Podcasts about mahayana buddhist

This talk is given by Kosho Janet Ault at Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple on February 9th 2025, given by Assistant Temple Manager at Heart of Wisdom and Manager of Trillium Zen practice house. In this talk Kosho discusses the various facets of death in our culture and in the Mahayana Buddhist view on spiritual death.  ★ Support this podcast ★

What are referred to in the Mahayana Buddhist literature as the “eight mundane concerns” or the “eight worldly dharmas” are, in fact, simply primordial levels of attachment that exist virtually as assumptions in our minds. This assumption is that I must get what I want every second, thus causing us to constantly crave happy feelings, getting nice things, hearing pleasant words with our name in them, and having people approve of us. Attachment can't stand it when we get the opposite! Lhagsam Tibetan Meditation

This episode features Russell Duvernoy, PhD, Associate Professor of Philosophy at King's University College at Western University in London, Ontario. We discuss Russell's engagement with process philosophies, environmental philosophy, contemporary Continental philosophy, and comparative philosophy (including classical Daoism, Mahayana Buddhist philosophy, and world Indigenous philosophies). We touch on topics like attention, affect, tensions between speculative and existential philosophies, and the idea of ecological conversion. Some of these topics are covered in his monograph, Affect and Attention after Deleuze and Whitehead: Ecological Attunement (Edinburgh University Press, 2020).

This episode we will finish up the travels of Xuanzang, who circumnavigated the Indian subcontinent while he was there, spending over a decade and a half travelings, visiting important Buddhist pilgrimage sites, and studying at the feet of learned monks of India, and in particular at Nalanda monastery--a true center of learning from this period. For more, check out our blogpost page:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-122 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 122:  Journey to the West, Part 3 The courtyard at Nalanda was quiet.  Although hundreds of people were crowded in, trying to hear what was being said, they were all doing their best to be silent and still.  Only the wind or an errant bird dared speak up.  The master's voice may not have been what it once was—he was definitely getting on in years—but Silabhadra's mind was as sharp as ever. At the front of the crowd was a relatively young face from a far off land.  Xuanzang had made it to the greatest center of learning in the world, and he had been accepted as a student of perhaps the greatest sage of his era.  Here he was, receiving lessons on some of the deepest teachings of the Mahayana Buddhist sect, the very thing he had come to learn and bring home. As he watched and listened with rapt attention, the ancient teacher began to speak….   For the last two episodes, and continuing with this one, we have been covering the travels of the monk Xuanzang in the early 7th century, starting around 629 and concluding in 645.  Born during the Sui dynasty, Xuanzang felt that the translations of the Buddhist sutras available in China were insufficient—many of them had been made long ago, and often were translations of translations.  Xuanzang decided to travel to India in the hopes of getting copies in the original language to provide more accurate translations of the sutras, particularly the Mahayana sutras.  His own accounts of his journeys, even if drawn from his memory years afterwards, provide some of our most detailed contemporary evidence of the Silk Road and the people and places along the way.  After he returned, he got to work on his translations, and became quite famous.  Several of the Japanese students of Buddhism who traveled to the Tang dynasty in the 650s studied under him directly and brought his teachings back to Japan with them.  His school of “Faxiang” Buddhism became known in Japan as the Hosso sect, and was quite popular during the 7th and 8th centuries.  Xuanzang himself, known as Genjou in Japan, would continue to be venerated as an important monk in the history of Buddhism, and his travels would eventually be popularized in fantastic ways across East Asia. Over the last couple of episodes we talked about Xuanzang's illegal and harrowing departure from the Tang empire, where he had to sneak across the border into the deserts of the Western Regions.  We then covered his time traveling from Gaochang, to Suyab, and down to Balkh, in modern Afghanistan.  This was all territory under the at least nominal control of the Gokturk empire.  From Balkh he traveled to Bamyan, and then on to Kapisa, north of modern Kabul, Afghanistan.  However, after Kapisa, Xuanzang was finally entering into the northern territories of what he knew as “India”, or “Tianzhu”. Here I would note that I'm using “India” to refer not to a single country, but to the entirety of the Indian subcontinent, and all of the various kingdoms there -- including areas now part of the modern countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.  