Podcasts about Bodhisattva

Maitrisiddhi, in her usual lively, inspiring and practical way, poses the questions: How we can recognise the insidious voice of Mara, embodiment of everything that holds us back from practising the Dharma? How do we relate to inner voices which undermine our confidence and best efforts? Can we, like Lochana, touch the earth with clarity and confidence in our path? From the talk Lochana and Mara: Clarity and Doubt, given at Taraloka on the May 2017 Work Retreat. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting! Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud

In dieser Episode geht es um Dich und Deine Einzigartigkeit. Du hörst Daily Reminder von Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim, darüber was Du tun kannst, um Deine Einzigartigkeit zu erkennen und die Kostbarkeit des Lebens zu feiern.Thank You very much Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim,Hapchang,Deine Gak Duk

This talk, dedicated to the Cedar Tree outside Adhisthana, is a tribute to the Earth. Drawing out connections of Buddhism with Nature, Maitridevi explores the question about how Buddhism flourishes and thrives in a new culture. This is the first of two talks given on the Women's Area Order Weekend - A Love Song to the Earth - held at Adhisthana, March 2022. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting!Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud

In dieser Episode erfährst Du durch Daily Reminder von Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim etwas über Disciples.Disciples sind ganz enge Schüler Buddhas und haben sich ganz Ihrer wertvollen Dharma-Arbeit verschrieben.Disciples sind Söhne und Töchter Buddhas, die die Lehre Buddhas übermitteln und den Dharma auf der ganzen Welt verbreiten.Thank You very much Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim,Hapchang,Deine Gak Duk

2022 - 05 - 01 Dharma Talk - Laurie Winnette - Bodhisattva Vow by Appamada

In dieser Episode geht es um den Geburtstag von Sok Ga Mo Ni Buddha, Buddhas Birthday. Du hörst Daily Reminder von Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim über dieses schöne Ereignis.Herzlichen Glückwunsch für Dich!!! Sok Ga Mo Ni Buddhas Geburtstag ist der Geburtstag von allen auf dieser Welt."Sok Ga Mo Ni Buddha wurde in diese Welt geboren, um uns zu helfen, selbst Buddha zu werden."(Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim)Thank You very much,Hapchang,Deine Gak Duk

Im Mumonkan, Fall Nr. 9, Daitsu Chisho Buddha, wird das Wesen zum Thema, das anteilnehmend das ganze Universum zu durchdringen vermag. Auch Meister Rinzai weist darauf hin, dass wir alle in dem Sinne vereint sind, dass wir in diesem Wesen letztendlich verbunden sind. Und, wie auch Umon betont, geht es für uns darum, unser eigenes Licht zu entwickeln und "ins Universum zurückleuchten" zu lassen. Die Praxis des Bodhisattva besteht dann darin, das Samsarische mit dem Nirvana zu verbinden, indem die vier Aspekte des Mitgefühls praktiziert werden. Und wenn wir selber einmal keine Antworten finden, dann können wir uns mit der allesdurchdringenden Weisheit und mit dem Vertrauen von Daitsu Chisho Buddha verbinden und das tun, was angesagt ist. Und indem wir Mitgefühl üben und im Inneren wie im Äußeren Frieden kultivieren, können wir sagen: Wem ich begegne, der ist ein Segen für mich; und ich bin ein Segen für ihn. Um für junge Erwachsene den Aufenthalt im ToGenJi zu ermöglichen, bitten wir um eine Spende. Sie finden die Kontodaten/Paypal auf unserer Website http://choka-sangha.de/kontakt/spenden/ Herzlichen Dank

05/04/2022, Ryushin Paul Haller, dharma talk at City Center. A personal and intimate reflection from Sr. Dharma Teacher Paul Haller, upon his return from caretaking for his daughter, on sickness, old age and death and the tenderness and heartbreak of being human when facing the mortality of a loved one.

