMA: "Family Success Requires Filial Piety and Ritual" Author: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang (private lessons) Read by: Buddha Zhen Published by Shaolin Communications Used by permission of Shaolin Zen Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com INTRO MUSIC: "Tai Chi Magic" (Pipa song by Buddha Zhen for performing the Yang Style Tai Chi Short Form.) Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Solo flute song recorded in Salt Lake City, Utah.) FEATURED SONG of Buddha Zhen's DHARMA AND A SONG: "House Of Rejection" (Drum THEME SONG of Shaolin Chi Mantis and Buddha Kung Fu.) Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, LEVEL 3 = I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME by American Zen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Song about a family that doesn't utilize filial piety.) BACKGROUND MUSIC SCORE: "In The Pool Of Enlightenment" (Used by Shaolin Chi Mantis Demo Team for many performances.) Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Warrior style meditation song of the Northern Chinese and Mongols.) "Inner Will" (Drum song) Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Drums of the Shaolin Chi Mantis DEMO TEAM. Lyric by Coyote while recording the drums.) "Boundless Space" (Solo flute song.) Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Buddha Zhen in Utah, late at night...) "Road To The Mountaintop" (Chinese style folk song) Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Drums by The Hippy Coyote of American Zen.) "Wishwood Bridge" (Mandolin folk song by The Hippy Coyote in 1974.) Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, LEVEL 3 = I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME by American Zen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Recorded with band, Lotus, at Bonita studios.) "5th South" (Long dramatic flute song about street Coyote lived on in Salt Lake City.) Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, LEVEL 3 = I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME by American Zen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Background vocals by The Nephilim Choir of Shaolin Records.) OUTRO SONG: "House Of Rejection" (Drum THEME SONG of Shaolin Chi Mantis and Buddha Kung Fu.) Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, LEVEL 3 = I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME by American Zen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: Shaolin Records Record Store (Song about a family that doesn't utilize filial piety.) Podcast BLOG and ARCHIVES: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET Podcast RSS FEED: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET/rss Podcast LISTS: ZENbuddhistPODCAST.com iTunes Podcast: Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. Copyright 2008 shaolinMUSIC.com All rights reserved. Lyrics, music, and poetry used by permission of shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP

006-History Of American Zen: LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind

america history utah impossible mormon south dakota peace of mind freemasons level1 lakota sioux american zen

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2021 20:19

The Hippy Coyote returns. I’ve been here, just locked in the closet. I’m going to tell the story of the 8-LEVEL Buddhist journey of “America’s First Buddhist Rock Band™” AMERICAN ZEN. LEVEL 1 is starting a family in Utah. LEVEL 2 is battling the Mormons in Utah. LEVEL 3 is being accepted and loved by everyone… including the Mormons. LEVEL 4 is the THE Kung Fu Cowboy while being a Freemason for 7 years. LEVEL 5 is becoming a Pipe Carrier “Medicine Man” of the Lakota Sioux. LEVEL 6 is my “hanblechia” vision quest at the Pineridge Reservation in South Dakota. LEVEL 7 is being a traveling stagehand and “Philosopher Poet” performing poetry and flute. LEVEL 8 is about soldiers telling their war stories. It’s been an amazing adventure unlike any life story you’ve ever heard or known. Impossible for anyone to duplicate, but hopefully inspiring and enlightening. It was for me. The song, “Simple Lady” is produced by Richard Del Connor. LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind album is available directly from Shaolin Records at https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/americanZenLevel1-R.html American Zen Official website: https://www.AmericanZen.org Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. https://www.ShaolinRecords.com Copyright 1984-2021 Shaolin Communications https://www.ShaolinCOM.com Music used by permission of Shaolin Records and licensed by Shaolin Music. ASCAP https://www.ShaolinMusic.com Richard Del Connor Official website: https://www.RichardDelConnor.com

006-Kung Fu Cowboy & A Cat Named Bear: Supersoul 13 book by Buddha Z "Table Of Contents"

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2021 37:54

Kung Fu Cowboy starts the podcast being harassed by “A Cat Named Bear.” Bear seems to enjoy interrupting KFC when he’s in the VoiceOver recording studio of Shaolin Records. This walk-in closet is where Richard Del Connor has been producing audiobooks this past year. Kung Fu Cowboy gives in to Bear, picks him up and he starts purring. So Kung Fu Cowboy puts him on his shoulders and takes a picture in the closet recording studio himself and Bear before taking him into the kitchen for a late night snack. (After 10pm). Kung Fu Cowboy talks about his Catholic upbringing and parents who refuse to talk about his artistic career in any manner. Neither of his parents have ever read his books, listened to his albums or music, or encouraged him to be an artist… ever. They still don’t. “I was born into the wrong family,” laments our senior cowboy. Kung Fu Cowboy begins reading his book, Supersoul 13 by Buddha Z, (another alias or pen name he uses). Kung Fu Cowboy reads the “Table Of Contents” which contains very interesting topics that KFC says he’s looking forward to learning about. Using an outline of the podcast, KFC is surprised to see the chosen song for today’s podcast is, “I’m Certain I’m Not Sure,” from the American Zen album, LEVEL 4 = Kung Fu Cowboy PART 2: 3rd Degree Master Mason. This album has yet to be released although it was recorded at the same time LEVEL 4 = Kung Fu Cowboy PART 1: King Solomon’s Temple was recorded. These two albums comprise the 36-song album that was split in two, because this was too much music to fit onto a CD disk. Kung Fu Cowboy PART 2: 3rd Degree Master Mason album is almost complete. It needs some flute solos and perhaps a little percussion. The vocals are all cut. Shaolin Records has hoped to release this album since 2012... Supersoul 13 - Discovering the Soul of God by Buddha Z is available as a KINDLE book from Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IRRF12U OR: a PDF book directly from the publisher, Shaolin Communications at: https://www.shaolincom.com/Products-S/Book-Supersoul13.html The song, “I’m Certain I’m Not Sure” is from the album LEVEL 4 = Kung Fu Cowboy PART 2: 3rd Degree Master Mason https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/americanZenLevel4-P2-R.html American Zen Official website: https://www.AmericanZen.org American Zen FACEBOOK page: https://www.Facebook.com/americanzenband Kung Fu Cowboy FACEBOOK page: https://www.facebook.com/kungfucowboy1 A Cat Named Bear FACEBOOK page: https://www.facebook.com/acatnamedbear1/ Kung Fu Cowboy WEBSITE: https://www.KungFuCowboy.com Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. https://www.ShaolinRecords.com Copyright 1984-2021 Shaolin Communications https://www.ShaolinCOM.com Music used by permission of Shaolin Records and licensed by Shaolin Music. ASCAP https://www.ShaolinMusic.com

