Podcasts about Diamond Sutra

This is a question that will stop any of us in our tracks. After so many years of practice and studying Buddhism and Zen, what would you say best represents the heart of the teaching? Do you think of the Diamond Sutra or Platform Sutra?Read the Journal while listening

In this dharma talk, Fushin discusses the Empty Bowl Sutra and its relationship to the Diamond Sutra, presenting them as complementary teachings about emptiness or boundlessness, and the bodhisattva path. […]

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Chris Senko Perez explores the wisdom of the Diamond Sutra with humility and insight. Drawing from various commentaries, he investigates how this ancient text points to the fundamental […]

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Wendy Dainin Lau explores the Diamond Sutra's challenging and often paradoxical  teachings and the importance of the Bodhisattva vows in cultivating an upright presence during uncertain […]

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 3/16/25 - The Diamond Sutra's teachings convey an understanding of karma at the fundamental level of dharma practice. How we get at the roots of karmic formations happens through cultivating awareness—within zazen and within a vow—where those energies can be transformed into something different. Karma is not determinant, it's always subject to shift. - From the Blue Cliff Record, Case 97 - "The Diamond Cutter Scripture's Scornful Revilement"

When we enter the path of practice, two paths open up simultaneously—first we have the path of what we think we are doing. This is the practice method, the conceptual framework, the spoken vow that we turn towards, that we make effort at, that we can talk about more or less.The other path is the path of what is actually happening. It is darker, more mysterious, often below the level of consciousness, embodied in our soma. This path is before words, before concepts and identification, its a path that is more like an open field, without any directions, markers or guardrails. The pathless path.When someone asked one of Dongshan's students—what does your teacher teach?The student replied: The dark way, the bird's path and the open hand.As we enter the dark moon time of the year, the period of late autumn/early winter where the nights are long and dark. I want to talk about the Dark Side of Enlightenment—the path of what's actually happening. To approach, we lean into story + metaphor and listen with our deeply secret minds, our innermost hearts.In the Zen tradition we celebrate the Buddha's Awakening in early December, as a culmination of the year of practice. When we tell the Buddha's story it is often told in the style of The Hero's Journey. Its a path of revelation, hard work, mastering techniques and the conquering of Maara.Another story, I find important to tell is the story of the Buddha's wife—Yasodhara.This story is from the Hidden Lamp, a collection of koans from the Buddhist Women Ancestors, the source of this story comes from the Sarvastivadin tradition.Yasodhara was Siddartha Gautama's wife. In one of the less well-known stories told about her life, Yasdohara (The Glorious One) and Siddartha had been married in many previous lifetimes. The night that Siddartha left home, Yasodhara had eight dreams that foretold his awakening, and so she encouraged him to leave. They made love before he left, and their son, Rahula, was conceived.For the next six years, Yasodhara remained pregnant with Rahula, and although she did not leave home, she traveled the same spiritual path and experienced the same difficulties as her husband Siddhartha. She gave birth to Rahula (Moon God in this particular story) on the full moon night of the Buddha's enlightenment. She prophesied that Siddhartha had awakened and that he would return in six years. Later, she and her son Rahula both became part of the Buddhist sangha.Yasodhara's path is the Yin to the Buddha's Yang way. It reminds us that in truth both are important, and make up the complete path of this life as spiritual practice.In Yasodhara's story we open to mysteries of dream, embodiment, pregnancy, intuition and birth. We learn about the patience of staying with, of trusting the unseen processes at work. We ripen through our devotion to life—the creative force alive in each of us.So, let's look a little closer at some of the teachings in Yasodhara's story.Yasodhara has a series of eight dreams.Dreams—where do they come from?These images that sometimes seem to ring of deep clarity— yet appear when we are in deep slumber, one with the night—seemingly unconscious. Dreams illuminate the dark, dark.How is it that information, awareness, insight, wisdom, deep feeling and profound experience can happen in the times when our conscious mind is deeply asleep, when we are seemingly unaware of our surroundings?Dream invites us to explore the nature of mind/consciousness. The relationship between sleep and wakefulness. What is your experience of dream? Have you ever had a dream of insight, clarity or deep feeling? Have you ever trusted information that came through a dream? Do dream images linger in your heart from time to time? What is dream?I'd love to hear your reflections to these questions. Feel free to leave a comment!Throughout the buddhist tradition, dream is used as a metaphor for the nature of phenomena, thoughts, sensations, feelings, experience. We say they are dream-like, in that they can't be grasped. If we try to hold onto a moment of experience, it slips away only to be filled with the ever presence of this.Yasodhara's path invites us to explore the nature of dream and sleep. To include the wisdom of the night, in this mysterious path of practice-awakening.Many speak of pregnancy as a time when intuition is heightened and dreams take on a visionary quality.Another line from her story says—although she never left home.What is home? We often refer to insight or breakthroughs in Zen practice as a homecoming. When I lived at the monastery, many people would talk about the monastery as feeling like their home. Spiritual practice can often open us up to our innermost home.Byron Katie's commentary to the Diamond Sutra is called A Mind at Home with Itself. I love this phrase. We can know this too. Our being deeply at home in itself.Mind resting in its own nature.Chozen Roshi would use the phrase—always at Home. This touches something about what Yasodhara knew or discovered. Something that we can know or discover. The path back home doesn't require that we go anywhere.Or, how could we leave it—its always right here.Yasodhara's path also reminds us of the quality of surrender and trust.In the dark, darken further—instructs the dao de jingAnd so, she does. She trusts the process of pregnancy, she carries the sacred embryo, her connection to the Buddha extends beyond space and time.This is something else we can learn from her story.There are times in our spiritual practice, when we don't know what is happening. It feels dark, regressive. Maybe we are physically tired or mentally fatigued. Maybe we simply can't make out what we are doing or our motivation feels low. Maybe we feel a call to surrender to the mystery or are in a period of great doubt. We are still connected to this path of awakening, the Buddha loves us, deeply.We don't talk about the love of the Buddha's and ancestors a lot in the Zen tradition. But its true. The Buddha loves us. Our awakened nature wants us to wake-up, to realize ourselves.My teacher Hogen Roshi would say, the dark times are when our vows go the deepest.Chozen Roshi would encourage me to pray to the Buddhas and Ancestors whenever I hit periods of doubt, confusion or fear. The Buddhas and Ancestors are always available to offer support or guidance, she would say. You just have to ask. At other times she would say, We can't do this practice alone, ask the Buddhas and Ancestors for help.As we enter the period of winter, today, the solstice—the longest night of the year. May we remember that support and love is available always. May we discover the mind at home in itself. And nurture the seeds of awakening in everyone we meet.…Thanks for reading friends. This is an excerpt from a longer dharma talk, feel free to listen to the full talk, in it I also explore the archetype of the stone woman. I'm Amy Kisei. I am a Zen Buddhist Teacher, Spiritual Counselor, budding Astrologer and Artist. I offer 1:1 Spiritual Counseling sessions in the styles of IFS and somatic mindfulness. I also offer astrology readings. Check out my website to learn more.Below you can find a list of weekly and monthly online and in-person practice opportunities. I will be traveling to Oregon in February and will be facilitating three events of varying lengths, while I am there (most of which are taking place at Great Vow Zen Monastery.) Weekly Online Meditation EventMonday Night Dharma — 6P PT / 9P ET Join weekly for drop-in meditation and dharma talk. Feel free to join anytime. Event last about 1.5 hours. ZOOM LINKMonthly Online Practice EventSky+Rose: The Ritual of Being Lost on Sunday January 510:30A - 12:30P PT / 1:30P - 3:30P ETRSVPIn-Person in OregonFeb 1 — Sky+Rose Daylong Retreat: The Strange Garden of Desire (more information coming soon, save the date!)Feb 2 - 9 — Pari-Nirvana Sesshin: A Meditation Retreat exploring Life, Death & the UnknownFeb 13 - 16 — Emergent Darkness – A Creative Process, Parts Work and Zen RetreatIn-Person in Ohio (See Mud Lotus Sangha Calendar for weekly meditation events, classes and retreats)Thanks for reading Earth Dreams! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amykisei.substack.com/subscribe