The Sinitic characters used to denote this region are pronounced, today, as “Tianzhu”, with a rough meaning of “Center of Heaven”, but it is likely that these characters were originally pronounced in such a way that the name likely came from terms like “Sindhu” or “Induka”.  This is related to the name of the Sindh or Indus river, from which India gets its name.  Xuanzang's “Record of the Western Regions” notes that the proper pronunciation of the land should be “Indu”.  In Japan, this term was transmitted through the Sinitic characters, or kanji, and pronounced as “Tenjiku”.  Since it featured so prominently in the stories of the life of the Buddha and many of the Buddhist sutras, Tenjiku was known to the people of the Japanese archipelago as a far off place that was both real and fantastical. In the 12th century, over a thousand stories were captured for the “Konjaku Monogatarishu”, or the “Collection of Tales Old and New”, which is divided up into tales from Japan, China, and India.  In the famous 9th or 10th century story, “Taketori Monogatari”, or the “Bamboo-Cutter's Tale”, about princess Kaguya hime, one of the tasks the princess sets to her suitors is to go to India to find the begging bowl of the Buddha.  Records like those produced by Xuanzang and his fellow monks, along with the stories in the sutras, likely provided the majority of what people in the Japanese archipelago knew about India, at least to begin with. Xuanzang talks about the land of India as being divided into five distinct parts—roughly the north, south, east, west, and center.  He notes that three sides face the sea and that the Snow Mountains—aka the Himalayas—are in the north.  It is, he says, “Wide in the north and narrow in the south, in the shape of a crescent moon”.  Certainly the “Wide in the north and narrow in the south” fit the subcontinent accurately enough, and it is largely surrounded by the waters of what we know as the Indian Ocean to the west, the east, and the south.  The note about the Crescent Moon might be driven by Xuanzang's understanding of a false etymology for the term “Indus”, which he claims comes from the word for “moon”.  Rather, this term appears to refer to the Indus River, also known as the Sindh or Sindhus, which comes from an ancient word meaning something like “River” or “Stream”. Xuanzang also notes that the people of the land were divided into castes, with the Brahman caste at the top of the social hierarchy.    The land was further divided into approximately 70 different countries, according to his accounts.  This is known broadly as the Early Medieval period, in India, in which the region was divided into different kingdoms and empires that rose and fell across the subcontinent, with a total size roughly equivalent to that covered by the countries of the modern European Union.  Just like Europe, there were many different polities and different languages spoken across the land – but just as Latin was the common language in Europe, due to its use in Christianity, Sanskrit was the scholarly and religious language in much of India, and could also be used as a bridge language.  Presumably, Xuanzang understood Sanskrit to some extent as a Buddhist monk.  And, just a quick note, all of this was before the introduction of Islam, though there were other religions also practiced throughout the subcontinent, but Xuanzang was primarily focused on his Buddhist studies. Xuanzang describes India as having three distinct seasons—The hot season, the rainy season, and the cold season, in that order.  Each of these were four month long periods.  Even today, the cycle of the monsoon rains is a major impact on the life of people in South Asia.  During the rainy season, the monks themselves would retreat back to their monasteries and cease their wanderings about the countryside. This tradition, called “Vassa”, is still a central practice in many Theravada Buddhist societies such as Thailand and Laos today, where they likewise experience this kind of intensely wet monsoon season. Xuanzang goes on to give an in depth analysis of the people and customs of the Indian subcontinent, as he traveled from country to country. So, as we've done before, we'll follow his lead in describing the different locations he visited. The first country of India that Xuanzang came to was the country of Lampa, or Lamapaka, thought to be modern Laghman province in Afghanistan.  At the time it was a dependency of Kapisa.  The Snow Mountains, likely meaning the Hindu Kush, the western edge of the Himalayas, lay at its north, while the “Black Mountains” surrounded it on the other three sides.  Xuanzang mentions how the people of Lampa grow non-glutinous rice—likely something similar to basmati rice, which is more prevalent in South Asian cuisine, as compared to glutinous rice like more often used in East Asia. From Lampa he headed to Nagarahara, likely referring to a site near the Kabul River associated with the ruins of a stupa called Nagara Gundi, about 4 kilometers west of modern Jalalabad, Afghanistan.  