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006-CoyoteRadioTV: American Zen Buddhist Rock Operas begin with LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2021 15:52

How the heck do I create what I can imagine? I've got really awesome ideas of things and visuals and music and movies that I want to put on the CoyoteRadio.TV website. I want the “Coyote Radio TV Show” to be as awesome as my hallucinations… I mean imaginations… During THIS PODCAST I am “The Hippy Coyote.” Yippee! “Kung Fu Cowboy” has become the senior version of me, The Coyote. As a kid before my psychedelic years, I spent time with the coyotes of San Diego as I went collecting snakes, lizards, salamanders and toads. I was a real “nature boy.” The neighbors called my backyard “The Menagerie” because I had so many wild animals. That's why I didn't mind being called, “Coyote,” after Michael J. Fox made our rock opera, Coyote In A Graveyard, famous when he came around and jammed with us on stage at Madame Wong's nightclub in Santa Monica. My band was, THE RICH, but we billed ourselves as “Coyote In A Graveyard” because we were performing that rock opera of stories. A romantic rock opera in a looney bin. Very similar to “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest” by another acid popping hippie. In today's “Coyote Radio TV Show” podcast I read the poem, “Romantic Chaos,” about my cat named Bear plopping onto whatever I'm working on… Today's song, “Whose Heaven Is This?” is from LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind album by American Zen. I mention about how miserable life was so you can appreciate the title of that first album by American Zen. Sometimes “Peace Of Mind” is worth its' weight in gold. Hmmm. Maybe a brain's weight of gold? That's a few pounds… Maybe I'll turn down the heat so Bear will snuggle with me when I go to bed in a minute. When we lived in my car it would get near freezing. Bear would climb into my sleeping bag and snuggle under my left shoulder. It was a hard life, but we found some “Peace Of Mind” together everyday. He's like my war buddy, a soldier whose been to Hell and back with me. I tell him, “I love you,” probably every day. I don't think about it. I just get the opportunities to hold him and then I say it. (Neither of my parents have ever said those words to me.) We're in the story of LEVEL 1 of American Zen, and despite the hardship back then—I even had the love of my wife. I never imagined it would only last a couple more years. That love you share in hard times makes it more permanent—at least in my mind… or heart… or wherever love seems to be gone from… “Whose Heaven Is This?” Features a UKULELE instead of an electric guitar. The song is so resentful that I thought the ukulele would lighten the mood without changing the lyrics. What do you think? “Stuff The Coyote Likes™” https://www.CoyoteRadio.TV The song “Whose Heaven Is This?” Is from the album LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind by American Zen https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/americanZenLevel1-R.html American Zen Official website: https://www.AmericanZen.org Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. https://www.ShaolinRecords.com Copyright 1984-2021 Shaolin Communications https://www.ShaolinCOM.com Music used by permission of Shaolin Records and licensed by Shaolin Music. ASCAP https://www.ShaolinMusic.com

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005-CoyoteRadio.TV: Building The Entertainment TV Radio Station

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Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2021 21:25

I recorded five albums while living in my car and released one of them, END OF THE LINE by American Zen. Now I'm living indoors and purchasing ONE more piece of equipment with what is left over from my monthly Social Security Retirement check or a "Stimulus Check." My last purchase was Logic Pro X music production application for my new iMac computer. I'm still learning how to use it. My first Logic Pro ALBUM will be "SCORPION RESURRECTION" by Kung Fu Cowboy. American Zen completed their 8-LEVEL spiritual journey to Nirvana in 2015. "Kung Fu Cowboy" is me, the mature version (with grey hair) of the "The Hippy Coyote" of American Zen. So now I'm going to go beyond the confines of American Zen. (We had confines?) Mostly, I am going to fulfill my lifelong ambition of "playing the orchestra." That's what I've been telling people for the past five years. People just nod and say, "Oh that sounds nice..." Somehow I knew I could do it. This year I figured out how. Using Logic Pro X I have purchased trombone sample programs allowing me to record and manipulate the samples to sound like the live performers who recorded the samples of each note in various ways. I was a trombonist until 2001 when I sold all my trombones. Slight regret but I couldn't play them AND PLAY FLUTE. Impossible. One or the other. On my Lakota Sioux "Vision Quest" I was told to play the flute. So I have. But now I can play trombone on my next album. That will be the focus of my first Kung Fu Cowboy album: playing trombone on this album, SCORPION RESURRECTION. When I wrote the album I was imagining a horn section and performed the guitar with those bones in my head. So get ready for Kung Fu Cowboy WITH BONES. BONUS SONG: "Kill The Spider" from American Zen album, LEVEL 4 = Kung Fu Cowboy Part 1: King Solomon's Temple https://www.shaolinrecords.com/RecordStore-R/americanZenLevel4-P1-R.html Coyote Radio .TV "Stuff The Coyote Likes™" American Zen OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.AmericanZen.org

005-Kung Fu Cowboy: A Cat Named Bear

god chief bear named cowboy kung fu tacoma end of the line lakota sioux american zen

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2021 17:07

"Black Hills Ride" is performed in my Tacoma truck which I used to refer to as "Tacoma Studios" of Shaolin Records. I recorded many many songs in my car during those years of... travelling with my cat Bear. "Black Hills Ride" is about my Hanblechia "Vision Quest" to the Rosebud Reservation of the Lakota Sioux. I was invited by the Chief and had amazing experiences, visions, and a conversation with God. I will publish the book someday. This song was released on the LEVEL 7 = End Of The Line album by American Zen. Here's a LINK to the song, "Black Hills Ride" being performed solo on my flute. https://youtu.be/Aawq_NKhUHc Copyright 2014-2021 Shaolin Records. All rights reserved.

005-History of American Zen: LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind

history utah wise salt lake city peace of mind level1 american zen

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2021 5:22

"Peace Of Mind #1" was the first song on the first album by American Zen. I wrote this song under sad conditions when everything went wrong after moving to Salt Lake City, Utah. This "Peace Of Mind #1" song was so sad I pulled it off the first American Zen album and wrote the song "Peace Of Mind #2" to replace it. Wise decision. But I performed the song and people liked it, so I put it on the second American Zen album, LEVEL 2 = Christ Killer. I also included the original "Host Intro" for this podcast because it was kinda cute... cool... I thought you should know...