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Ken McLeod, Buddhist teacher and author the recently released book, The Magic of Vajrayana. In today's conversation, we discuss Ken's recent English translation of The Diamond Sutra from the Tibetan and his development of a new commentary. The Diamond Sutra is one of the most influential early Mahayana sutras that has been central to a number of Buddhist traditions such as Chan and Zen. It describes a way of being and acting that is not mediated by the conceptual mind. Ken's approach to his translation and his upcoming commentary is less about understanding the meaning of The Diamond Sutra and more about how to engage with the text so that its magic can infuse and inform the Being of the practitioner. One of the more innovative Buddhist teachers today, Ken McLeod is known for his clear explanations, poetic translations, and pragmatic approach to practice. He is one of the first generation of Western teachers in the Tibetan tradition and one of the few to be authorized to transmit the full scope of these teachings to students. In particular, his approach resonates strongly with those whose path lies outside established institutions. After graduating with a degree in mathematics, Ken cycled across Europe to Istanbul and then continued his journey overland to India. In 1970 he met his principal teacher Kalu Rinpoche at his monastery near Darjeeling. There Ken began a study and practice in Tibetan Buddhism that lasted more than twenty years. He completed the traditional three-year retreat program two times, translated for many teachers, and helped set up Buddhist centers in Canada and the United States. After his teacher's passing, Ken moved away from the hierarchical structures of Asian Buddhism to explore new approaches. In 1990, he founded Unfettered Mind in Los Angeles. His approach of one-on-one consultations roiled the Buddhist world in the early '90s, but was quickly recognized as a viable way to teach and guide students in the West. He made individual interviews a central feature of the many retreats he taught in California, New Mexico, and British Columbia. Through numerous small groups in Southern California, he developed the materials that became the encyclopedic meditation manual, Wake Up to Your Life. Now retired from formal teaching, he lives in Northern California where he hikes and writes. His writings and translations include The Great Path of Awakening (1987), Wake Up to Your Life (2001), An Arrow to the Heart (2007), Reflections on Silver River (2014), A Trackless Path (2017), and The Magic of Vajrayana (2022), as well as a corpus of articles and translations in Tricycle and other Buddhist magazines. More information about Ken McLeod's work can be found at:  Unfettered Mind website: www.unfetteredmind.org.

The Diamond Sutra is a Mahāyāna (Buddhist) sutra from the genre of Prajñāpāramitā ('perfection of wisdom') sutras. The Diamond Sūtra is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras in East Asia, and it is particularly prominent within the Chan (or Zen) tradition, along with the Heart Sutra.   Sanskrit: वज्रच्छेदिकाप्रज्ञापारमितासूत्र, Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (translated roughly as 'The Perfection of Wisdom Text that Cuts Like a Thunderbolt') Chinese: 金剛般若波羅蜜多經 Jīngāng Bōrě-bōluómìduō Jīng; shortened to 金剛經 Jīngāng Jīng Japanese: 金剛般若波羅蜜多経 Kongō hannya haramita kyō; shortened to 金剛経 Kongō-kyō Korean: 금강반야바라밀경 geumgang banyabaramil gyeong; shortened to 금강경 geumgang gyeong Classical Mongolian: Yeke kölgen sudur Vietnamese: Kim cương bát-nhã-ba-la-mật-đa kinh; shortened to Kim cương kinh Standard Tibetan: འཕགས་པ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་རྡོ་རྗེ་གཅོད་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ། 'phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa rdo rje gcod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo

We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text message.In this episode of "Discover Daily" by Perplexity, we explore a big advancement in black hole imaging and delve into the history of the world's oldest dated printed book. The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration has achieved a remarkable feat by introducing "color vision" to their observations of supermassive black holes. By incorporating a new radio frequency of 345 GHz alongside the existing 230 GHz, scientists can now produce sharper, more detailed images, offering unprecedented clarity in visualizing these cosmic giants. This dual-frequency approach is expected to increase image detail by an impressive 50%, allowing researchers to better differentiate between the effects of Einstein's gravity and other phenomena near black holes.We then journey back in time to explore the Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist text printed in 868 CE that holds the distinction of being the world's oldest known dated printed book. Discovered in 1900 in China's Mogao Caves, this 16-foot-long scroll predates the Gutenberg Bible by nearly six centuries. Created using woodblock printing, the Diamond Sutra represents a pivotal moment in the history of information dissemination, showcasing the advanced state of printing technology in 9th century China. Its colophon, which precisely dates its production, provides crucial evidence for understanding the timeline of printing technology development.From Perplexity's Discover Feed: https://www.perplexity.ai/page/telescope-shows-black-holes-in-Rw6Pn5JnQnOznJxuapBCLwhttps://www.perplexity.ai/page/the-world-s-oldest-printed-boo-rIR81on4RhKLPnFLoG1YTwPerplexity is the fastest and most powerful way to search the web. Perplexity crawls the web and curates the most relevant and up-to-date sources (from academic papers to Reddit threads) to create the perfect response to any question or topic you're interested in. Take the world's knowledge with you anywhere. Available on iOS and Android Join our growing Discord community for the latest updates and exclusive content. Follow us on: Instagram Threads X (Twitter) YouTube Linkedin

Host Michael Taft speaks with eminent Buddhist teacher, translator, and author Ken McLeod about how to use the Diamond Sutra as a practice text. What is the sutra really getting at? Is it merely an ancient and enigmatic philosophical puzzle or can we use it as a powerful pointing out instruction?Ken McLeod began his study and practice of Buddhism in 1970 under the eminent Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche. After completing two three-year retreats, he was appointed as resident teacher for Kalu Rinpoche's center in Los Angeles, California, where he developed innovative approaches to teaching and translation. After his teacher's death in 1989, Ken established Unfettered Mind, a place for those whose path lies outside established institutions. His many published works include Wake Up to Your Life, A Trackless Path, and his latest book, entitled The Magic of Vajrayana. Ken's website: Unfettered MindYou can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, Owen and Randel interview author, translator Red Pine AKA Bill Porter author of "Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits". From his Counter Point Press bio: "Red Pine was born in Los Angeles in 1943 and attended graduate school at Columbia University. An acclaimed translator, his published works include four major Buddhist texts: The Lankavatara Sutra, The Platform Sutra, The Diamond Sutra, and The Heart Sutra. He is also the author of Zen Baggage and Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits. He has lived in Taiwan and Hong Kong and has traveled extensively in China, visiting Zen temples and seeking out hermits." Bill Porter Website Copper Canyon Press Amazon