This was another vassal city-state of Kapisa.  They were still Mahayana Buddhists, but there were other religions as well, which Xuanzang refers to as “heretical”, though I'm not entirely sure how that is meant in this context.  He does say that many of the stupas were dilapidated and in poor condition. Xuanzang was now entering areas where he likely believed the historical Buddha had once walked.  In fact, Lampa was perhaps the extent of historical Buddha's travels, according to the stories and the sutras, though this seems unlikely to have been true.  The most plausible locations for the Historical Buddha's pilgrimages were along the Ganges river, which was on the other side of the subcontinent, flowing east towards modern Kolkatta and the Bengal Bay.  However, as Buddhism spread, so, too, did stories of the Buddha's travels.  And so, as far as Xuanzang was concerned, he was following in the footsteps of the Buddha. Speaking of which, at Nagarahara, Xuanzang mentions “footprints” of the Buddha.  This is a Buddhist tradition found in many places.  Xuanzang claims that the Tathagatha, the Englightened One, or the Buddha, would fly, because when he walked the land itself shook.  Footprint shapes in rock could be said to be evidence of the Buddha's travels.  Today, in many Buddhist areas you can find footprints carved into rock conforming to stories about the Buddha, such as all the toes being of the same length, or other various signs.  These may have started out as natural depressions in the rock, or pieces of artwork, but they were believed by many to be the actual point at which the Buddha himself touched down.  There are famous examples of these footprints in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and China.  Of course there are also traditions of creating images of the footprint as an object of worship.  Images of footprints, similar to images of the Great Wheel of the Law, may have been some of the earliest images for veneration, as images of the Buddha himself did not appear until much later in the tradition.  One of the oldest such footprints in Japan is at Yakushiji temple, and dated to 753.  It was created based on a rubbing brought back by an envoy to the Tang court, while they were in Chang'an. Like Buddha footprints, there are many other images and stories that show up multiple times in different places, even in Xuanzang's own narrative.  For example, in Nagarahara Xuanzang also shares a story of a cave, where an image of the Buddha could be just barely made out on the wall – maybe maybe an old carving that had just worn away, or maybe an image that was deliberately placed in the darkness as a metaphor for finding the Buddha—finding enlightenment.  This is not an uncommon theme in Buddhism as a whole.  In any case, the story around this image was that it had been placed there to subdue a naga. Now a naga is a mythical snake-like being, and  we are told that this particular naga was the reincarnation of a man who had invoked a curse on the nearby kingdom, then threw himself from a cliff in order to become a naga and sow destruction.  As the story went, the man was indeed reborn, but before he could bring destruction, the Buddha showed up and subdued him, convincing him that this was not right.  And so the naga agreed to stay in the cave, where the Buddha left an image—a shadow—to remind the naga any time that its thoughts might turn to destruction. Later in his travels, at a place name Kausambi, Xuanzang mentions another cave where the Buddha had subdued a venomous dragon and left his shadow on the cave wall.  Allowing for the possibility that the Buddha just had a particular M.O. when dealing with destructive beings, we should also consider the possibility that the story developed in one region—probably closer to the early center of Buddhism, and then traveled outward, such that it was later adopted and adapted to local traditions.  From Nagarahara, Xuanzang continued to the country of Gandhara and its capital city of Purushapura, aka modern Peshwar.  This kingdom was also under vassalage to the Kapisan king.  Here and elsewhere in the journey, Xuanzang notes not only evidence of the historical Buddha, but also monasteries and stupas purported to have been built by King Kanishka and King Asoka.  These were important figures who were held in high regard for spreading Buddhism during their reign.  Continuing through the region of Gandhara, he also passed through Udakhand and the city of Salatura, known as the birthplace of the ancient Sanskrit grammarian, Daksiputra Panini, author of the Astadhyayi [Aestudjayi].  This work is the oldest surviving description of classical Sanskrit, and used grammatical and other concepts that wouldn't be introduced into Western linguistics for eons.  Daksiputra Panini thrived around the 5th or 4th century BCE, but was likely one of the reasons that Sanskrit continued to be used as a language of scholarship and learning even as it died out of usage as the day to day language of the common people.  His works and legacy would have been invaluable to translators like Xuanzang in understanding and translating from Sanskrit. Xuanzang continued on his journey to Kashmira, situated in the Kashmir Valley.  