004-Kung Fu Cowboy: A Cat Named Bear - "Black Hills Ride"

live los angeles bear ride named cowboy bandcamp kung fu tacoma joshua tree north hollywood black hills end of the line american zen

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2021 10:24

"Black Hills Ride" is from the LEVEL 7 = End of the Line album by American Zen. This song was a favorite when I performed it solo at nightclubs, poetry readings or wandering around North Hollywood. There are two versions of the song on this podcast. FIRSTLY: is the album recording. But I couldn't trash this LIVE version I recorded in my car a year ago when I was homeless... so it's on here also. Get the album: END OF THE LINE by American Zen. If you go to Bandcamp.com there's a bunch of lyric sheets with the song chords and a page for each song that tells the stories. This album, like all the American Zen albums was a rock opera story of my homeless life. All the songs were written in 2013 and 2014 when I was living in my Tacoma truck with my cat, Bear. There's a music video of this song, "Black Hills Ride" at YouTube.com. I created the video a month a so after moving up here with the Joshua Trees in the high desert above Los Angeles. END OF THE LINE album at Bandcamp.com

004-History Of American Zen: LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind

history temple king solomon peace of mind freemasons level1 kill the spider american zen

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2021 6:07

"Kill The Spider" is from the 4th album by American Zen: LEVEL 4 = Kung Fu Cowboy Part 1: King Solomon's Temple. This rock opera song is about the murder of Hiram Abif, the architect of the original Solomon's Temple. Get the album by American Zen: LEVEL 4 = Kung Fu Cowboy Part 1: King Solomon's Temple at ShaolinRecords.com The official American Zen website is at www.AmericanZen.org Only the first four albums were detailed on the website before my computer blew up and I became a homeless Freemason 2012. Start traveling the American Zen website by starting at all the songs, stories, poetry, and lyrics in the LEVEL 1 section first. Get the American Zen album at ShaolinRecords.com. LEVEL 4 = Kung Fu Cowboy Part 1: King Solomon's Temple.

004-Shaolin Records Podcast: Richard Del Connor 1966-72

mom temple records king solomon freemasons shaolin zen buddhism from within american zen

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2021 5:59

"From Within" is a folk rock song from the American Zen album, LEVEL 4 = Kung Fu Cowboy Part 1: King Solomon's Temple. American Zen completed their 8-album spiritual journey of Zen Buddhism in 2015. When LEVEL 4 was being recorded there were 36 songs so the album was split into two albums. The PART 2 album is titled, "3rd Degree Master Mason." I was a Freemason from 2007 to 2015. You can get the Kung Fu Cowboy Part 1 album at Shaolin Records.com Most of the distributors don't include the entire LONG title on their websites. But it should by "King Solomon's Temple." Kung Fu Cowboy was fun to record and has some awesome record production on it. The rock opera transformed from MY story to the story of Hiram Abif. "From Within" was written to my ex-wife, who left me behind to raise our kids as a Mr. Mom. When she came back a decade later, we tried to reconnect... but she couldn't keep up with me... "From Within" by American Zen. Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. Get the American Zen album: LEVEL 4 = Kung Fu Cowboy Part 1: King Solomon's Temple at ShaolinRecords.com

004-Shaolin Chi Mantis Traditional Buddhist Kung Fu

Shaolin Chi Mantis Traditional Buddhist Kung Fu Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2021 11:54

I'm really excited about making my Shaolin Kung Fu videos... but I'm 67 years old now. I've got 200 classes recorded and another 150 classes to record to complete the Shaolin Chi Mantis BEGINNER PROGRAM. I've got 13 years of classes mapped out so I'm going to be 80 years old to complete these lessons. Sheesh. I've been wanting to make these videos since 1992 when I started teaching professionally. I've been doing Shaolin Kung Fu since 1980. I got certified by Grandmaster Wong Jack Man in 1995. I tell a story of one of my sojourns to San Francisco when I was training under Shifu Wong Jack Man. The senior students, Shifu Rick Bucky Wing, and Shifu Arthur Chin took me to Chinatown to get my signature chop of "Zhen Shen-Lang" to stamp on the graduation certificates of my students. This song is a warrior song by American Zen, "Daryoon," from the LEVEL 2 = Christ Killer album. The slide guitar is performed by Rory G. I've built the school website, or Shaolin Chi Mantis ONLINE KWOON at www.ShaolinInteractive.com

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004-CoyoteRadioTV: Building The Entertainment TV Radio Station - "Free The Change" by American Zen

peace of mind radio stations tv radio entertainment tv american zen

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2021 7:23

Yeah, I used to be an acid popping hippie from 1967 to 1970. I've got lots of stories to tell... Here's a song that could have been released in 1968, "FREE THE CHANGE" by American Zen. American Zen recorded eight albums for Shaolin Records. Several were only released on cassettes in the 1990s. "Free The Change" is from the first album, LEVEL 1= Peace Of Mind by American Zen. Coyote Radio .TV "Stuff The Coyote Likes™" American Zen OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.AmericanZen.org