The Diamond Sutra is the 'diamond' or 'lightening bolt' that cuts through 'illusion' that helps us become enlightened. It is one of the most well respected sutras in all of Mahayana Buddhism and found practiced widely in Zen/Ch'an traditions. Learn more about it in this episode and how to apply it to your daily life and practice! Free eBook by Venerable Master Hsing Yun on the Diamond Sutra: https://www.fgsitc.org/wisdom-and-emptiness-of-the-diamond-sutra/ Contact Alan: alanpeto.com/contact Podcast Homepage: alanpeto.com/podcast Podcast Disclaimer: alanpeto.com/legal/podcast-disclaimer --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/alanpeto/message

Welcome to episode 69 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. With Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu away, leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino holds the fort with a special episode about the art of land regeneration, happy farming, and reconnecting deeply to nature. This time, Jo is joined by special guests and happy farmers Mick McEvoy and Sister Trang Lam Hy (Sister Forest of Joy), two of the people behind the agroecology project Happy Farms, in Plum Village.The conversation touches upon many topics, from Zen philosophies, the Diamond Sutra and deep ecology to seasonal planting and practicing mindfulness while working the land; producing food and caring for the Earth; collective awakening and beginning anew; empathy for our food; reclaiming the nobility of the farmer; the importance of growing (beautiful) vegetables (even in small quantities) in time of polycrises; land regeneration and Zen Buddhism; Thich Nhat Hanh's gardening metaphors; and more.Enjoy and thank you for listening! 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/ List of resources The Happy Harmhttps://thehappyfarm.org/ Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InterbeingThe Five Earth Touchings https://plumvillage.org/key-practice-texts/the-five-earth-touchingsHappy Farms: ‘Reverence for the Land'https://plumvillage.org/articles/reverence-for-the-land  ‘Happy Farm: Rewilding'https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/article/happy-farm-rewilding/ Sutras: ‘The Diamond That Cuts through Illusion'https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/the-diamond-that-cuts-through-illusionDharma Talks: ‘Free from Notions: The Diamond Sutra'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/free-from-notions-the-diamond-sutra Deep ecologyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_ecology Vandana Shivahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandana_Shiva Grow It Yourselfhttps://giy.ie/ Eating Meditationhttps://web.plumvillage.app/meditations/eating-meditationMary Oliverhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_OliverBodhi Treehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_Tree Global North and Global Southhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_North_and_Global_South Braiding Sweetgrasshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braiding_Sweetgrass Quotes “I can pivot 360 degrees, and I can see countless examples of what Thich Nhat Hanh refers to as interbeing, this interconnectedness of all life.” “Happy Farm literally grounds people in [mindfulness] practice.” “We are the Earth that carries us.” “Go home to nature and let nature heal you.” “Thay was a revolutionary to bring the community of humans, the community of practice, out into the forest to practice walking meditation every day. And that is so unique and healing in and of itself.” “We’re probably the first generation, at least in the Global North, that have been separated in our choices, and how our communities and cultures have evolved to be separate from the gifts and knowledge of how to grow some of our own food. And in that rediscovery, we took a lot and have a lot of reverence for the ancestors, our blood ancestors, our family, our spiritual ancestors, and our land ancestors, those who lived on these lands. And many people lived on these lands here, in Plum Village, going way back into historical times when people hunted in these valleys, or the people that farmed these lands before. And all our neighbors around us farming these lands, not just on the Happy Farm.” “Vandana Shiva talks about the most important thing we can do at this time is to start a food garden and to be soil builders, and that’s why, in the Happy Farm, we’re definitely soil builders.” “We’re all flowers in the garden of life.” “The weeds don’t take a lazy day, like we do” “It’s not about the carrots, it’s about the collective awakening.” “There is no way to harvest, to harvest is the way.” “We can harvest insights and collective awareness and joy and happiness every moment of being together as a farming family, living within the community. So it’s not just waiting until the end game, until we bring the harvest home, but every moment with consciousness and intention and awareness and choice is a moment to harvest.” “When conditions are sufficient, things will manifest. And when conditions are no longer sufficient, things will cease to manifest.” “We take for granted our food, but by growing it, we can dissolve that sense of apathy and inherently create a sense of empathy for our food, which can then ripple out into how we are with not just the food that we eat ourselves, but our global food systems, our global food economy.”

For the final episode of Season 6 of Xian Archive Matt sits down with Joshua Draper.   Joshua is the former Creative Producer for OPUS Immersive, a former touring comedian and Second City Conservatory graduate. He is also a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, and an early adopter of MiMU Gloves, which are an advanced wearable musical instrument for expressive creation, composition and performance.   During the conversation Joshua shares his journey of becoming a musician, comedian and early adopter of innovative technology centered around music and vibration. The two then discuss a variety of spiritual topics, such as The Diamond Sutra (an advanced Buddhist text), Karma, Reggae Music, Quantum Physics, the Merkaba + much more. Please enjoy, and thank you for listening to Season 6.  Find Joshua: https://www.joshdraper.me/   https://www.instagram.com/truejoshuadraper/       Sponsored by Element Kombucha: https://elementkombucha.com/   Use code 'Xian11' at checkout to save 11%   --- Sponsored by SHEATH: https://sheathunderwear.com   Use code 'TIMEWHEEL' at checkout to save 20%.

From the Buddhist perspective, the understanding and realisation of emptiness is the key to liberation from suffering – because the roots of suffering stem from primordial confusion as to the nature of reality – to be free from suffering we need to eliminate ignorance – to eliminate ignorance is to understand emptiness – hence the realisation of emptiness is the ultimate medicine. In this lecture series we are exploring some of the different ways of understanding emptiness found in Buddhism – today we will go into what is called the Madhymaka School or The Middle Way School which interprets the prajnaparamita sutras – such as the Heart Sutra and The Diamond Sutra. Prajnaparamita meaning the perfection of wisdom – where wisdom realises emptiness. Nagarjuna is the founder of the Madhymaka school and he is the first and most influential Buddhist philosopher - later in the series we will move to exploring the Yogacara view on emptiness and explore the question as to whether or not the Madhyamaka and Yogacara Schools are allies or rivals.

How often in practice have we wondered how best to essentialize what we are studying?  When one tries to “explain” what Buddhism or Zen is to someone, one can get tangled up in concepts that only serve to complicate the heart of the teaching.