Dharma trumps karmabut it is not an escape —Consequences come* * *Last Sunday we performed an initiation ceremony called “Jukai Tokudo” in Japanese. We had an international visitor and a couple of other candidates who were ready and willing to receive the initial precepts of Zen, declaring themselves Soto Zen Buddhists. We will do so again in November of this year, which is our Founder's Month, honoring Matsuoka Roshi, our founding teacher.It occurred to me that in this context, with all the consternation and pontificating over Ukraine — now segueing into the dismal fatigue syndrome of becoming yesterday's news — we might revisit the fundamental question I raised for our Sunday dharma dialog a few weeks ago: “What the hell is wrong with Vladimir Putin?”You may have participated in this discussion, so apologies in advance for any redundancy, but these points bear repeating. It is an inexcusable, but seemingly inevitable scenario, that we become fatigued at the repetition of atrocities, as if the victims being killed and maimed today are somehow not as worthy of our attention, the horror not as shocking, as we registered at the beginning of the aggression. As someone once said at the screaming of lobsters being boiled alive, “They are used to it.” But in light of the aspirational aspect of the Precepts, even this tragedy takes on deeper meaning.In approaching this particular train wreck as a subject for dharma, I was careful to couch my terms, explaining that “what” is the fundamental question in Zen, rather than “why” or “how,” with “who, when and where” being pretty self-evident. “Who” the hell does Vladimir Putin think he is? would suffer from focusing on the wrong question, personalizing the issue to too great a degree. “Hell” is also carefully chosen in that, according to classic Zen philosophy, we human beings make our world into hell or heaven, and reap the karmic consequences thereof. “Wrong” is also understood to reside in the realm of “right” views and thoughts, as well as speech, action and livelihood, the social side of the Eightfold Path, with right mindfulness, effort, and meditation rounding out the inner, personal dimension of our all-too-human existence. In Zen, all opinions are not equal, and all teachings do not lead to nirvana.I thought it might be worthwhile to consider Vladimir Putin's behavior, and the attitudes that it seems to betray, in the light of the Buddhist Precepts, which many of us take up as guidelines or reminders, touchpoints to return to from time to time, as we witness our own actions as well as those of others. There is a hoary meme in Buddhism that government leaders — one of the Four Benefactors we appreciate in the Meal Chant — are in their position of power by virtue of merit accumulated in past lives. So the only set of criteria we can hold them to are those of Buddhist morality or ethics, or Shila. Which begs the question, does this mean that the millions of dollars spent campaigning are basically a waste of time and treasure? And as good Buddhists, aren't we supposed to avoid discussing the faults of others?How does the behavior of Putin, as well as President Trump and others in leadership roles, hold up in comparison to the admonitions of the Buddhist Precepts? First, we must remember that the Precepts of Zen have a history of their own. In India and China they may have been expressed and understood differently. Those we receive in modern times convey the current rendering of their meaning, sometimes translated as “morality,” but “ethical” conduct is probably more appropriate. It should also be mentioned in passing that Vladimir Putin is purportedly a Christian, so whatever precepts, lower case “p” he may be following would not necessarily resemble those of Buddhism or Zen.The quotes regarding precepts in Zen are taken from an essay by Shohaku Okumura Roshi, one of my lineage teachers, in the Soto Zen Journal, “Dharma Eye.” This is a recommended online source of information of a scholarly nature for those of us practicing Zen in the West, its masthead shown below.One of the first factoids that Okumura roshi points out is that there are variations in the precepts given to Zen practitioners over time, depending on factors such as lineage and the country. The scholars tell us that Master Dogen could not have received the sixteen precepts he handed down to us in our initiation and formal ceremonies today, as they were not done that way in China. Whether he modified those he received from his Tendai masters or cobbled together his best interpretation of the precepts he felt inclined to transmit as Bodhisattva principles, I leave to further scholarship. Quoting the journal:Dogen Zenji received only the Bodhisattva PreceptsDogen Zenji (1200-1253), the founder of Japanese Soto School, originally became a monk in the Japanese Tendai tradition in 1213. Therefore, he received only the Mahayana precepts. According to his biography, Dogen had some difficulty receiving permission to practice in a Chinese monastery. This was because he had not received the Vinaya precepts which was a requirement to be recognized as a Buddhist monk in China. However, he did not receive the Vinaya precepts. To his disciples and lay students, Dogen Zenji only gave the 16 precepts that were called Busso-shoden-bosatsu-kai (the Bodhisattva precepts that have been correctly transmitted by Buddhas and Ancestors). The nature of the Bodhisattva precepts we receive in Soto Zen tradition is quite different from that of the Vinaya precepts.Okumura Roshi quotes one of those seemingly contradictory statements that appear so often in Zen literature, this one from the Brahma Net Sutra:And in the introduction of the ten major precepts, the Sutra says, “At that time, when Shakyamuni Buddha sat beneath the bodhi tree and attained unsurpassable awakening, he first set forth the Bodhisattva pratimoksha.”Okumura goes on to make the literal case about this claim:Pratimoksha is the text of the precepts, and here, it refers to the Bonmo-kyo. This means that the Bodhisattva precepts were established as soon as the Buddha attained unsurpassable awakening and even before he began to teach. Historically, this is not true. The Buddha did not establish any precepts or regulations before people made mistakes. In the Vinaya text, the stories explaining why the different precepts were made were recorded. When we read these stories, we can see that the Buddhist Sangha was a gathering of actual human beings. People made all sorts of mistakes even though they aspired to study and practice the Dharma under the Buddha's guidance.So the Vinaya, the rules and regulations governing behavior within the original Order, obviously evolved over time, like any other organizational protocols. The main rule governing the harmonious community, or sangha, is, of course harmony. Most communities we belong to are anything but harmonious, and even Zen groups are known to become rancorous from time to time. Human nature raises its head.But the bit about Buddha establishing the pratimoksha in zazen that night I think we have to take on faith. What transpired within his experience in meditation was, and is, the essential meaning of the precepts. As Master Dogen is said to have asked, what precept is not fulfilled in zazen?If we take the precepts as primeval and natural, built-in to existence and to be discovered, not made up, we can accept that translating them into language and written form is a mere approximation of their true meaning. This is why they seem impossible at first glance. They live in the realm of being, not doing.Ceremonially, Zen precepts include and are preceded by a Repentance Verse and taking Refuge in the Three Treasures of Buddhism:RepentanceAt a precepts ceremony in the Soto Zen tradition, first we make repentance by reciting the following verse, “All the twisted karma ever created by me, since of old, / through beginningless greed, anger and ignorance, / born of my body, speech and thought. / I now make complete repentance of it all.”There is another repentance verse taken from Samanthabhadra-sutra that says, “The ocean of all karmic hindrances arises solely from delusive thoughts. / If you wish to make repentance, sit in an upright posture and be mindful of the true nature of reality. / All faults and evil deeds are like frost and dew. / The sun of wisdom enables them to melt away. This verse clearly shows that our precepts are based on awakening to reality and wisdom of such reality.Okumura is now leading us gently by the hand to the realization of the concrete reality of the Precepts.The Three RefugesWe then take refuge in the Three Treasures: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The Buddha is the one who awakened to reality. The Dharma is reality itself, the way things truly are. The Sangha are the people who aspire to study and living according to the teaching of the reality of all beings.We also take refuge, or return to, our original nature, which is called Buddha, or awakened. What we awaken to is the Dharma, which is ever-present, but does not depend upon our knowing it. The Sangha members are primarily vested in awakening to this same truth, or it is not truly a Zen community.The Threefold Pure PreceptsNext, we receive the threefold pure precepts: (1) the precept of embracing moral codes, (2) the precept of embracing good deeds, (3) the precept of embracing all living beings. These three points are the direction we walk on the Bodhisattva path.These are often translated as: Do no harm; Do only good; and Do good for others. And yet the truth of the Precepts is that they are beyond doing in the conventional sense. If we find what we are looking for in our practice, the Precepts become our natural intention. But we make mistakes. And resolve to try harder. Eventually our behavior may become consonant with the Precepts, by virtue of practicing zazen.The Ten Major PreceptsThe ten major precepts are: (1) do not kill, (2) do not steal, (3) do not engage in improper sexual conduct, (4) do not lie, (5) do not deal in intoxicants, (6) do not criticize others, (7) do not praise self and slander others, (8) do not be stingy with the dharma or property ,(9) do not give way to anger, (10) do not disparage the Three Treasures.If this sounds like a laundry list of do's and don't's or the 10 Commandments phrased a little differently, there is a kernel of truth in that. But we take up the way of following Zen voluntarily, not under threat of punishment by a vengeful God. They are not merely literal; in that interpretation some are impossible. We come to understand what they mean through the tried and true process of trial and error.Zen and the Precepts are OneThe Bodhisattva precepts we receive in the Soto Zen tradition are also called, Zen-kai (Zen precepts). This means that our zazen and the precepts are one. In our zazen practice, we put our entire being on the ground of true reality of all beings instead of the picture of the world that is a creation of our minds. By striving to keep the precepts in our daily lives, we strive to live being guided by our zazen.So what does all this have to do with design thinking? Design thinking starts with problem definition and proceeds to problem-solving through design-build actions. Zen starts with Buddha's definition of the central problem of existence as sentient beings and offers a method for arriving at solutions, zazen. In design, we speak of design intent, and strive to maintain its integrity through all the trials and tribulations that any existent object, program or system is subject to, including the test of time. Each of these solutions tends to have a weak link in the chain, which is where it eventually breaks down. The design approach is to take the failure as instructive, and redesign. The Zen approach is “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” Considering the Precepts in the light of design intent, we can see that they are meant to foster harmony in the social dimension, in transactions with other individuals and groups. They shine a bright light on the futility of having “designs” on conquering another country, especially in the context of impermanence and imperfection. Whatever gains are realized are only good for whatever is left of one lifetime. Which brings us back to our starting place. Is Putin evil? Or just ignorant?Zen holds that the only thing that finally accompanies you to the grave, and affects life after death, is the deeds committed in this life. Whatever crusade you mount to defend your actions may be based on a category error. To die in the service of a cause greater than yourself may indeed be considered a noble deed. To kill others in the service of a cause you consider greater than or glorifying to yourself, while cowering behind your local cronies, is a crime, in karmic as well as human terms.Putin may be surprised to discover that his reward in heaven is not what he anticipates. He may be surprised to find that that kind of heaven lasts about fifteen minutes, as an old Master once said. He may be disappointed to find that life moves on without him, as he conceives himself. And that any actual afterlife, including his potential rebirth, is not one of his choosing. He may be surprised that karma is not a respecter of persons, however powerful they may regard themselves. And that the Soviet Union, as well as Mother Russia, do not really exist, except in the fevered imagination of a limited mind.* * *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