24. Heart Sutra Quartet 4: Prajna Paramita Mantra

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2021 24:14

Prajna means “wisdom,”Paramita, “perfecting” —“Mantra,” something else!* * *The fourth and last section of the Heart Sutra concludes on a more formal note, simply stating and re-stating the central place of the “perfecting of wisdom” in Buddhism, as the mother of all mantras:Therefore know the prajna paramitaas the great miraculous mantrathe great bright mantrathe supreme mantrathe incomparable mantrawhich removes all suffering and is true not falseFrom a quick online search, we find that the term “mantra” stems from the Sanskrit root man, literally meaning a thought, the thought behind speech or action, related to “mind,” a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation. In modern parlance, it has come to indicate any statement or slogan repeated frequently. In this context, however, it takes on a transcendental, almost magical meaning. In other words, something else.This mantra is “great, miraculous, bright, supreme, and incomparable, when compared to all others. It calls to mind the line toward the end of Hsinshinming, “Trust in Mind”:No comparisons or analogies are possible in this causeless, relationless stateThis worshipful adulation begs the question: What is so great about the perfecting of wisdom? How is it miraculous? What about it is bright? Supreme? And incomparable?Of course, with the caveat that these are English translators’ choices for ancient terms in Sino-Japanese, Sanskrit or even Pali, the near-extinct language said to be spoken by Buddha himself. In his time, there may have been many such mantras chanted for their mystical powers, from other sects and religious belief systems. The Sanskrit word “dharani,” which is also sometimes used, means, according to Wikipedia:A dharani… is a Buddhist chant, mnemonic code, incantation, or recitation, usually a mantra consisting of Sanskrit or Pali phrases. Believed to be protective and with powers to generate merit for the Buddhist devotee, they constitute a major part of historic Buddhist literature. These chants have roots in Vedic Sanskrit literature…So this construction may derive from an even earlier language from the pre-Hindu period when Vedic praxis was predominant in India. Buddha is sometimes referred to as a reformer who revitalized some of the Vedic practices. In many cases he is clearly using contemporary memes and tropes of the prevailing Hindu context to broach palliative or corrective concepts that differentiate his findings from the received wisdom of the time.Attributing “incomparable” to the prajna paramita mantra is then understandable in this context. The closing line asserting that this mantra is “true not false,” amongst all the many mantras and dharanis extant at that time, clarifies the claim of its incomparability. Compared to all the others, this one “relieves all suffering,” where they may only relieve a physical or medical malady, or a particular piece of bad karma, even superstitions such as a curse. Master Dogen uses the term “spell” in his translation of Hannya Haramitsu, which indicates the relatively magical and mystical nature he attributed to its meaning of the last stanza:Therefore we proclaim the prajna paramita mantrathe mantra that says“Gate Gate Paragate Parasam Gate Bodhi Svaha”The untranslated mantra is presented in the original language, or in phonetic form rather than translated, as the very sounds are considered to have this power of transformation. Dharani has the connotation of a vessel, or container, that can carry us to the other shore of Nirvana, over the ocean of Samsara, floating on the raft of the Buddha’s teachings. But Master Dogen makes the point that actually, we do not go to the other shore; the other shore comes to us. Our charge in Zen is to realize no separation of Samsara and Nirvana. Samsara is ordinary, everyday life, with all its homeliness and suffering. Nirvana is regarded as complete liberation. But it is not imagined as being another realm, another dimension or universe. There is only one place, just as there is only one practice, in Zen.This mantra, the perfecting of wisdom, is like the open-ended vow to “save all others,” or better, to help all others save themselves, the Bodhisattva Vow. It is said that when we really take this vow to heart, endless rebirth opens up before us. How many beings are there? How long is it going to take? Where do we start? These are the questions begged by a literal interpretation of the vow. The Bodhisattva path of Zen is one of action.When asked about “engaged Zen,” Matsuoka Roshi would assume the zazen posture, declaring, “This is the most you can do.” The most we can do for someone else is to share the buddhadharma, no matter how inadequate our own grasp may be. While we do not proselytize, when people come to Zen to learn about it, we share the dharma primarily by teaching Zen’s method of manifesting and understanding it. Much like teaching music, dance, or art, what can be taught is the method. A talented teacher can walk us through the basics of playing an instrument, but they cannot teach us music, or for that matter any of the arts and sciences. The realization of art or scientific insight comes about as a natural turning point, usually only after a great deal of repetition in training.It is worth touching on some of the living ancestors cited in the Bussorai, the “names of the Buddhas and Ancestors,” who protected and nurtured this face-to-face teacher-student transmission, and kept it intact, down to us today:Shiki Butsu DaioshoBishafu Butsu DaioshoKuruson Butsu DaioshoKunagonmuni Butsu DaioshoKashô Butsu Daiosho“Butsu” means “Buddha” or fully enlightened one, and “Daiosho” means great and authentic. After these five prehistoric Buddhas, we come to the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, “Sage of the Shakya clan,” from some 2,500 years ago. He had no teacher in recorded history, though the tradition is that he practiced with the prehistoric Buddhas. Hence, as the founder or historical discoverer of this insight, Buddha is not counted as an ancestor in the enumerated lineage. It begins with his immediate successor, Mahakasyapa, here rendered in the Japanese pronunciation:Shakamuni Butsu Daiosho1. Makakashô Daiosho2. Ananda DaioshoNote that Buddha’s successors, beginning with Mahakasyapa and including Ananda — who may be more familiar to you, as Buddha’s interlocutor in some important sutras — are not referred to as “butsu,” but only “daiosho.” Halfway through the Indian transmission we find Nagarjuna, number 14 from Buddha, here with the longer pronunciation:14. Nagyaharajuna DaioshoPrecisely 14 ancestors later, the famous Bodhidharma, the 28th ancestor who is credited with bringing the direct practice of zazen to China, where it became known as Ch’an Buddhism, again in Japanese pronunciation:28. Bodaidaruma Daiosho29. Taiso Eka Daiosho30. Kanchi Sôsan DaioshoKanchi Sosan, 30th in line, perhaps better known in Chinese pronunciation, Sengcan, is the author of Hsinhsinming, “Trust in Mind,” the first piece of liturgy from China in the Soto Zen Service. Following in short order we find:33. Daikan Enô Daiosho34. Seigen Gyôshi Daiosho35. Sekitô Kisen DaioshoNumber 33, Daikan Eno, otherwise known as Huineng, is perhaps the most famous of the Chinese lineage, the founder of the so-called “sudden” school, based on his awakening experience without benefit of a teacher or any formal training, the only individual in history like Buddha in this regard. His teaching, the “Platform Sutra,” uniquely amongst the ancestors, is referred to as “sutra,” owing to this anomaly. Number 35, Sekito Kisen, is the author of the second Ch’an poem chanted in Soto liturgy, namely Sandokai, “Harmony of Sameness and Difference.” A few generation or so later, we find:38. Tôzan Ryôkai Daiosho“Tozan” is the “To” in Soto Zen, credited with its founding in China, along with one of his students, Sozan, the “So,” though Ungo Doyo is listed in our lineage as his successor. Tozan, more commonly known as Dongshan, is the author of the third and final Ch’an poem chanted in the Soto liturgy, Hokyo Zammai, “Precious Mirror Samadhi.” Now we jump a few generations to the end of our Soto lineage in China, with:50. Tendô Nyojô Daiosho51. Eihei Dôgen DaioshoHere we find, in 51st and 50th place, respectively, Eihei Dogen, founder of Soto Zen in Japan, and his teacher, Tendo Nyojo, also known as Rujing. It should also be pointed out that Master Dogen, in Japanese rendered as Dogen Zenji, had a double lineage, first from Rinzai in Japan, as well as later in China from Soto. On the silk certificate called the “bloodline,” or ketchimyaku, that we copy as part of the transmission ceremony, the Rinzai ancestry is listed down one side, the Soto down the opposite side, coming back together in Dogen Zenji’s name. And thus, so do we share Rinzai ancestry, along with Soto. It is in our Zen DNA. In many modern cases the lineages were mixed, and today several American Zen priests are direct dharma heirs of both Rinzai and Soto teachers.As we proceed from ancient history to more modern times, we are the beneficiaries of an accumulation of available teachings from these masters. Master Dogen was not the most prolific writer of his time, but he is the most highly regarded, now considered the “greatest thinker” in the history of Japan. Which is ironic, as he emphasized “non-thinking” And he left his students and Zen followers of today a veritable treasure trove in his Shobogenzo, “Treasury of the True Dharma Eye.” Then into the transmission in Japan we find:52. Koun Ejô Daiosho53. Tettsû Gikai Daiosho54. Keizan Jôkin Daiosho55. Gasan Jôseki Daiosho(55. Meiho Sotetsu Daiosho)Koun Ejo at #52 was Dogen’s immediate successor, who apparently devoted most of his career to collecting and codifying his teacher’s prolific literary and spoken output, much as I have done, with a little help from my friends, for Matsuoka Roshi’s literate legacy.At number 54, we find Keizan Zenji, who, a few generations after Dogen Zenji, spread his teachings widely throughout Japan, and is credited with the establishment of many Soto Zen monasteries. He is sometimes referred to as the “mother” of Soto Zen in Japan, while Dogen is referred to as the “father.”After Keizan, the lineages split into many, as he had many successors, or dharma heirs. The first number 55 is Gasan Joseki Zenji, in Matsuoka Roshi’s lineage. He would be considered Sensei’s dharma grandfather, which makes Keizan his great-grandfather. This is where the lineage becomes shockingly present, nearer to our times than we imagined.In the Kodo Sawaki lineage, which we also share, owing to my transmission from Shohaku Okumura Roshi, Meiho Sotetsu Zenji, in parentheses at number 55, would then be the dharma grandfather of Okumura Roshi’s dharma father, Uchiyama Roshi. With Keizan Zenji being the common link to the ancients, between our two lineages.Nearly 40 names after Dogen, at number 88, we find Zengaku Soyu Daiosho, Sensei’s dharma names. The first name, Soyu, is given at initiation, in Japanese jukai. The second, or gago name, comes with a later ceremony on the formal path, in the Matsuoka lineage. In other lineages, both names are given at the initial ceremony. Zengaku means Zen mountain, I am told, and Soyu is Sino-Japanese for one of the Ten Epithets of the Buddha, meaning something like “controller of men,” or “one who is infallible in controlling men’s minds.” At number 87, we find Sensei’s father’s name:87. Bukkai Sentoyu Daiosho88. Zengaku Sôyû Daiosho (3x)In chanting the Bussorai, it is customary to chant your teacher’s name three times at the end. We also ring bells with select outstanding names in the lineage, and sometimes with each name, making a bow with each bell.On my certificates, my name follows Sensei’s; in the Sawaki lineage if follows Okumura Roshi’s; and my students’ names, one at a time, follow mine, so my dharma heirs, four to date, are all in the 90th generation. A connection between the two lineages we found on our latest journey to Japan is that Matsuoka Roshi would have been at Komazawa University at the same time that Kodo Sawaki Roshi was a professor there. They would have practiced zazen together in the same zendo we sat in.All this recitation of the ancestors’ names may have the unintended consequence of seeming to imply that I, your humble instructor, may have let this go to my head. I harbor no delusions of grandeur regarding this heritage, I assure you. In fact, it is humbling to even consider the magnitude of the effort of these 90 or so overlapping lives in transmitting the practice of Zen over so many centuries, and through so many countries and cultures. It could not have been easy. If you do the math, 2,500 years divided by 90 names, you get an average span of about 28 years, over a quarter of a century that it took for one teacher to hand this off to a student worthy of being a successor, to which the former entrusted the latter.The meditation that our teachers have handed down to us for 88 generations, in a relatively unbroken, face-to-face transmission, is like this. This prajna paramita cannot be taught directly, but may be said to be the “what” of what has been transmitted through zazen, beginning long ago in the forgotten fog of prehistory.I feel fortunate to find myself in a country where there is only about 100 years of Zen to date. Some wag said the first 50 to 100 years are the hardest. But I cannot imagine living in Japan, Korea, China or India, as a representative of Buddhism or Zen, with all the weight of that tradition on my shoulders. Better to be in America, where there can be little to no expectations of what level of performance I should live up to. We cannot side-step the responsibility of the legacy and lineage that we carry, but it is a light burden.We do not disregard the vast scope of the undertaking with a facile, self-serving interpretation. Nor do we throw our hands up, in despair. Instead, we accept the impossibility of the situation, and get on with it. We may not be able to save all beings, but we can at least try to do our best, in all humility.We do not expect of ourselves — and our ancestors would not have expected of us — a faultless execution of our charge. As Master Dogen said, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” I will leave to you to meditate upon why he did not say “get up seven.” He also is said to have remarked that the Zen life is just one long mistake. We cannot succeed in Zen or any other endeavor, without permission to fail. At least, that is my story and I am sticking to it.* * *Elliston Roshi is guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and abbot of the Silent Thunder Order. He is also a gallery-represented fine artist expressing his Zen through visual poetry, or “music to the eyes.”UnMind is a production of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the Silent Thunder Order. You can support these teachings by PayPal to donate@STorder.org. Gassho.Producer: Kyōsaku Jon Mitchell

Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen CyberTemple-009

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2021 5:17

Podcast 9 of the Zen Buddhist Podcasthosted by Buddha Zhen of the shaolinZEN.org Cybertemple. Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang, founder of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple leads Buddhist Zen lessons to be aired and brodcast over the internet discussing Chinese Chan Buddhism from the Shaolin Zen CyberTemple Sangha. "A Quickie" Sneaking in during American Zen's recording sessions for their upcoming album, LEVEL 3 = I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME, Buddha Zhen gives a brief update on his school activities. After watching a Public Television show about the "plastic mind," Buddha Zhen points out that this plastic mind concept was invented by Bodhidharma when he created Zen Buddhism. Criticizing the Shaolin Buddhist Monks for being lazy, Bodhidharma created a series of 18 exercises which grew into Kung Fu, to strengthen and revitalize the monks. Zen Buddhism requires exercise, or it's not Zen Buddhism. Buddha Zhen explains that they've finished his TAI CHI MAGIC #1 CD, and how his new BUDDHA KUNG FU school is taking off "gangbusters..." Buddha Zhen said to visit www.KungFuCowboy.com that is being launched now by American Zen. "Live longer! Do Kung Fu." Podcast Host: Buddha Zhen "Spirit Wolf of Truth" Dharma Online: Shaolin Zen CyberTemple BUDDHISM DHARMA FOR TODAY: "Zen Buddhism was created to revitalize the mind and body to achieve enlightenment. (And a 'plastic mind.')" Buddha Zhen laughs as he explains the many reasons, despite all his family hardships and not having a car the past 10 years, that he couldn't stop his teaching lifestyle without guilt and regrets. FEATURED DHARMA: "Buddha Kung Fu" Author: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang (private lessons) Read by: Buddha Zhen Published by Shaolin Communications Used by permission of Shaolin Zen Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com INTRO MUSIC: "5th South" (flute music) Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, Level 2 = Christ Killer by American Zen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Flute instrumental song with some cool cowboy background vocals in a few places.) BACKGROUND MUSIC SCORE: "Tai Chi Magic" (flute music) Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Theme song by Buddha Zhen, composed for his Shaolin Chi Mantis and Tai Chi Youth Demo Teams, who performed the Yang Style Tai Chi Short Form to this song.) OUTRO SONG: "5th South" (flute music) Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, Level 2 = Christ Killer by American Zen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Flute instrumental song with some cool cowboy background vocals in a few places.) DHARMA OF SHAOLIN ZEN: "Bodhidharma invented Kung Fu to strengthen the Shaolin Monks bodies and minds." (The origins of Zen Buddhism.) Today's Dharma Webpage ___: "Buddha Kung Fu" Topic: The PLASTIC MIND concept of recent TV show was originated by Bodhidharma 1500 years ago when he taught that exercise was required for enlightenment. The 18 exercises he created grew and grew into today's Shaolin Kung Fu as taught at Buddha Kung Fu, Buddha Zhen's NEW KUNG FU SCHOOL, launched January 2008. Author: Buddha Zhen Published by Shaolin Communications Buddhist CyberTemple: shaolinZEN.org Podcast BLOG and ARCHIVES: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET Podcast RSS FEED: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET/rss Podcast LISTS: ZENbuddhistPODCAST.com iTunes Podcast: Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. Copyright 2007 shaolinMUSIC.com All rights reserved. Lyrics, music, and poetry used by permission of shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP

Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen CyberTemple-007

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2021 30:55

Podcast 7 of the Zen Buddhist Podcasthosted by Buddha Zhen of the shaolinZEN.org Cybertemple. Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang, founder of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple leads Sangha Buddhist Zen lessons to be aired and brodcast over the internet discussing Chinese Chan Buddhism from the Shaolin Zen CyberTemple. Buddha Zhen reads from the Shaolin Zen CyberTemple website, the "SEMINARS" webpage. During his explanations of the various seminars he teaches each year, Buddha Zhen criticizes other martial arts styles and claims that Karate is perpetuating many mistakes that don't exist in Kung Fu and Tai Chi. Buddha Zhen also explains why he is no longer a master spearmaker and swordsmith. Since the 911 tragedy, postal rates have skyrocketed to the point that the postage to send a spear in the mail is more than the cost of the spear. He apologizes to his many loyal customers who have relied on him to create custom swords, spears, and Chinese classical weapons. The online weapon weapon catalog of Shaolin Chi Mantis at shaolinCOM.com is primarily for his students, whom he can deliver his custom made weapons to at his classes and seminars. Buddha Zhen discusses his various seminars with comments about this years' events and where to find the super discount prices he offers his students at shaolinCOM.com/events.html Push Hands Seminars Push Hands Tournaments Tai Chi Staff Seminars Tai Chi Qigong Seminars Tai Chi Tournament Seminars Combat Taiji Seminars are all briefly exlained with a plea to his online audience to help him create "...interactive seminars..." that will be live with questions and comments being provided by his internet audience. Buddha Zhen teases the audience with a few hints of his "3D Buddhist CyberTemple" that is being developed. The podcast ends with an 8-track demo recording by American Zen, "Kung Fu Cowboy," featuring Coyote making the "clip-clops" of horses with his tongue. Podcast Host: Buddha Zhen "Spirit Wolf of Truth" Dharma Online: Shaolin Zen CyberTemple BUDDHISM DHARMA FOR TODAY: "I can improve your Tai Chi skills, no matter what level you are!" Promising to not interfere with your current Masters' Tai Chi Form, Zhen Shen-Lang states he can still find something to improve and show you something you wouldn't have discovered otherwise. FEATURED DHARMA: "Seminars" Author: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang (private lessons) Read by: Buddha Zhen Published by Shaolin Communications Used by permission of Shaolin Zen Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com INTRO MUSIC: "5th South" (flute music) Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, Level 2 = Christ Killer by American Zen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Flute instrumental song with some cool cowboy background vocals in a few places.) FEATURED SONG of Buddha Zhen's DHARMA AND A SONG: "Kung Fu Cowboy" (folk rock) Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, LEVEL 3 = I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: Shaolin Records RECORD STORE (Coyote performs the horse 'clip-clops' with his tongue. This is an 8-track demo used to test the Digidesign ProTools recording software before Shaolin Records purchased the professional version several years ago.) BACKGROUND MUSIC SCORE: "December Snow" (flute music) Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor From the album, LEVEL 2 = CHRIST KILLER by American Zen Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP Download Song: shaolinCOM.com (Sounds like a romantic Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.) OUTRO SONG: "In The Pool Of Enlightenment" Composer: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen From the album, Tai Chi Magic 1 by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP (13 minute song of many meditation moods and inspirations featuring Buddha Zhen on flute and pipa. This is the same rough mix featured in last week's podcast.) DHARMA OF SHAOLIN ZEN: "Podcasts" (Summary of shaolinZEN.org Web Temple.) Today's Dharma Webpage 6: "Podcasts" Topic: Enlightenment may only be a podcast away.™ Author: Buddha Zhen Published by Shaolin Communications Buddhist CyberTemple: shaolinZEN.org Podcast BLOG and ARCHIVES: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET Podcast RSS FEED: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET/rss Podcast LISTS: ZENbuddhistPODCAST.com iTunes Podcast: Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. Copyright 2007 shaolinMUSIC.com All rights reserved. Lyrics, music, and poetry used by permission of shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP

Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen CyberTemple-003

books truth chinese mixed zen copyright cds archives substance lyrics tai chi mastered shaolin jethro tull ascap ian anderson zen buddhist folk rock featured songs american zen

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 3, 2021 17:12

Podcast 003 of the Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen CyberTemplehosted by Buddha Zhen, Zhen Shen-Lang "Spirit Wolf of Truth." Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang, founder of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple leads weekly Sangha Buddhist Zen lessons to be aired and brodcast discussing Chinese Chan Buddhism from the Shaolin Zen CyberTemple. Buddha Zhen talks about American Zen who are helping to finish his Chinese folk rock album, TAI CHI MAGIC 1. "Zen is everywhere -- you just have to be able to recognize it. Zen is the ability to be smarter." Podcast Host: Buddha Zhen "Spirit Wolf of Truth" Dharma Online: Shaolin Zen CyberTemple BUDDHISM DHARMA FOR TODAY: "Look what's available." "Zen is not so much a religion -- as an awareness. Zen is everywhere," explains the Spirit Wolf of Truth. Buddha Zhen insists that all listeners look for inspiration and enlightenment throughout the activities and resources of their own personal worlds. FEATURED DHARMA: "Books, CDs, and DVDs" The format, the form, the object, the word, the sounds, and the stories... are your tools to enlightenment. Substance is irrelevant. The meaning is what you are searching for -- and somewhere here we hope you'll find it. Author: Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang Published by Shaolin Communications Used by permission of Shaolin Zen Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com INTRO MUSIC: "5th South" Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen From the album, Level 2 = Christ Killer by American Zen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP (Flute instrumental song with some cool cowboy background vocals in a few places.) FEATURED SONG of Buddha Zhen's DHARMA AND A SONG: "Tai Chi Magic" Composer: Zhen Shen-Lang Performed by Buddha Zhen Produced, Mixed and Mastered by Richard Connor From the album, TAI CHI MAGIC by Buddha Zhen Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP BACKGROUND MUSIC SCORE: "Great Salt Lake" Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Connor From the album, LEVEL 2 = CHRIST KILLER by American Zen Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP (Sounds like a romantic Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.) DHARMA OF SHAOLIN ZEN: Today's Dharma Webpage 3: "Books, CDs and DVDs" Topic: "Look What's Available" Author: Buddha Zhen Published by Shaolin Communications Podcast BLOG and ARCHIVES: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET Podcast RSS FEED: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET/rss Podcast LISTS: ZENbuddhistPODCAST.com Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. Copyright 2007 shaolinMUSIC.com All rights reserved. Lyrics, music, and poetry used by permission of shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP

Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen CyberTemple-002

UU Church of Annapolis Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2020 20:06

Podcast 002 of the Zen Buddhist Podcast of Shaolin Zen Cybertemplehosted by Buddha Zhen of the shaolinZEN.org Cybertemple. Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang, founder of the shaolinZEN.org CyberTemple reads about himself by clicking the "OUR FOUNDER" link in the upper menu from the Shaolin Zen homepage. After a tour of the shaolin ZEN.org website, Buddha Zhen will lead the weekly podcast through the BUDDHISM BASICS written by Buddha Zhen to educate his children and students in Zen Buddhism. Buddha Zhen was born Richard Del Connor on February 4, 1954 in San Diego, California. Straight-A student in elementary school, and Patrol Boy. Graduated UCLA Motion Picture Program in 1987 after graduating Tai Mantis Federation Kung Fu school in 1984. Buddha Zhen founded Shaolin Chi Mantis in 1992 and was given his Chinese name, Zhen Shen-Lang "Spirit Wolf of Truth" in Utah. Buddha Zhen is also the blues-rock musician of American Zen performing clubs on guitar, bass, flute, or singing lead vocals. In 1996 Buddha Zhen founded Tai Chi Youth nonprofit 501(c)(3) education organization for troubled youth with grants from the NEA National Endowment for the Arts. Buddha Zhen teaches in YMCAs and parks until 2008 when he launches the Buddha Kung Fu schools without the Northern Praying Mantis of Shaolin Chi Mantis to make it, "Doable for Americans. Podcast Host: Buddha Zhen Dharma Online: Shaolin Zen FEATURED DHARMA: "Our Founder" Buddha Zhen reads from the "OUR FOUNDER" page and discusses the formation of Shaolin Zen. Author: Buddha Zhen Published by Shaolin Communications Used by permission of Shaolin Zen Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com INTRO MUSIC: "5th South" Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen Produced, Mixed, and Edited by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP From American Zen's first CD, LEVEL 2 = Christ Killer . (Flute instrumental song with some cool cowboy background vocals in a few places.) BACKGROUND MUSIC SCORE: "Great Salt Lake" Composer: The Hippy Coyote Performed by American Zen Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Richard Del Connor Used by permission of shaolinRECORDS.com Under license from shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP From American Zen's 2nd CD, Level 2 = Christ Killer. (Sounds like a romantic Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.) DHARMA OF SHAOLIN ZEN: Today's Dharma Webpage 2: "Our Founder" Topic: Richard Del Connor is Zhen Shen-Lang Author: Buddha Zhen Published by Shaolin Communications Buddha Kung Fu WEBSITE: BuddhaKungFu.com Podcast BLOG and ARCHIVES: zenbuddhistpodcast.NET Podcast RSS FEED: zenbuddhistpodcast.net/rss Podcast LISTS: ZENbuddhistPODCAST.com Produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. Copyright 2007 shaolinMUSIC.com All rights reserved. Lyrics, music, and poetry used by permission of shaolinMUSIC.com ASCAP

Inner Science + Deep Self Design - Sunni Brown

CuriosiFy

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2020 71:19

Perhaps we are all on a shared journey of coming to more fully know ourselves and function from a place of truth. If that's true, then knowing the name and work of a brilliant Deep Self Designer ain't a bad thing. Sunni Brown is a best selling author, a creator, a speaker, a long time student of American Zen, a lover of Internal Family Systems, and an expert in visual thinking. Her TED Talk has received more than 1.5 million views. Sunni is also super funny and generally just fascinating to listen to. In this episode, Sunni tells us about the process of internal exploration and the roles of readiness, fear and pain in personal evolution.

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Is Enlightenment Compatible With Sex Scandals?

Slate Star Codex Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2019 7:03

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/10/16/is-enlightenment-compatible-with-sex-scandals/ Last year I reviewed The Mind Illuminated, a meditation guide by Buddhist teacher Upasaka Culadasa. Last month, Culudasa’s Buddhist community accused him of cheating on his wife with prostitutes for many years. Culadasa doesn’t seem to agree with the exact details of the accusations, but he also doesn’t seem to deny that there was something in that general category of thing. What can this teach us about enlightenment? Culadasa has been meditating and studying Buddhism for over forty years and trained under some of the greatest teachers of his generation. I don’t know if he’s claimed to “be enlightened” in so many words, but he’s written books that describe how to reach enlightenment and that assert you can do it in a few years if you follow his advice, which sounds a lot like claiming enlightenment by implication. Other self-proclaimed enlightened Buddhist teachers seem to respect him and treat him as being at around their level. And if Culudasa wasn’t enlightened, there’s a long list of other Buddhist masters with similar misdeeds. The Atlantic points out that three of the four great founders of American Zen “caused major public sex scandals”; the fourth, Shunryu Suzuki, was spotless, but his successor Richard Baker caused a major public sex scandal. The two most famous US teachers of Tibetan Buddhism, Chongyam Trungpa and Sogyal Rinpoche, both caused major public sex scandals. Trungpa’s immediate successor Ösel Tendzin caused a particularly horrifying major public sex scandal, and the current head of Shambhala Buddhism, Sakyong Rinpoche, also caused a major public sex scandal. These teachers were among the most accomplished of our time. Many were officially certified as enlightened by

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Bearing Witness to Life on the Streets w/ Bob Ertman, Lay Worship Associate & Zen teacher

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2019 29:57

American Zen teacher Bernie Glassman developed Street Retreats to push his students to give up their fixed ideas and pay attention to life around them. We go out without money, sleep on sidewalks, and beg. Back in 1991 when Bernie first started his street retreats, folks would ask him: How much money do you bring to the people on the street? And he would say: “No money.” Clothes? Blankets? Extra shoes? And he would say: “None of these. We bring ourselves.”