In this episode, we continue exploring the rich spiritual tradition of Buddhism through one of its most profound and important schools - Chan/Zen. We dive into the history and development of the school, as well as its characteristic teachings about meditation, koans, liberation and Buddha-nature.Sources/Suggested Reading: Chuang Zhi (2019). "Exploring Chán: An Introduction to the Religious and Mystical Tradition of Chinese Buddhism". Songlark Publishing. Hershock, Peter D. (2004). "Chan Buddhism". University of Hawaii Press. Red Pine (translated by) (1989). "The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma". North Point Press. Red Pine (translated by) (2002). "The Diamond Sutra". Counterpoint. Red Pine (translated by) (2008). "The Platform Sutra: The Zen Teaching of Hui-neng". Counterpoint. Westerhoff, Jan (2009). "Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka: A Philosophical Introduction". Oxford University Press. Ziporyn, Brook (2016). "Emptiness and Omnipresence: An essential introduction to Tiantai Buddhism". Indiana University Press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Illuminating the benefits of taking spiritual retreat, Jack highlights the importance of meeting our practice with great faith, great courage, and great questioning.Join Jack with Trudy Goodman, Krishna Das, Anne Lamott and more, live online from Maui in the virtual Ram Dass Legacy Retreat: Love and Renewal 11/29 - 12/3!"It's not a question of practicing and losing weight, or getting rid of our neurosis or figuring out our mother, father, husband, or wife trip; but it's really to get the bottom of the question of life itself: Who are we? What makes up our experience? And to ask that question, to come to the end of our questioning requires a kind of passion, a kind of urgency, to see, to know." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully illuminates:The history and importance of taking spiritual retreat in Eastern traditions What it was like for Jack to take spiritual retreat with Burmese Buddhist teacher, Mahasi Sayadaw, and his Thai Buddhist teacher, Ajahn Chah Instructions for meditation and how to apply them properly to the retreat experience Moving beyond our psychological melodrama so we can gain deeper insight into the processes of mind Gurdjieff and using the fire of practice to transform our inner-world into a single whole Using our time wisely within the great mystery of this precious human birth Meeting our meditation practice with great faith, great courage, and great questioning The Diamond Sutra and how to live with a heart of light"You say that practice is difficult. This is thinking. Practice is not difficult. If you say it's difficult this means you're examining yourself too much—examining your situation, your condition, your opinion—so you say practice is difficult. But if you keep the mind that is before thinking and planning, then practice is not difficult." – Jack Kornfield quoting a Zen MasterThis Dharma Talk on 10/07/78 from Insight Meditation Society was originally published on DharmaSeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, Jason gives a dramatic reading of the Diamond Sutra. The Diamond Sutra, a Mahāyāna Buddhist text, is notable for its influence on East Asian Buddhism, especially within the Chan or Zen tradition. Translated across a wide geographic range, it's revered for its teachings on "perfection of wisdom." Historically significant, it's recognized as one of the earliest dated printed books, with its discovery tracing back to 868 AD; it was also the first book ever released with complete open rights, allowing it to be shared, distributed or copied by anyone. The text's cultural impact is mirrored in a rich tradition of commentary and veneration within East Asian Buddhist cultures, embodying a legacy of religious thought and practice that continues to resonate across the globe​. The sutra's title metaphorically relates to the Vajra, a powerful weapon, symbolizing wisdom that cuts through illusions to attain ultimate reality. The text's essence, promoting a deeper understanding of reality through wisdom, along with its historical value as an early example of printed literature, highlights its enduring relevance and esteemed position within the Buddhist tradition and world religion​. The Diamond Sutra had fostered a rich cultural milieu of artwork, veneration, and over 80 commentaries by the end of China's Tang dynasty, indicating a vibrant intellectual engagement with the text. Its teachings continue to inspire Buddhist practitioners and scholars, affirming its timeless value in exploring profound religious and philosophical themes.  The recording at the opening of the show is of monks chanting at the Buddhist stupa Swayambhunath in Kathmandu, Nepal. Show Notes Diamond Sutra (full text free online) Magick.Me

Shonin Ashton, Dharma HolderAncient Way SesshinGreat Vow Zen Monastery 10/15/23 ★ Support this podcast ★

Jordan Myska Allen is CEO and founder of The Relateful Company, an organization focused on building inner peace and interconnection through truth and love. At the heart of their approach is Relatefulness, a practice emphasizing present-moment relating, construct awareness, and non-duality. Jordan is also a practicing life coach, the author of A Beautiful Apocalypse, and a long-time practitioner of A Course in Miracles.The Relateful Company: https://www.relateful.com/Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Mu_PodcastDonations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/lucasperryVideo episode: https://youtu.be/9ENdAlvkOQ0Twitter: https://twitter.com/LucasFMPerryTimestamps: 0:00 Intro3:24 Switching between the ultimate and the relative5:48 Everything is either love or a call for love7:52 ACIM doesn't comment on the world of form 9:21 Fundamental existential guilt 11:58 Leaning into what we flinch from 14:31 What it means to flinch from God20:12 Transcending but including all that is25:20 The opening quote of ACIM26:36 What does it mean that “the world is an illusion?” 33:15 What's so good about choosing fear over love? 36:43 The choice between love and fear, and coming to surrender42:40 What is forgiveness? 54:27 Clarifying perfect forgiveness 1:00:32 The Diamond Sutra 1:05:24 The gateless gate 1:12:45 Key takeaways 1:19:17 Final thoughts

“If you don't have the perception of a self, you're probably not going to get angry. But… we can discuss whether maybe sometimes it's okay to get angry if someone chops off your arms and legs…” - Jason Dodge   In a flash, Subhuti understands everything, and in a flash Buddha pulls the rug out from him (and us!) and frees him from his own enlightenment. Join us as Jason bravely (and expertly) takes us into an epic chapter of the Diamond Sutra where we learn what exactly holds us back, how to free ourselves from it, and how get over ourselves once we manage that. Plus! The Buddha regales us with tales of his past lives cavorting with concubines and tangling with kings and his own pesky feelings. Is it possible to free ourselves of our own perceptions? Is it advisable? Is anger a choice? And is it sometimes a necessary one? What is the prescribed antidote to the three poisons and where can we get ourselves some? Find out here!

Danica Shoan Ankele, Senior Monastic and Dharma Holder - ZMM - 7/09/2023 - Shoan looks in wonderment at the image of "two arrows meeting in mid-air"... Our seemingly ordinary experience and activity in everyday life is none other than the great universal self, Buddha Mind. Reflecting on a poem from the medieval Buddhist nun Fayuan, Red Pine's commentary on the Diamond Sutra, Master Dogen's Jinzu (Miracles) and Genjokoan (Actualizing the Fundamental Point), the teachings of Kosho Uchiyama, and an essay from Audre Lorde, Shoan expresses it: "May We Realize the Buddha Way Together".

The Diamond Sutra, part of the Prajna Paramita sutras, is second only to the Heart Sutra in importance for Zen Practitioners. A number of phrases taken directly from the sutra are to be found among the preliminary koans.Source: The Flowing Bridge by Elaine MacInnes Wisdom 2007Automated transcripthttps://otter.ai/u/PK4ZrjzRqCkTNTuGBEoOodCke2E

“When I found out that we're in the degenerate dharma ending age where nobody can get enlightened, I thought, ‘That sucks. Why am I even doing this then?' And then I decided that's a great place to practice. If we don't have to worry about getting anywhere with it, we can just sit.” - Jason Dodge   Jason skillfully navigates us through the perfect paradoxes of the Diamond Sutra, and we all get a little nerdy on some fascinating (if a little odd) Buddhist Cosmology. What exactly are the 32 marks of a buddha, the three bodies of a Buddha, and the six perfections. Why does none of it matter to our practice and why is it helpful to hear anyway? And are we truly living in the degenerate age, and if so why is that the best time to practice?? Find out here!