In dieser Episode geht es um das Kommen von Sok Ga Mo Ni Buddha in unsere Welt.Es ist "wie das Entzünden eines hellen Lichtes in dieser dunklen Welt" (Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim).Du hörst dazu Daily Reminder von Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim. Viel Freude,,Hapchang,Deine Gak Duk

05/01/2022, Furyu Nancy Schroeder, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Finding peace in this suffering world for the sake of all beings.

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma Lineage, offers a series of teachings on “The Bodhisattva's Garland of Jewels" by Atisha (Atiśa Dīpaṃkara), a text that offers Atisha's heart advice to his students on how to practice the Dharma until enlightenment. Visit our website to find the text and additional information about the biography of Atiśa Dīpaṃkara. Our website also has information about Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, his teachings and practice texts. This episode can be seen on Youtube.

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma Lineage, offers a series of teachings on “The Bodhisattva's Garland of Jewels" by Atisha (Atiśa Dīpaṃkara), a text that offers Atisha's heart advice to his students on how to practice the Dharma until enlightenment. Visit our website to find the text and additional information about the biography of Atiśa Dīpaṃkara. Our website also has information about Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, his teachings and practice texts. This episode can be seen on Youtube.

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma Lineage, offers a series of teachings on “The Bodhisattva's Garland of Jewels" by Atisha (Atiśa Dīpaṃkara), a text that offers Atisha's heart advice to his students on how to practice the Dharma until enlightenment. Visit our website to find the text and additional information about the biography of Atiśa Dīpaṃkara. Our website also has information about Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, his teachings and practice texts. This episode can be seen on Youtube.

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma Lineage, offers a series of teachings on “The Bodhisattva's Garland of Jewels" by Atisha (Atiśa Dīpaṃkara), a text that offers Atisha's heart advice to his students on how to practice the Dharma until enlightenment. Visit our website to find the text and additional information about the biography of Atiśa Dīpaṃkara. Our website also has information about Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, his teachings and practice texts. This episode can be seen on Youtube.

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma Lineage, offers a series of teachings on “The Bodhisattva's Garland of Jewels" by Atisha (Atiśa Dīpaṃkara), a text that offers Atisha's heart advice to his students on how to practice the Dharma until enlightenment. Visit our website to find the text and additional information about the biography of Atiśa Dīpaṃkara. Our website also has information about Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, his teachings and practice texts. This episode can be seen on Youtube.

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma Lineage, offers a series of teachings on “The Bodhisattva's Garland of Jewels" by Atisha (Atiśa Dīpaṃkara), a text that offers Atisha's heart advice to his students on how to practice the Dharma until enlightenment. Visit our website to find the text and additional information about the biography of Atiśa Dīpaṃkara. Our website also has information about Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, his teachings and practice texts. This episode can be seen on Youtube.

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma Lineage, offers a series of teachings on “The Bodhisattva's Garland of Jewels" by Atisha (Atiśa Dīpaṃkara), a text that offers Atisha's heart advice to his students on how to practice the Dharma until enlightenment. Visit our website to find the text and additional information about the biography of Atiśa Dīpaṃkara. Our website also has information about Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, his teachings and practice texts. This episode can be seen on Youtube.

Drawing on 40 years of experience as an Order Member, Surata confidently and uncompromisingly expounds his understanding of 'The Deepest Revolution', referring to both the Buddhist tradition and his own personal experience. Given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2018. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting!Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud

"Art is the organisation of sensuous impressions that express the artist's sensibility and communicate to his audience a sense of values that can transform their lives." Using his own definition, Sangharakshita investigates the relevance of art and the artist to higher evolution. Excerpted from the talk entitled Art and the Spiritual Life given in 1969 as part of the series The Higher Evolution. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting! Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud  