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003-CoyoteRadioTV: Building The Entertainment TV Radio Station

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2019 20:46

The Coyote Radio TV Show is hosted by The Hippy Coyote of American Zen. In this podcast Coyote shares his poem “Godfather of Poetry,” and “Hideaway Bar & Grille” about jamming with blues and jazz musicians. Richard Del Connor explains that there are two types of musicians: workers who play music, and musicians who make music. Anyone who plays everything is a worker musician. Anyone who is constantly writing books, music, and poetry is a music artist. The Goo people have a PSA: Public Service Announcement: talking about some object landing in Wyoming of concern to them. The end song, Peace Of Mind #1, was the first song Coyote wrote when he moved to Utah with his one-year-old daughter.

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003-History Of American Zen: LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind

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Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2019 14:20

The happy hippie The Hippy Coyote of American Zen begins the spiritual journey. The Professor begins a website tour of the American Zen website at www.americanzen.org. Richard Del Connor gives a brief introduction to recording with microphones in the 1990s in Utah. The end of song is an instrumental from the American Zen album, Christ Killer. 5th South was written by The Hippy Coyote.

003-Shaolin Records Podcast: Richard Del Connor 1966-72

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2019 32:12

The Shaolin Records Podcast contains more stories of founder Richard Del CONNOR‘s teenage years in St. John’s, Newfoundland where he played a Fender Jazz bass for Lukey’s Boat (classical rock), and Dogmeat (blues rock) in which Richard began we performing his original songs. The story becomes very emotional as he remembers the fear and violence of an actual high school riot in some town probably close to the Jimmy Kimmel sister-city of Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada. Today’s basement tape is “No Hope in Surrender.” The end song is “Peace Of Mind #1” from the LEVEL 2 = Christ Killer album by American Zen.

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003-Buddha Z Explains: 4 Noble Truths - The Meaning Of Life - Does Death Define Our Life?

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Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2019 13:44

This episode is mostly about the meaning of life. Buddha Z reads his poem, “Meaning of Life,” about a married couple whose hobby is jumping off mountaintops dressed like flying squirrels. Based on a true story, Buddha Z’s poem elaborates on the death of the husband, and her subsequent marriage to another jumper. So Buddha Z asks some serious questions about how people should determine what their meaning of life is. The featured song in this podcast is, “A Long Way Home,” from the American Zen album LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind, produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records.

187. Zen body - Corey Hess

The Embodiment Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2019 53:51

Zen practitioner and body worker Corey joins me to talk how bodies rebel, Gary Snyder, his time in the monastery, how Zen teachers move, meditation embodied, structural integration, structured vs unstructured traditions, Butoh, Noguchi Taiso, Zhan Zhuang, the many “flavours” of meditation, new online possibilities, “life artists”, life transfer and “kufu”, rebelliousness in training and the “wholesale experience of truth”, Japanese vs American Zen, and a lovely closing message. An amiable jaunt. http://coreyhessbodytherapy.com https://zenembodiment.com

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002-Shaolin Records Podcast: Richard Del Connor with Frank Zappa, “In The Darkness” by American Zen

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Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2019 33:54

Richard Del CONNOR talks some more about his teenage years in Newfoundland and his band Lukey’s Boat. The song, “In The Darkness” by American Zen, is explained. Today’s basement tape is a song from the early 80s “No Hope In Surrender.” This acoustic guitar plus vocal song has never been performed until now. Richard sings along in his new baritone voice. Using his baritone voice Richard Del Connor is considering performing under the name, RICH CONNOR.

002-History Of American Zen: LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind

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Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2019 31:55

Eugene VP of Marketing is working on improving his podcast hosting. Eugene elaborates more on The Hippie Coyote learning guitar from Bob Coates. The book by Coyote, Utah - Phase 1, may be a source for more material in this podcast. The book Utah - Phase 1 was written during the recording and making of the LEVEL 1 and LEVEL 2 albums in Utah. Richard Del CONNOR joins the podcast to talk about 4-track analog recording using the Tascam 4-track recorder. He also talks about degaussing and demagnetizing recording heads, which was the first part of every day in a recording studio. The Hippie Coyote joins the show to jam along to one of his songs “5th South” from the LEVEL 2 = Christ Killer album by American Zen. He’s not happy with his performance and vows to do better in the next podcast.

001-Shaolin Records Podcast: Richard Del Connor 1966-72

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Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2019 17:46

Richard Del Connor continues his “Classic Rock Origins” story. The hippie blues guitarist has been hired to play bass for the Lukey’s Boat classical rock band. The song “Peace Of Mind #2” by American Zen is the first song of the soundtrack because it is the first song of the Kung Fu Cowboy Rock & Roll Movie 1. Scott Karahadian has assembled the songs of the preproduction feature film Kung Fu Cowboy: Rock & Roll Movie 1. This Shaolin Records Podcast includes a song sample of “Peace of Mind #2” by American Zen from the record album, LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind, produced by Richard Del Connor for Shaolin Records. Richard then tells the story about a snowy night in Hollywood with an actress... Magically... The Hippy Coyote shows up to sing along to the cassette tape song being played through his iPod.

002-Buddha Z Explains: 4 Noble Truths - “Origin Of Suffering - Part 2”

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Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2019 15:58

Buddha Z starts the show with his poem, “Origin of Suffering-Part 2. His poem includes the lesson that people don’t care for seniors and superstition isn’t part of Buddhism. As Buddha Z explains the Four Noble Truths #1: he also says you cannot blame God for what happens; nor can you give God credit for whatever happens. So in order to take responsibility for what’s happening in your life and what’s going to happen in the future you need to remove all of the supernatural obstacles that obviously are impossible to deal with. No superstitions, no Gods, and no karma. Now see if you can find the origin of your suffering. The podcast radio show ends with the song, “All Screwed Up by American Zen from their album, level 1 = Peace of Mind produced by Richard Del Connor.

001-History Of American Zen: LEVEL 1 = Peace Of Mind

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Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2019 28:04

Eugene is the VP of marketing at Shaolin Records who is learning how to be a broadcaster for the podcast. The Hippy Coyote tells about his guitar lessons from his band mate of The Rich, Vincent Lauria. Mostly he wanted to talk about Bob Coates and his Super Beatle amplifier. This episode contains some flubs as Eugene stumbles through some product ads of Shaolin Records. The music video “Peace Of Mind #2” is featured. A link to the Spotify song, “Black Of Night” from American Zen’s first album, LEVEL 1= Peace Of Mind, is included. www.AmericanZen.org is discussed.

001-Buddha Z Explains: 4 Noble Truths: Truth #1 is Source of Pain