The Diamond Sutra, also known as the Lightning Strike Sutra, reveals the paradoxical clarity of the awakened Self, and enables the attainment of the merit which entitles us to dream a perfect world.

This week Kiley takes us waaaay back to the origins of history so we can get an enlightened look at the origins of communication and preservation of that knowledge.Topic: The Diamond Sutra, the earliest printed book.✨New: Subscribe on Buzzsprout to help us make the show, and future bonus content right in your RSS! ✨ https://www.buzzsprout.com/308030/supporters/newMusic: "Another Day" by The Fisherman.Cover Art by LezullaPlease Rate & Review us on Podchaser!You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and visit our website at www.HalfwitPodcasts.com! Reach out, say hello, or suggest a topic at HalfwitPod@gmail.com, or on this form!

As we begin to talk about the arrival of Buddhism on the Japanese archipelago we start out with a look at the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, and his teachings. For more, check out our webpage at https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode- Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 83: Shakyamuni, aka the Historical Buddha. First a quick note—it has been brought to my attention that some of the episodes are out of order, particularly the older episodes.  I'm going to try to fix that.  It probably has to do with a decision I made about a year or so in to not worry about the “season” number, since this isn't exactly a “seasonal” show.  But if some episodes are marked as “Season 1” then they likely show up differently.  I'll probably see if I can't just remove the “Season” number from all of the episodes and hopefully that will fix it. Last episode we talked about the happenings over on the Korean Peninsula during the reign of Ame Kunioshi, aka Kimmei Tennou, and it wasn't looking very good for Yamato and their allies.  Over the course of the last several decades in our story the kingdom of Silla rose to power, brokered a deal with Baekje, and then ended up eating up all of the smaller polities that sat between them, including Nimna, Kara, and whatever else was there. A Baekje-Yamato alliance attempted to put the brakes on Silla's ambitions, but despite some major offensives they were thwarted time and again.  Overall, it seems rather a bleak outlook for Yamato, but there were several things going for it.  For one thing, with their close relationship with Baekje, Yamato was getting a plethora of new ideas—from how to govern to the subject of our current episode: religion. That's right, if you didn't figure it out from the title, we are finally going to talk about Buddhism. The Buddhist religion and its accompanying institutions have played a huge role in the development of Japan and Japanese culture, and so we are going to want to understand something about this and where it came from, and the journey it took to get to the islands. And to start with, let's go back to the very beginning, of what Buddhism actually is. Now this isn't going to be an in depth history of Buddhism, but I am going to try to hit the high points so that we have some context for things we'll see later on.  It should also be noted that, while the core of the religion remained the same, specific beliefs and practices were not always universal across all people and at all times.  Also, not everyone believes in exactly the same things, and as an outsider I'm going to do my best, but this will probably be more at the level of a Wiki article than a scholarly treatise.  If you are interested in more, I highly recommend looking into what various scholars have written. Also, a lot of what I'm pulling from is Andrew Skilton's book, “A Concise History of Buddhism”, mainly because I think it fits what we are trying to outline here, but I recognize that there other teachings and scholarly discussions.  Still, I think most of what we talk about will probably be at an even higher level than that book gets into. And that brings me to another thing that's important to say up front:  when I say Buddhism, I'm not necessarily talking about Zen, or any particular sect, at least not right now - though Zen is Buddhism, or a school of Buddhism.  Likewise you might also hear about Tendai, Shingon, or even Jodo, or Pure Land, Buddhism— those are all sects within Buddhism, and just some of the schools that made it to Japan, although a lot of them don't appear until after the time we're currently in.  The differences between these sects could be likened to the differences between Roman Catholicism and various Protestant groups—or even with the Orthodox church.  While they have differences, they also have their similarities, and the core beliefs that make them all Buddhist. As to why this is so important—Buddhism had a huge impact on the development of Japan.  As we'll talk about in a later episode, the adoption of Buddhism affected not just the philosophical thinking of the Japanese court, but had direct impacts that would bring about the end of what we consider the Kofun era.  Furthermore, having at least a cursory understanding of Buddhism is going to be useful in understanding some of the ways people thought about the world they inhabited. Finally:  I am probably going to butcher the pronunciation on a lot of Buddhist terms, but I will do my best.  Where possible I may preference the Japanese terms, both because they are more familiar to me, but also because that is how most of us will encounter them in the context of Japanese history. Buddhism gets its name from the fact that it promulgates the teachings of the Buddha, the Enlightened One, and while various people are believed to have attained this enlightened state over the course of human history, we usually are referring to the individual known to us as the Historical Buddha, also known to us as Siddartha Gautama. Tradition holds that Siddartha was the son of one of the elites of the Shakya clan—later this would translate into the term “Prince”, though some think that term may not be quite accurate.  Still he was born into power and privilege, at the height of his society; later this would translate into him being considered a member of the Kshatriya warrior class. His birthplace is thought to be located in “Lumbini”, at the foothills of the Himalayan mountains, in modern Tibet, in the 6th century BCE.  Some traditions put the year of his birth at about 566 BCE, though there are those that suggest a later date, even into the 5th century.     From a young age, we are told that Siddartha was protected from much of the outside world, living a life of luxury, and unaware of the poverty and suffering that went on outside of the palace walls.  You see, a seer had predicted that he would be destined to lead an empire—either political or spiritual.  And so his father did everything he could to ensure that Siddartha would aspire to the political.  Even though his mother had died when he was young, Siddartha was largely insulated from any suffering until his teenage years, and he was even provided a young wife, Yashodhara, by the time he was sixteen years old—which probably wasn't that young, back in those days.  It was as a young man, in his late twenties, traveling about the land in a carriage, that Siddhartha saw four sights that suddenly set his mind on a different path.  First, he saw an old man, and in asking about him, it occurred to him that old age and infirmity were the inevitable outcome of life; there is no escaping it.   Likewise he encountered people suffering from disease and even death, in the form of a dead body.  All of this forced him to confront the fact that suffering is a part of life here on the mortal plane.  Finally, he encountered a wandering ascetic, which got him to thinking about spiritual matters, and that perhaps there must be a better way—a solution to all of this suffering. As he contemplated what to do, he was suddenly graced with what should have been wonderful news:  his wife had just given birth to a son.  However, to Siddhartha, he saw this child as simply one more thing that was keeping him from going out and seeking answers to the problems he saw.  The comfort of his life, the social obligations, the privileges he had were all metaphorical chains, keeping him from going out really trying to answer the questions he had. And so, at the age of 29, he absconded himself.  He left his wife and child.  