Who is this Zen for?Yes, you can practice alone —sangha will survive.* * *No, this is not the beginning of a bad joke about a priest and a householder entering a bar. Though that certainly has happened a lot in history. No, this is about the anomalies and apparent contradictions that arise in the propagation of Zen in a hyper-secular society such as the good old USA, where a lay Zen priest, the very idea, lands with a thud, like the proverbial lead balloon. Another can of worms to open.This issue has raised its head with furrowed brow again and again in the history of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center (ASZC) and its umbrella organization, the Silent Thunder Order (STO), and is sure to keep coming back like a bad penny, to coin another cliché, no pun intended. My role as guiding teacher and Zen priest has been the occasion, or the excuse, for mass defections of disgruntled senior students taking entire boards of directors with them, once in 2000 and again in 2010. So we are overdue for a repeat performance. And this is not an unknown issue at other Zen centers, if only in America.Some feel that nowadays there is no more reason to have to have a physical Zen center, what with the advent of online meetings via Skype or Zoom, or whatever the yet-to-be-named inevitable successor applications arise as antithesis in the internet realm. Why pay for upkeep and maintenance of brick and mortar, not to mention supporting a priest? The entire world of retail, along with much of office space, is going virtual, after all. I must admit to a bias here, which you may interpret as selfish on my part, in that I have some skin in the game. A significant portion of my income — thankfully not a majority — is in the form of what is called, in IRS lexicon, a “minister's household expense,” provided by donors to ASZC. I began receiving compensation for the first time in 2007, after formal transmission as a priest.Let me address the personal dimension for a moment, as this is one of many examples of the friction that arises between the social and personal realms that I have modeled as nesting spheres. The choice of the word “nesting” lends a comfortable coloration to the association, like little birdies nesting in the tree, under the care of mommy and daddy birds, who bring them juicy worms. This analogy is not as off-base, or as quaint, as it may sound. Sangha, the Zen community, is our “dharma family” after all.One reason that this issue comes bubbling up again to the surface of the pond that is the modern sangha, is partially that boards of directors are as impermanent as anything else. Corporate memory is ephemeral. Terms expire in a few years, BOD officers playing musical chairs in a game that most are neither trained to handle with equanimity, nor have the time and patience to become educated in governance of a 501c3.All boards are widely acknowledged to be somewhat dysfunctional, especially for not-for-profit corporations. Member donors, who are usually paid nothing for their services, volunteer to help with administration of the very program that attracted them, i.e. Zen practice and meditation. But they often find that this duty, however well-intentioned on their part, is not what they came to Zen for. In fact, the sausage-making, as it is popularly caricatured, is precisely what they came to escape in daily life, or at least learn how to cope with on a more balanced basis. Thus, time on the board of directors, or its more demanding committee functions, is the number one burnout venue for earnest and erstwhile Zen practitioners. It is the third rail of Zen. At least in my experience of a half century.One adverse element is meetings in and of themselves. The old Chinese adage: “Meetings are the bane of progress,” rings true. The accompanying stress is a recurrent surprise for participants. They cannot resolve the seeming contradiction that Zen should require such a level of humdrum. Conflicts arise as to apparently competing needs. Primarily the need to sustain a supportive communal practice, while minimizing turning Zen into just one more tiresome chore that adds to our personal stress rather than reducing it. This I call the “substitution effect,” one of many. Those doing yeomen service on the board, or in maintaining the facility, find that they are not meditating so much anymore, or as well as they used to. They begin to interpret their practice in terms of time they spend on intractable issues or trivial BOD matters, rather than on the cushion.A quote from Master Dogen's Jijuyu Zammai [Self-fulfilling Samadhi] may surprise with its relevance to what seems a modern malady:Because earth, grass, trees, walls, tiles and pebbles all engage in buddha activity, those who receive the benefit of wind and water caused by them are inconceivably helped by the buddha's guidance, splendid and unthinkable, and awaken intimately to themselves.This is the true point of the practice, more likely to occur in the zendo than the BOD room.A bit later:Grass trees and lands, which are embraced by this teaching, together radiate a great light, and endlessly expound the inconceivable, profound dharma.Here is the fruit of the practice, found in the natural sphere, leapfrogging the social trappings. But Dogen is reminding us that all aspects of life, including even walls and tiles, are expounding the dharma impeccably at all times, for those who have the eyes to hear and the ears to see.Further:Grass trees and walls bring forth the teaching for all beings, common people as well as sages, and they in accord extend this dharma for the sake of grass trees and walls.Not only is nature constantly preaching full-throated dharma, but the very walls of zendos and buildings that Zen teachers and communities raise, providing places dedicated to Zen practice, constitute direct manifestations of the “realm of self-awakening and awakening others,” another Dogen construction.Achok Rinpoche, one of HH the Dalai Lama's inner circle, visited ASZC as a guest speaker in 2004, at the invitation of one of my senior students, who is a major supporter of Dharamshala, their home in exile in India. This was shortly after we had moved into the whole building, tearing down the concrete block wall that divided what is now our commodious meditation hall, and renovated the zendo to reflect a Japanese-like simplicity of interior design. The venerable monk paused briefly after mentioning that “Dana is providing the place conducive to meditation…” As his twinkling eyes wandered over the prevailing white walls and natural wood trim of the zendo, he complimented us for our very nice environment. But, he said, in Tibet, everything is white “…so we like a little more color!” It got a big laugh, but also brought home the same message that Master Dogen is trying to convey.We do not own the building and grounds ASZC occupies. When the opportunity to purchase arose, we were recovering from the second defection of the BOD. So the current officers did not have the bandwidth to take on the responsibility. Because we do not own the property, we frequently hear complaints about the landlord. The 100-year-old bungalows that we call our Zen home, joined by the concrete block cube we call our zendo, would probably qualify as a tear-down, in real estate terms. It would definitely not be a wise investment to put much capital into the existing facility. Another Chinese saying applies: “When the opportunity is there, the capital is missing. When the capital is there, the opportunity is missing. When both capital and opportunity are there, then I am missing. What a world!”This blame game harks back to similar complaints in an ancient story. A monk groused to the head master that the rain was dripping in on him in zazen. The master's response? “Move down.” Why waste a great deal of time and effort in propping up a building, whose destiny is to eventually fall down? Even Eiheiji is ultimately impermanent. Rather than focus on your Zen practice, and perhaps lose your opportunity to wake up in this lifetime. Those who complain about the rent, unsatisfactory upkeep on the part of the landlord, are missing the point, in this sense. They are also misinformed.Our landlady has generously cut the rent in half repeatedly during hard times over the twenty-plus years that we have practiced in this location. She replaced the peaked gable roofs of the two bungalows, and has patched and finally re-engineered the flat roof of the zendo, after the heavy rains of last year. (Incidentally, all flat roofs tend to leak. Frank Lloyd Wright's famous flat-roofed buildings all leak. You can't fool Mother Nature for long. Water will find a way.) Our landlady's support of our little enterprise amounts to tens of thousands of dollars in investments and concessions. She and her husband, who had me at the revelation that he is a jazz guitarist, are two of our biggest supporters, dollar for dollar. Those who would complain should remember that had we purchased the place, those big projects, with their big numbers, would have fallen in our laps, and decimated ASZC's budget, instead of theirs. Of course, we have been good tenants as well. We have probably purchased the place a few times over.So at the risk of compulsively repeating myself, let me remind all that the outer pomp and circumstance of Zen — the robes, the walls of the zendos, et cetera — are not for us. They are for them. We are losing sight of the societal mission of Zen. As Master Dogen speculated on returning from China, bringing Ch'an to Japan may amount to a true mission. Them includes Dogen, Bodhidharma, and everyone in between, back to the founder Shakyamuni. We are indebted to them. They opened the gate wide. It is not for us to close it. Wearing ridiculous robes pays due obeisance to the lineage.“Them” also includes a local minister of a neighborhood church with a vital congregation, a long-time member and zazen practitioner who invited me to speak and initiate a program of meditation at the church. When I let him know that we are gingerly moving back toward in-person or hybrid practice program, he texted: “Sensei — thanks for the note about the zendo being open again. That's wonderful news!” and: “Would you like to meet for coffee sometime after this week?” So that is the reason we have a Zen center, in a nutshell. Our dharma-opening verse chanted before a talk says it a bit differently:The unsurpassed, profound and wond'rous 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 truthIf we can manage to take off our blinders so that we can actually see and hear the true dharma, another Dogenism, we should not have much trouble accepting and maintaining it. First things first. We might usefully recall the Three Minds, Sanshin in Japanese: Magnanimous, Nurturing and Joyous. Sanshinji is the name of Okumura Roshi's temple, which by the way is the humble basement of his home. It is magnanimous to open your doors to others, nurturing to offer them a place to practice, and joyous to share the dharma. Of course, that last can be done rather efficiently online. But if you imagine that getting shed of the physical Zen center would be a move in the right direction, please imagine again. Setting aside that ASZC is also the training center for the affiliates of STO, for which we are caretakers. That vagabond world of homeless Zen is where we came from. Indulge a look in the rear-view mirror.Moving to Atlanta in 1970, I took a hiatus from public practice to reconstitute my personal and professional life. Four years later, I began offering meditation at the largest Unitarian church in town. Every week, I would haul large trash bags full of sitting cushions — the familiar Japanese zafu — into the building, and carry them home after. To make room for sitting, I would have to clear the clutter and shove the donated furniture out of the way to clear the walls, and put it all back before leaving. Later others helped. This went on for years.When we moved to a suburban home, the commute became unworkable. I made the mistake of offering zazen in our little bungalow. Not a happy balance of personal and social spheres, having the public showing up twice a week in your living room. In the intervening years before ASZC landed in Little Five Points, we sat in storefronts, loft studio space, and for a while, once again in the living room of our first purchased home, where we still live. All this wreaked a certain amount of havoc on normal life.Those who think, as some have suggested, that we can just rent a hall when and if we need it, and otherwise all sit at home, have not been there and done that. They were not around to witness the downsides of the itinerant, floating zendo. They are unaware of the hundreds who came before and made it possible to just walk in the door and join us on that fateful day they found their way to the center.It is not just for us that we practice. It is also for others. Arousing Bodhi Mind is inseparable from the Bodhisattva vow. Without a center, newcomers have no place to come to for face-to-face training. Remember your first time.Without walls, you can forget about hosting retreats, let alone practice periods of thirty or ninety days, formal practice for credentialing the next generation of practice leaders and priests. But I know where these folks are coming from, and fundamentally agree. I will continue practicing no matter what. I do not need the robes. I do not personally need the Zen center to practice Zen. But others do.To anyone finding themselves sliding down this particular slippery slope, why not just stay home? Stay away from the Zen center for another year or so, post-covid, and maybe they will discover why we bother. If engaging the administrative side — which I feel is the highest form of service to the sangha — is too stressful, simply stay off the board. Don't join a committee. Focus on zazen.Meanwhile, my undying gratitude for those who find it possible to make the commitment. To those who give unstintingly of their time and treasure to the cause of propagating genuine Zen meditation and buddha-dharma: “You are the real one” as Matsuoka Roshi would often say. Please do all you can to encourage yourself and others in Zen practice. It is the most a bodhisattva can do.* * *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