He left the power and prestige and worldly possessions he had inherited from his family, and he went out to seek answers and to find out how to put an end to suffering. To do this, he sought out teachers, one after the other, learned what they had to teach, found himself at the end of what they could give him, and moved on.  These teachers provided various meditation techniques, which helped, perhaps, to ease or even forget the pain and suffering of existence, but the pain and suffering were still there, nonetheless. It should be noted that a core belief at this time was in the concept of reincarnation.  The idea that, based on your karmic balance, that is the difference between the good and evil that you did, here in the world, you would be reborn after death into a new body and a new life.  If you did well, then you would be born higher up the ladder of existence, perhaps into a better caste or more.  But if you committed sins and evil acts then you would find yourself born further down the ladder of existence, perhaps even as an animal or an insect. The problem, as Siddartha saw it, was that all of this just meant you kept going back through the same things over and over again, coming back into the world, and once more experiencing suffering.  Even stories of the gods themselves tell of their wants and needs, and of their fighting,  suffering, and even dying.  As long as one stayed on the wheel of life and death, suffering would be inevitable, and you'd always come back around to it. He sought out answers in some of the extreme forms of asceticism.  Holding his breath for long periods.  Starving himself.  These were meant to bring on a state wherein he hoped he would find the answers.  Eventually, though, he spurned these techniques as well, claiming they were dangerous and unnecessary. He instead ate food in reasonable quantities, and found a form of meditation that felt natural.  In other words, he sought out a path between the extremes of hedonistic overindulgence and severe deprivation—a Middle Way, one might say.  Practicing this tempered form of existence, he meditated under a tree, and it was there that Siddartha Gautama achieved an awakening, or enlightenment.  He could see the world for what it truly was, and gained profound insight into our condition.  This is how he became known as Buddha, or “the one who has awoken”, to quote Andrew Skilton.  He was only 35 years old—he had been studying for 6 years to this point, when he finally found the answers he was looking for. Quick side note right here: For many, “Buddha” is not a single person or individual.  People may talk about the historical Buddha to refer to Siddhartha Gautama, but technically “Buddha” is a title for anyone who has awakened to the truths of the universe.  Buddhist traditions would come to define various people who had attained this enlightened state, though Siddhartha Gautama is generally considered the most important for the current era. Siddhartha Gautama spent the next forty-five years or so of his life wandering the land and teaching his Middle Way to anyone who would listen.  He initially spent time teaching in the area of the Bodhi Tree, where he had first experienced his revelation, and this area is known to us as Bodh Gaya.  He later went to a deer park in the area of Rshipatana, where five of the ascetics whom he used to hang out with were gathered. These ascetics had known Siddhartha when they were all practicing extreme deprivation together.  They had come to see him as a teacher, but turned from him when he spurned his own attainments and started on his Middle Path.  It took some initial convincing, but Siddhartha was eventually able to convince them and bring them around. From five, Siddhartha's disciples soon grew to 60, and he sent them out across the land to share his teachings with the people.  His community of followers—known as his Sangha—continued to grow.  As for Siddhartha himself, he seems to have focused much of his time on urban centers, with much of the last 20 to 25 years spent weathering the rainy monsoon seasons in the city of Sravasti. When he was 80 years old, Siddhartha grew seriously ill, possibly from something he ate.  Realizing his own state, it is said that he predicted his death in three days, and he passed away among a grove of trees.  Seven days later, his remains were cremated, and, much as with holy men everywhere, bone and teeth left over from the cremation were distributed as relics.  Tradition holds that ten relics went to ten rulers for burial under stupas, or memorial mounds, as a tribute to Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. After his death, his disciples continued to grow the community, or Sangha, and spread the word.  The life and teachings of the Buddha were written down in various documents and these were copied into different languages.  In about the 3rd century BCE, Buddhism gained a powerful patron in the form of Ashoka.  No, not the Togruta jedi, Ahsoka Tano, but the Mauryan king, Ashoka the Great.  Much of what comes down to us about Ashoka is as likely legend as fact, but we do know some things for certain because Ashoka left his own words carved in stone across his kingdom.  Many of these mention Buddhist ideas and concepts and even identify key sites, such as the site of Lumbini, where Siddhartha Gautama was born. At the same time, I would be remiss in not pointing out that it can be difficult to suss out just what Ashoka believed.  He certainly patronized Buddhism, much as Constantine patronized Christianity, including calling councils together to help ensure Buddhist orthodoxy, but it also can be read as a form of propaganda, utilizing Buddhist concepts to strengthen his own rule.  We'll see how later sovereigns would use similar tactics to lay claim to being a Buddhist sovereign, as well. Whatever his motivations, the pillars and inscriptions left from the 3rd century BCE provide us some of the first instances of the term “Buddha”, as well as another name, “Shakyamuni”, the “Sage of the Shakyas”; the “Shakyas” being Siddhartha's own people. So with the patronage of Ashoka the Great, the influence of Buddhism spread.  But what was it? Well, what we know is what was passed down, first as oral tradition, and later written down. First of all, all things in existence are impermanent.  That is they come and go.  People live and they die.  Even we change, moment from moment, nothing is truly static in this world—even if it were to last for thousands and thousands of years. Then there is suffering—the bane of humankind's existence.  However, it is also inescapable, at least in this life.  Describing suffering, and his solution to it, Siddhartha, aka Shakyamuni, revealed the Four Noble Truths, which are at the heart of Buddhist teaching.  They are, roughly: ·         Suffering is an innate characteristic of existence.  Even the greatest pleasure eventually fades, leaving longing in its wake.  No matter how many times you go round the wheel of life and death, you cannot escape it. ·         Suffering arises because of our desires. From our material wants and needs to simply our desire to not be hungry or cold. ·         Ending our attachment can help us put an end to suffering. ·         To put an end to desire, and thus to suffering, one should follow the Eightfold Path. So the four noble truths are something like a diagnosis of the human condition and then a potential solution.  By the way, notice the numbers four and eight—just as Christianity tends to find particular value in the number seven (seven deadly sins, seven heavenly virtues, etc.) and 12 (Jesus and the 12 Apostles), Buddhism finds particular significant in the number eight, and, to some degree, the number four, although that would clash in some areas of East Asia, where the word for “four” sounded like the word for death. And that eight is found in Shakyamuni's recipe for how to end suffering: Right understanding Right resolve Right speech Right action Right livelihood Right effort Right mindfulness Right concentration These are all individual actions for someone to strive to achieve, but they are also pretty vague.  After all, what is “Right Understanding” or “Right Resolve”?  That feels kind of like giving someone directions by saying “take the right road and you'll get to where you want to go”. Indeed, Buddhism therefore offers various precepts for how to live your life in accordance with the eightfold path.  There are precepts for the lay person and precepts for monks and nuns.  These include the requirement to avoid taking a life, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and even harsh, frivolous, or senseless speech.  