In dieser Episode geht es um Sok Ga Mo Ni Buddha in der Saha-Welt. Du hörst Daily Reminders von Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim darüber, warum der Buddha in unsere Welt gekommen ist und was sein großes Gelöbnis und Versprechen an uns ist, wie Sein Weisheitslicht Dir Frieden bringen kann.Thank You very much Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim,Viel Freude,Hapchang,Deine Gak Duk

In this first talk from the ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha' retreat, Nagasiddhi invites us to experience the dharma imaginatively: through art and heart.  From the talk entitled Rites of Passage given at Rivendell Retreat Centre during the April 2021 Home Retreat hosted by The Buddhist Centre Online. This magical week-long retreat explores the images, myths and symbols of the Buddha's journey to awakening using dharma talks, meditation, storytelling, puppetry and art. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting! Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud  

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday 04/24/2022 - Why are the Bodhisattva Vows so important in Buddhist Practice? Where do they come from and why are they these particular four--to save all sentient beings, to put an end to desires, to master the dharma, and to attain the Buddha Way? In this talk, Shugen Roshi explores the meaning of each vow and illustrates what they can teach us about our true nature.

04/23/2022, Keiryu Liên Shutt, dharma talk at City Center. An examination of the precepts as a container for self-study, as an awareness practice, and as an enactment of Buddha Nature.

Maitreyi explores why we have an Order and what's involved in becoming ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order. This is a talk given on a weekend retreat for women mitras at Tiratanaloka Retreat Centre, 2014. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting!Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud

Ratnaghosha explores the Buddha's teaching of Spiritual friendship being the whole of the spiritual life. The talk is wide ranging going into what spiritual friendship is and also how Buddhism sees the nature of reality. From the talk The Reality of Spiritual Friendship given at Nottingham Buddhist Centre, 2016. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting! Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud  

Jvalamalini evokes the meaning of kalyana mitrata, beautiful friendship, as one of the Six Distinctive Emphases of Triratna. From the talk entitled What Is Spiritual Friendship given at Bristol Buddhist Centre, 2015. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting! Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud  

04/17/2022, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Suzuki Roshi had an unusual perspective on the practice of the Bodhisattva's ethical precepts. He emphasized zazen mind over rule-following, and saw precepts not as a mental moral code but as encouragements to touch and act from our innate loving and connected heart.

04/16/2022, Ryuko Laura Burges, dharma talk at City Center. "Rather than taking on the enormity of the suffering world, Suzuki Roshi suggested that we choose something and give ourselves to it wholeheartedly."

When we Go for Refuge, we can only Go for Refuge to that which is lokuttara - 'beyond the world'. In the third talk in this series, Satyaraja speaks of the need for a total orientation of our being towards Enlightenment through setting up conditions (pratitya samutpada), and the development of the Five Spiritual Faculties. Talk given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2021. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting!Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud

Friday, April 8, 2022. Wake Up Retreat. Our retreat theme is Beginning Now and this is the Second Dharma Talk for the retreat. Thay Phap Luu offers the Dharma talk.  Store consciousness. Mindfulness. Interbeing. The last portion of the talk, we learn more about the Five Mindfulness Trainings with three lay practitioners sharing their experience. We have 115 young adults (18-35) in attendance for this 5-day retreat.

“Part of grief is that you can't predict it. It just happens and you have no control over it. And some of that aspect of grief is accepting that you don't have control; or maybe not accepting, actually resisting it entirely and rebelling against it, and being afraid that you don't have control over your loved ones disappearing and going. And maybe getting over it is accepting impermanence, accepting that ‘however you imagine it, it always turns out other than that.'” - Emily Eslami   In true Bodhisattva fashion, Emily shares a recent loss and takes the opportunity for a heartfelt look into Buddhist teachings on grief. Can a practice of non attachment offer any solace for the attachments we don't want to let go of? Are the enlightened masters of old too enlightened to offer anything more than the cold comfort of dispassion? Is there good in grief? Let's discuss.

In dieser Sonderfolge von Dancing Buddhas geht es um die schlimme politische Lage in Europa.Du hörst Daily Reminders von Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim dazu.In diesen Daily Reminders geht es darum, wie die Situation aus dem Blickwinkel des Sozialen Buddhismus gesehen werden kann, welch Karma gerade gemacht wird und dass auch der Natur Schaden zugefügt wird."Sok Ga Mo Ni Buddhas wichtigste Lehre ist, andere nicht zu verletzen, zu schädigen oder zu töten, und das ist das erste Gelöbnis, das Er uns gegeben hat. Daher sind Ursache und Wirkung in dieser Welt klar."(Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim, DR 10890)Thank You Very much Ji Kwang Dae Poep Sa Nim,Hapchang,WorldpeaceDeine Gak Duk

Padmasagara explores the profundity of the Buddha's statement that spiritual friendship is 'the whole of the spiritual life' or, in other words, the whole of the Going for Refuge.  From the talk The Mystery of Spiritual Friendship, part of the series Of the Mysteries of Spiritual Friendship and the Three Tantric Refuges given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2022. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting! Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud  

Today's motivation is to find happiness. Audio Source More about Dalai Lama: The Dalai Lamas are believed by Tibetan Buddhists to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are realized beings, inspired by the wish to attain complete enlightenment, who have vowed to be reborn in the world to help all living beings. Quote of the Day: "Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.” - Dalai Lama Leave a review Support via Patreon --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/motiv8/support

Aryajaya explores Sangharakshita's relationship to his teachers, who form the lineage for the Triratna Buddhist Order. A lovely exploration of the experience of relationship to the Bodhisattvas of Buddhist tradition via meditations passed from teacher to disciple, evoking a wide open sense of connection to the great beauty they represent. Excerpted from the talk Sangharakshita's First Connection with His Teachers and Receiving Practices given at the Triratna International Council meeting, 2019. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting! Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud  

This is a talk on creativity as a way of life, especially when that life is in flux and the ground of our being is shifting. Through her own poetry and reflections on writing and art, Srivati evokes an aesthetic path into the very heart of Reality. Talk given at Taraloka Retreat Centre, Great Gathering 2000. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting!Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud

Saddhaloka explores the key aspects of any practitioner's commitment, Going Forth and Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels, evoking how Sangharakshita engaged with these formative acts as foundations of his own practice in India at the end of the Second World War. Excerpted from the talk Going Forth And Going For Refuge given at the Triratna International Council meeting, 2019. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting! Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud  

A talk focusing on how the Wheel of Nourishment supports the turning of the Wheel of Dharma. 04/06/2022, Sozan Miglioli, dharma talk at City Center.

Bhante has said that his sadhana practices and the teachers who gave him the practices are 'inseparable'. Dayanandi tells some of the stories of how Bhante Sangharakshira received each of his sadhanas. Excerpted from the talk entitled Bhante, His Teachers and Sadhanas given on the Women's Private Preceptors' Retreat at Adhisthana, February 2019, as part of the series Talks from Women's Private Preceptors' Retreat, February 2019. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting! Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud  

Dharma talk given by Lama Matthew Palden Gocha, April 3, 2022. Music by Barefoot Bran Music.

(Gaia House) How does our concept of for whom we're practising shape our practice? Including our energy and enthusiasm, what we might do in the practice, and more…

(Gaia House) How does our concept of for whom we're practising shape our practice? Including our energy and enthusiasm, what we might do in the practice, and more…

Founded on the active principle behind an often empty ritual of 'Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels', this Movement has become a dynamic worldwide community of Buddhist practitioners. Just how did Sangharakshita, through the Triratna Community and Order, transform the recitation of the words 'I go for Refuge...' into a path of deeper meaning and purpose? Bodhidasa borrows symbols from Western Magickal traditions and Catholicism to explore the power, resonance and wisdom of the Three Jewels. First delivered on Triratna Day 2019 at Sydney Buddhist Centre. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting!Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud

To plunge ourselves into the crucial citation takes tremendous courage. Sangharakshita asks: Are we ready to face our own death, and the total transformation it symbolizes? From the talk The Symbolism of the Cremation Ground and the Celestial Maidens part of the series Creative Symbols of the Tantric Path to Enlightenment, 1971. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts Bite-sized inspiration three times every week. Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast:  On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,000 downloads and counting! Subscribe using these RSS feeds or search for Free Buddhist Audio or Dharmabytes in your favourite podcast service! Help us keep FBA Podcasts free for everyone: donate now! Follow Free Buddhist Audio: YouTube  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Soundcloud