There are also positive admonitions, such as to cultivate loving kindness and speech that is truthful, kindly, helpful, etc.  There are different lists of these precepts, but they generally include the same things. On top of this were the rules for monks, including such things as fasting after midday; no singing or dancing; no garlands, scent, or adornments; no luxurious beds; and a vow of poverty—no accepting gold or silver, the coin of the day.  Besides following the precepts, there were various teachings and practices that monks and lay persons can follow.  Most common are various techniques of meditation, meant to help open the mind to see beyond the surface of what we can perceive with our eyes and our ears and to transform one's consciousness. All of this was geared towards the eventual attainment of a state of enlightenment, and eventually, nirvana.  Contrary to many popular portrayals, though, nirvana is not some kind of heavenly existence.  After all, any existence in this plane, at least as we know it, was still suffering.  Instead, to attain nirvana meant to escape the cycle of death and rebirth entirely.  How and what that looks like may vary depending on your interpretation, but that is generally agreed upon as the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice. This does not mean that there was not a concept of a heaven or a hell in Buddhism.  While some have suggested that much of Buddhism and Buddhist practice is philosophical in nature, or geared more towards mindful practice, it is also steeped in certain cosmological views of the universe, and greatly influenced by the beliefs in the Indian subcontinent.  Gods and demons, however, were simply different orders of existence, and even gods and demons could seek their own escape from suffering if they chose to do so. It appears as though Buddhism was originally passed down as an oral tradition amongst the community of Shakyamuni's followers.  Eventually this was written down in texts, describing Buddhism for those who came later.  The canonical texts that outline the Dharma, that is to say the teachings of the historical Buddha, are known as sutras.  They contain the actual words of the historical Buddha, or so it is believed, and the core of his teachings. Then there are the Vinaya, which are those writings about the community, or Sangha, and the rules for the community and for various monks.  These came about as the community grew, and various Buddhists in different areas, without access to the direct disciples of the Buddha themselves, started to vary in their practices.  As such, the Vinaya texts were written to try to give some shared reference material. Finally, there are the Abhidharma texts, which are further writings about the teachings, generally with a more scholarly bent.  They elaborate upon what is found in the sutras, but are not considered the actual teachings of the historical Buddha. Together, these three classes of texts are known in the Buddhist tradition as the Tripitaka, or three baskets, with any canonical text generally falling into one of the three descriptions. I'll note that it is unclear to me just when these texts were written down.  The oldest extant sutra fragments are from sometime between the 1st century BCE and the 3rd century CE, but some of the texts—particularly sutras and Abhidharma texts, were likely around much earlier.  Various traditions make claims to when different texts were written, but it can be hard, sometimes, to discern fact from fiction. There is also at least one other form of Buddhist literature which would be important in its spread, and that is the jataka tales.  These are stories about the previous lives of the Buddha.  Much like Aesop's fables or the parables found in the Bible, these are stories that contain lessons and often help to break down or explain a particular point, but they are not necessarily the direct teachings of the Buddha himself. The focus of the canon was to help define and preserve the Three Jewels of Buddhism:  Memory of the Historical Buddha, Siddartha Gautama, aka the Shakyamuni Buddha; the Dharma, which is to say, his teachings, and the Sangha, or the community of followers. Over time, things changed.  Early on, Buddhist monks would wander much of the year, coming back together during the rainy seasons and then dispersing again.  At various times they would call a council and come together and ensure they still held the same doctrines, though even with that, differences began to form.  At first it was just over things like the rules of conduct, which might differ in one place or another.  Eventually, though, different sutras began to appear here and there, claiming to describe different teachings of the Buddha.  One such sutra is the Lotus Sutra, which claims to tell the story of what the Buddha taught after his last sermon.  It claims that after most of the people had left, the Buddha began another discourse just for those who remained, and that became known as the Lotus sutra, one that many will likely have heard of.  Other texts include the Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra. Not everyone accepted these texts as factual and canonical scriptures, however.  Particularly in the south, down to Sri Lanka, many of the Buddhist communities continued to focus on what they considered the orthodox canonical texts, while others began to incorporate these new sutras into their practice.  Those sects that accepted the new sutras, which often focused on the concept of Boddhisatvas—individuals who had done all they needed to attain Buddhahood, but who had “remained” in this world to help shepherd and guide others—or on various tantric and spiritual techniques to attain Buddhahood for themselves, became known as the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, sects.  On the other hand, those sects that denied the authenticity of such sutras and which tried to keep to what they believed was the original tripitaka became known as Theravada Buddhism.   Today, Theravada Buddhism tends to be more popular in Southeast Asia, in places like Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos, while Mahayana Buddhism tends to define many of the practices in Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan. In addition to changes in what people considered doctrine, the nature of the Sangha and Buddhist worship changed as well.  Over time, monasteries were set up as specific places where monks could settle down. This may have originally arisen from the places where they would gather during the monsoons, but they eventually became places where the monks themselves stayed, and where individuals might come to learn.  In addition, there was a rise in the worship of holy relics, and many such settlements would have one or more stupas containing some form of holy relic that the people could pray to. People also built statues depicting the Buddha and other figures from the stories.  An entire school of how to depict various Buddhas and other figures came about, with specific hand gestures  and postures imparting specific meaning to what was built.  Traditions arose around how to build these temples and monasteries as well as to how to build the various statues and even to specific identifying features that would call out the Buddha, such as long fingers, drooping earlobes that had once held heavy and elaborate earrings, toes that were all the same length, et cetera.  The features of Buddha images—especially the faces—would change in different areas.  Much as Jesus is often depicted as a white man, Buddha would typically be depicted with features similar to the people who were making the image. Still, certain aspects remain the same from one tradition to another such that they are all recognizable as the Buddha. From Shakyamuni's home south of the Himalayas, Buddhism would eventually spread, following the trade routes of the so-called Silk Road.  Buddhist missionaries appear to have made contact with the Han dynasty, but it wasn't until the Northern and Southern states period that it really took off.  Likewise, it made its way to the Korean peninsula, and from there to Japan. But those are all things to save for our next episode, when we take a look at just how this new religion grew and expanded and became so influential in the continent and eventually in the peninsula and the archipelago itself. Until then, thank you for listening and for all of your support.  If you like what we are doing, tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

“Abiding no-where mind comes forth.” Maria Habito returns to Mountain Cloud's zoom zendo and talks about the Diamond Sutra. When we enter deep silence, the diamond cuts through every notion

In episode # 162, Dr. Reese is joined by James Gattuso & Joe LaChance to read one of the most famous teachings of the Buddha called, the Diamond Sutra. At the end, they provide some commentary as to what Gotama the Buddha was saying to his student, a monk named Subhuti. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/drreese/message

Buddhahood is not in the words. The Tathagata is experience of the very engine of life. 

With our mind, we can experience the totality of “life” as it manifests far beyond the samsaric restrictions we create with our warehouse/database of identifications and possessions.  

Potential, Probability, Instantiation, Kinetics, and the momentum that is life itself. 

Tathagatahood, this Dharma, it is experience itself. To 'define' experience is not to experience. 

Communicate with others as to their Buddha nature rather than their warehouses of identity. 

The realization of equanimity brings Subhuti to tears. 

We do not change "the world", we change our perception and experience of the worlds. 

Read, write, copy, sing, share, just a small portion of the teachings and your bounty (life experience) will be immeasurable. 

ADZG 1032 ADZG Sunday Morning Dharma Talk by Hogetsu Laurie Belzer

In this episode, I share my journey into baldness caused by Alopecia Areata. September is Alopecia Awareness month, so I'm happy to share this episode now. No matter what our hair looks like or changes to, we are never satisfied. Hair seems one of the most prominent marks of our self. We seem uniquely attached to our hair as self. My hair loss first started in mid-December 2021, then paused and seemed to start growing back, then in April it was on a steady downward trend. And by July, I began to make peace with the fact that I was losing so much hair there wasn't much of a point in trying to hide it, so I shaved it all off. This was a process of working to accept things as they are, called Arugamama, from Morita Therapy in Japanese Psychology. Listen to this episode to see how I've come to accept my new bald self. ***************** Book, Diamond Sutra by Red Pine, mentioned in this podcast: The Diamond Sutra - Translation & Commentary by Red Pine  My book, mentioned in this podcast: Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices For Real Change

https://youtu.be/W6-IDgx4lQU

Composer and musician Carole Nelson helps us contemplate the dangerous wisdom of jazz and her new album, Night Vision. In honor of our dialogue, Carole and I collaborated on a meditative video project. You can check out the two takes we released here:https://youtu.be/aWN6UDYp86Ehttps://youtu.be/OrnoYWUkVBwIn our dialogue, we make reference to Thich Nhat Hanh's book, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, as well as The Diamond Sutra.We also make reference to an older podcast episode titled, “This Changes Everything”. Look for the re-release of that episode soon. Carole Nelson is a Londoner who has lived in Ireland for nearly 40 years. She is a multi-award winning composer, a jazz and improvising musician, pianist, saxophonist and songwriter. Her most recent work is with the Carole Nelson Trio, with whom she has recorded 3 acclaimed albums. Her music reflects the natural world – the woodlands, river and wildlife in her home in southern Ireland. She endeavours to integrate an authentic ecoliteracy into her creative practice and into her engagement with the world.She is a long-time meditation practitioner in the tradition of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh's socially engaged buddhism and she facilitates days of mindfulness.

The Buzz 1: In 1440 – 600 years after The Diamond Sutra, the world's oldest printed book – Gutenberg invented the wooden mass-printing press. In 1845 Richard Hoe invented the rotary press and first paperback. In 1993, Peter James published the thriller Host on 2 floppy disks – the first electronic novel – and BiblioBooks launched a website to sell eBooks. Along came the 2gb Kindle, able to hold 1,100 books. Today, print books still make up 65+% of sales in the $113Bn annual book market. To be competitive, some print books have covers with gold gilded edges, metal and transparent overlays, and some eBooks let you choose adventure story lines and have animated and interactive covers. [adazing.com] The Buzz 2: “When people ask me about the future of publishing, my answer always starts with: There's no such thing as a single future of publishing … traditional publishers release fewer nonfiction books…total number of nonfiction books is going way up because more Authors are self-publishing.” [scribemedia.com Tucker Max is co-founder of Scribe] We'll ask publisher/writer Patricia Wooster, novelists Matt Cost and BJ Magnani, and publisher Eddie Vincent for their take on The Future of Publishing and Technology: Read All About It!

The Buzz 1: In 1440 – 600 years after The Diamond Sutra, the world's oldest printed book – Gutenberg invented the wooden mass-printing press. In 1845 Richard Hoe invented the rotary press and first paperback. In 1993, Peter James published the thriller Host on 2 floppy disks – the first electronic novel – and BiblioBooks launched a website to sell eBooks. Along came the 2gb Kindle, able to hold 1,100 books. Today, print books still make up 65+% of sales in the $113Bn annual book market. To be competitive, some print books have covers with gold gilded edges, metal and transparent overlays, and some eBooks let you choose adventure story lines and have animated and interactive covers. [adazing.com] The Buzz 2: “When people ask me about the future of publishing, my answer always starts with: There's no such thing as a single future of publishing … traditional publishers release fewer nonfiction books…total number of nonfiction books is going way up because more Authors are self-publishing.” [scribemedia.com Tucker Max is co-founder of Scribe] We'll ask publisher/writer Patricia Wooster, novelists Matt Cost and BJ Magnani, and publisher Eddie Vincent for their take on The Future of Publishing and Technology: Read All About It!

The Buzz 1: In 1440 – 600 years after The Diamond Sutra, the world's oldest printed book – Gutenberg invented the wooden mass-printing press. In 1845 Richard Hoe invented the rotary press and first paperback. In 1993, Peter James published the thriller Host on 2 floppy disks – the first electronic novel – and BiblioBooks launched a website to sell eBooks. Along came the 2gb Kindle, able to hold 1,100 books. Today, print books still make up 65+% of sales in the $113Bn annual book market. To be competitive, some print books have covers with gold gilded edges, metal and transparent overlays, and some eBooks let you choose adventure story lines and have animated and interactive covers. [adazing.com] The Buzz 2: “When people ask me about the future of publishing, my answer always starts with: There's no such thing as a single future of publishing … traditional publishers release fewer nonfiction books…total number of nonfiction books is going way up because more Authors are self-publishing.” [scribemedia.com Tucker Max is co-founder of Scribe] We'll ask publisher/writer Patricia Wooster, novelists Matt Cost and BJ Magnani, and publisher Eddie Vincent for their take on The Future of Publishing and Technology: Read All About It!

07/30/2022, Furyu Nancy Schroeder, dharma talk at City Center. This talk is about our practice of meditation as seen through the many facets of the Perfection of Wisdom teaching of the Diamond Cutter Sutra. A teaching, like Zen itself, that is, “not dependent on words and letters” and yet…concluded a month long study of this transformational text.

07/17/2022, Jiryu Rutschman-Byler, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Jiryu reflects on a teaching in the Diamond Sutra that one moment of insight into emptiness is more meritorious than the greatest of material gifts.

Rev. Gyomay Kubose, my teacher's father, wrote about "purposeless purpose." He said: "Too much intelligence or too much efficiency can create trouble. So, we must learn non-intelligence, which is super intelligence." Does that sound nonsensical? Our sangha is studying The Diamond Sutra now and it is filled with reasoning (or non reasoning?) like that. It is the the superpower of the Dharma because the wisdom it contains is transcendent. You can't "get there" from here, by what is normally considered intelligence. You can only get there by learning "non-intelligence", as Rev. Gyomay teaches. My overall word of advice for enjoying being a student of the Dharma is to relax and not try to "figure it out." One of the main points of practicing with the Prajnaparamita sutras is to NOT try and understand it. That is what these sutras are teaching: It's NOT understanding. It's NOT about concepts. It's about living. Support the podcast through the affiliate link to buy the book, Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change: Buy the book, "Everyday Buddhism" Red Pine's translation and commentary of The Diamond Sutra And books from Rev. Koyo Kubose and Rev. Gyomay Kubose: Bright Dawn: Discovering Your Everyday Spirituality Everyday Suchness: Buddhist Essays on Everyday Living The Center Within

LIGHTNING-LIKE AWARENESS An 8-week course on the Vajra Sutra Saturdays, July 9 - August 27 9:00-10:15 AM (Pacific Time) Tuition: $200 All Classes are held live on Zoom with recordings of every class available for participants afterwards (for lifetime access.) DESCRIPTION: The Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, ‘The Sutra That Cuts Like Lightning', is more commonly known as the Diamond Sutra, and is one of the most influential Mahayana Buddhist sutras. It is among the oldest known discourses on developing enlightened awareness and the 'perfection of wisdom'. This course is a line-by-line reading and study of the Vajra Sutra, enabling a deep understanding of its meanings, and its significance within the broader context of Buddhism. We will trace the text's possible origins, and reflect on its contemporary use and related practices. ​

It's the anniversary of the printing of the first known book, the Diamond Sutra. In the year 868, Wang Chieh printed a Buddhist scripture on a 16-foot scroll using wood blocks.