Welcome to episode 25 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this episode, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino, are joined for a second time by special guest, eco-philosopher Joanna Macy.A scholar of Buddhism, systems theory, and deep ecology, Joanna Macy, PhD, is one of the most respected voices in the movements for peace, justice, and ecology. She interweaves her scholarship with learnings drawn from six decades of activism, has written twelve books, and teaches an empowerment approach known as the Work That Reconnects. Together, they talk about the passing and legacy of Thich Nhat Hanh, with a focus on interbeing and continuation. Additional topics include their own practices during uncertain times, and the application of Thay's teachings in daily life. Joanna reflects on the early days of peace activism, becoming aware of Thay in the 1960s, and meeting him for the first time in the early 1980s, during a special United Nations session on disarmament.She further delves into Thay's courage, imagination, and devotion to life and peace; religion and revolution; why framing the tackling of climate change as a ‘fight' may not be helpful; transcending individualism and achieving a wider sense of self; seeing our interconnection and inter-existence with all life on Earth; humility; the ‘legacy' of nuclear weapons; affection and love; honouring the pain we experience for the world; seeing with new eyes; having that ‘sense of wonder' at the end of the world; and gratitude.Additionally, she talks about some of the main concepts in the new edition of her classic book, Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re In with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power, such as the importance of having “power with, not power over”. And: how would she like to see her continuation in this world? Brother Phap Huu discusses ways that Thay's teachings can help us in these times of crises; Thay's legacy as a peace activist; taking care of the past, present, and future; what it means to be a Bodhisattva; the interbeing effect; moderation; change; and the need for a spiritual dimension. Jo muses over the importance of bringing the future into the present moment; humility; how Thay became his teachings; and honours Joanna as a teacher and Bodhisattva. The episode ends with a meditation on interbeing, guided by Joanna Macy. [This episode was recorded on February 16, 2022, via Zoom.] Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ Quotes “One reason that Thay was so important to me was that he loved this world – and I’m so fed up with spiritual people who think they can rise above mere phenomenality and the physical world; it’s all one.” “You don’t try to be a spiritually perfect person; just be open to love. That love wipes out fear, takes you into this world, and gives you strength and courage.” “‘This is' because ‘that is', and ‘that is' because everything is intertwined.” “An oyster, in response to trauma, grows a pearl.” “This world is too fragile and too beautiful for us to hesitate for a moment in service to peace.” “We are part of the world, and the suffering that is outside is also a part of us. And if the outside suffers, we will suffer also. And if we can bring peace to little villages, little communities, little families, the impact will multiply and have the interbeing effect; the idea that everything can connect and effects can ripple through.” “One part of what’s killed us is competition. That’s the ‘gift' of five centuries of individualism and capitalism.” “This planet doesn’t know whether it’ll be around to carry life. So that makes every moment precious. This moment is once in a lifetime.” “It’s at the moment when we're most tender that our heart opens the widest; when we have nothing left, nothing more to lose, everything becomes crystal clear. Everything becomes precious.” “Don’t try to cheer yourself up all the time. Feel the sorrow, feel the grief. Feel the loneliness. Feel that it’s good that you’re alive. And the fact that you care for the world, that’s a form of love. Do not let that get pathologized. It isn’t, because it’s not abnormal. It’s a face of love. Pain for the world and love for the world are just two sides of one coin. So honour your pain for the world.” “Don’t complain all the time. You’re not going to be useful to the world in any way if you’re not glad to be here. And then sorrow together.” “Thay had that quality of such fullness of presence that he didn’t have time to think about, ‘Well, how are they seeing me?'” List of resources Joanna Macyhttps://www.joannamacy.net/  Plum Villagehttps://plumvillage.org/ Fragrant Palm Leaves: Journals 1962–1966 https://www.parallax.org/product/fragrant-palm-leaves/ Pratītyasamutpādahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prat%C4%ABtyasamutp%C4%81da Dr. Dan Siegelhttps://drdansiegel.com/ Songs: ‘No Coming, No Going'https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/no-coming-no-going-song/ Bodhisattva https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva Tassajara Zen Mountain Centerttps://www.sfzc.org/practice-centers/tassajara Call Me by My True Names: The Collected Poems of Thich Nhat Hanhhttps://plumvillage.org/books/call-me-by-my-true-names/ St. Francis of Assisihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi Active Hopehttps://www.activehope.info/ The Way Out Is In: ‘Grief and Joy on a Planet in Crisis: Joanna Macy on the Best Time to Be Alive (Episode #12)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/grief-and-joy-on-a-planet-in-crisis-joanna-macy-on-the-best-time-to-be-alive-episode-12/

To a lot of people, the words psychedelic and spiritual are paradoxical. But the use of psychoactive substances in shamanic, religious, and spiritual practices is found throughout history, with evidence from thousands of years ago. In this episiode, we will be talking about psychedelics and spiritual practice and if there is a helpful role for them…or the potential harm. Let's start with some definitions: Psychedelics are a class of psychoactive substances that produce changes in perception, mood and cognitive processes. They affect all the senses, altering a person's thinking, sense of time and emotions. There are also entheogens, which are typically of plant origin, that are ingested to produce a non-ordinary state of consciousness for religious or spiritual purposes. Some examples of both are psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, ketamine, 5-MeO-DMT, cannabis,, LSD, MDMA… and many more. I've used psychedelics in clinical settings and have found them to have a unique place in the treatment of mental health disorders. But I'm personally very interested in their use for spiritual purposes. Especially because, in my own clinical experience, many mental health issues have a strong root in spiritual and existential challenges. So when we really look at the intention for spiritual practice or use of psychedelics, Buddhism and psychedelics share something in common: finding that which frees the mind. There are probably a good amount of Buddhists who would say it's a gateway to a spiritual path, which I certainly agree with (and there's also many who would disagree). At my alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, there has been decades of research in the use of psychedelics for a variety of purposes, showing promising results in many areas. They've done studies with long-time meditators as well as those who didn't have a previous spiritual practice.  One study by Rolland Griffit's et al. in 2018 wanted to see if the changes noted after receiving psilocybin in personality and other traits were enduring for people without a previous spiritual practice…and not just the short-term result of a great trip. The results were impressive. I got into more details about the study in the pod, but after 6 months, the groups who received high-dose psilocybin and support for spiritual practice showed large significant positive changes long-term when compared to a placebo group (low dose psilocybin) that also received spiritual practice support. The areas of improvement include interpersonal closeness, life meaning/purpose, forgiveness, daily spiritual experiences, and community observer ratings (how others rated them, not just how they saw themselves…to make sure the changes weren't just perceived by the participant but that others could tell there was a shift as well). So this - and other studies - show that psilocybin can influence long-lasting /enduring increases in positive spcial attitudes/behaviors and in healthy psychological functioning. Isn't that so fascinating? I want to mention here that there's a big difference between recreational use of psychedelics and intentional use of psychedelics. I had my own first experience with LSD when I was 15 years old and experimented with it a lot over the course of a few years. That first experience forever changed the way I saw the world - it helped me see that my beliefs and the way I perceived the world was through many filters and that the ideas I had about separation of myself and others were false, and there was a mystical unity to our existence. I also had - at a later experience - a mystical near-death experience that changed the way I perceived death (and was a lot less fearful of it).  And my difficult experiences (aka “bad trips”) gave me insight into the way my brain could loop and perseverate on things…and how important my mindset was in how I experienced the world. I had done so many psychedelics by my late teens that I went another 20 years before using them again (I spent that time integrating my insights with many life-changing experiences). When I decided to bring them back into my life again, it was with much more intention, and for entheogenic purposes. So, while there were some enduring effects for me with recreational use, in my own experience and in my subsequent guiding of altered states experiences, intentional use is a very different experience. There are several factors we take into account and implement when we intentionally use psychedelics. The mindset of the participant and the guide, the setting, which substance to use and the dosing, the skillset of the guide itself.. and post-experience situation/support as well. When we skillfully put these things together, I do believe there can be a great benefit. It's not just about having a great experience, but also support in integrating what arose during the experience and integrating that into our day-to-day lives. There's a high risk of using psychedelics as a way to escape the challenges of life. We can see this with almost anything that helps us feel better than sitting with a difficult emotion or experience - it happens with meditation, too. I like to remind myself and others to not chase after that meditative bliss experience, because it will be elusive, and that it's a good practice to let go of the attachment and craving. So…what are psychedelics and spiritual practice (particularly Buddhist practices) contradictory? What often comes up in this discussion are the Buddhist precepts. These precepts are 5 ethical guidelines are considered the foundation for successful practice because they help to calm the mind and have it be in the est state for meditation and spiritual practice (not lying, not stealing, not killing, no harm from sexual misconduct). The fifth precept is often discussed here: I undertake the precept to abstain from liquor that causes intoxication and indolence. So here it specifically says alcohol and not other substances. And some people take it literally and others say well, it's more complicated in modern times and we probably was meant to include all miind-altering substances. Is this…wise? Compassionate? Some people take precepts very literally, especially in early Buddhism and in many Theravedan schools. Like literally not lying under any circumstance. But in other traditions - like Mahayana or Vajrayana - look at it slightly differently, with prioritizing  the concept of skillful means and compassion for others as the primary intention. A common example is with not lying. If you're hiding an innocent person in your house, and someone comes to kill them and asks if they're in there, is it OK to lie? The Bodhisattva vow would say you break the precept to help the person.  Thinking this way, when we are asking this question about psychedelics and spiritual practice, we can consider is it beneficial - ultimately - to our compassion and ability to help others? At this point, do we have the wisdom to inform this? How does a perspective impact our ability to show up in the world and make it a better place as we walk in it? What is our intention? This is why I feel strongly about the intention of spiritual growth. And of course, we have to have wisdom along with the compassionate intention, because us silly humans can fool ourselves. We can convince ourselves something is beneficial when we don't have the wisdom to make that call yet…but we really want it to be beneficial;) So we have to tread with integrity over these waters. You know, I used to wonder if after a psychedelic experience, people would later feel, “Oh it was just the medicine, the drug”... but what I've found - at least with guided journeys - is that it's more an affirmation of truth, and experience of truth. The veil has been lifted. And my hope is that it does encourage more spiritual practice and more dedication to the practice. The science is supporting this. It's like taking a helicopter ride up to summit instead of a slow climb -  to see the view to see if it's worth it, what's possible. To help one commit to the slow climb that is to come. After the glimpse or the affirmation, we then continue with the traditional practices instead of trying to grasp at that initial insight again - striving for the meditative bliss experience or having another psychedelic journey. So do I think there's a role for psychedelics in spiritual practice? Absolutely. AND psychedelics are not for everyone.  I believe in appropriate screening and assessment because there are medical and psychiatric contraindications and situations where they just won't be as beneficial. AND I strongly believe in the importance of integration - with a coach or therapist who is trained specifically in psychedelic integration (there are also communities that have this support built in, like the Burner community or the Santo Daime church. It's not just about the journey if you want a higher chance of success at enduring benefit for you and those you come into contact with. Lastly - and this is important - you don't “need” psychedelics for spiritual growth. What you need is 100% within you. Right now. But they can be a safe, helpful tool along the way in the right context. Until next week, rebels…Free your mind! In this episode you'll learn:// Are psychedelics and entheogens the same thing? // The difference between recreational and intentional use// How science support that intentional use of psychedelics can create long-term positive changes in mindset, personality, social behavior, and spiritual practice// How psychedelics can be used to benefit spiritual practice// How to avoid using psychedelics as an escape or a temporary high// Whether Buddhism and psychedelics are actually contradictory in nature// Why integration is key in seeing positive long-term effects of psychedelic use Resources:// Buddhism and Psychedelics 3-part YouTube Series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 // Zig, Zag, Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics edited by Alex Grey & Allan Badiner // The Secret Drugs of Buddhism by Michael Crowley // If you're new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You'll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist FB group, and tune in every Wednesday at 11:30am PST as I go live.  // If you're in need of a powerful pause and ready for some re-alignment, shake up your life with the upcoming Adventure Mastermind. It's a no-BS group of 6 womxn ready to slay the next year – YOUR way. Six months of transformation and adventures (inner and outer!) that will have you blowing your own mind, and you can learn more at www.AdventureMastermind.com. Check it out – application is open, with an amazing limited-time bonus of a plane ticket credit to one of the retreats! You won't want to miss the chance to hang out with me and a small group of rebel womxn in adventurous places to get unstuck and create the next chapter of your amazing life!   // Want to dive into this work on a deeper level? To study it and practice it together? Check out Freedom School – the community for ALL things related to freedom, inside and out.        It's also where you can get individual help applying the concepts to your own life. It's where you can learn new coaching tools not shared on the podcast that will blow your mind even more, and it's where you can connect over all things freedom with other freedom junkies just like you and me. It's my favorite place on earth and it will change your life, I guarantee it. Come join us at JoinFreedomSchool.com. I can't wait to see you there.

Genjo Marinello Osho offered this informal Dharma Talk and Dialogue Sunday evening, March 20, 2022 after zazen at Chobo-Ji. This talk examines our translation of these four Bodhisattva vows and how they are relevant in responding to our troubled world.

When we open up to the suffering on the planet, we soon realize that we, the “small self”, are not nearly big enough to contain it all. To really hold suffering in our heart and help to relieve it, we must get bigger—a move from the relative to the Absolute. In Buddhism, there is a Bodhisattva, or awakened being, who models just this: Kuan Yin (Chinese translation). Her name means “she who hears the cries of the world.” As a new war wages in Ukraine, it is an especially important moment to learn to get Big, to hold it together; to hear the cries of the world.