This valley sits between the modern states of Pakistan and India, and its ownership is actively disputed by each.  It is the namesake of the famous cashmere wool—wool from the winter coats of a type of goat that was bred in the mountainous regions.  The winter coat would be made of soft, downy fibers and would naturally fall out in the spring, which the goatherds harvested and made into an extremely fine wool.  In the 7th century and earlier, however, the region was known not as much for its wool, but as a center for Hindu and Buddhist studies.  Xuanzang ended up spending two years in Kashmira studying with teachers there.  Eventually, though, he continued on, passing through the country of Rajpura, and continuing on to Takka and the city of Sakala—modern day Sialkot in the Punjab region of modern Pakistan.  Leaving Sakala, he was traveling with a group when suddenly disaster struck and they were accosted by a group of bandits.  They took the clothes and money of Xuanzang and those with him and then they drove the group into a dry pond in an attempt to corral them while they figured out what they would do—presumably meaning kill them all.  Fortunately for the group, there was a water drain at the southern edge of the pond large enough for one man to pass through.  Xuanzang and one other went through the gap and they were able to escape to a nearby village.  Once they got there, they told the people what had happened, and the villagers quickly gathered weapons and ran out to confront the brigands, who saw a large group coming and ran away.  Thus they were able to rescue the rest of Xuanzang's traveling companions.  Xuanzang's companions were devastated, having lost all of their possessions.  However, Xuanzang comforted them.  After all, they still had their lives.  By this time, Xuanzang had certainly seen his fair share of life and death problems along the road.  They continued on, still in the country of Takka, to the next great city.  There they met a Brahman, and once they told him what had happened, he started marshalling the forces of the city on their behalf.  During Xuanzang's stay in Kashmira, he had built a reputation, and people knew of the quote-unquote “Chinese monk”.  And even though the people in this region were not necessarily Buddhist—many were “heretics” likely referring to those of Hindu faith—the people responded to this pre-Internet “GoFundMe” request with incredible generosity.  They brought Xuanzang food and cloth to make into suits of clothes.  Xuanzang distributed this to his travel companions, and ended up still having enough cloth for 50 suits of clothes himself.  He then stayed at that city a month. It is odd that they don't seem to mention the name of this location.  Perhaps there is something unspeakable about it?  Still, it seems that they were quite generous, even if they were “heretics” according to Xuanzang. From the country of Takka, he next proceeded to the kingdom of Cinabhukti, where he spent 14 months—just over a year—studying with the monks there.  Once he had learned what he could, he proceeded onwards, passing through several countries in northern India until he came to the headwaters of the sacred Ganges rivers.  The Indus and the Ganges rivers are in many ways similar to the Yellow River and Yangzi, at least in regards to their importance to the people of India.  However, whereas the Yellow River and Yangzi both flow east towards the Pacific Ocean, the Indus and Ganges flow in opposite directions.  The Indus flows southwest, from the Himalayas down through modern India into modern Pakistan, emptying into the western Indian Ocean.  The Ganges flows east along the base of the Himalayas and enters the eastern Indian Ocean at Kolkatta.   At the headwaters of the Ganges, Xuanzang found a Buddhist monk named Jayagupta and chose to spend the winter and half of the following spring listening to his sermons and learning at his feet. From there he continued his travels, and ended up being summoned by King Harshavardhana of Kanyakubja, known today as the modern city of Kannauj.  Harshavardhana ruled an immense state that covered much of the territory around the sacred Ganges river.  As word of this strange monk from a far off land reached him, the King wanted to see him for himself.  Xuanzang stayed in Kannauj for three months, completing his studies of the Vibhasha Shastra, aka the Abhidarmma Mahavibhasha Shastra, known in Japanese as the Abidatsuma Daibibasharon, or just as the Daibibasharon or the Basharon, with the latter two terms referring to the translations that Xuanzang performed.   This work is not a sutra, per se, but rather an encyclopedic work that attempted to speak on all of the various doctrinal issues of its day.  It is thought to have been authored around 150 CE, and was influential in the Buddhist teachings of Kashmira, when that was a center of Orthodoxy at the time.  This is what Xuanzang had started studying, and it seems that in Kannauj he was finally able to grasp everything he felt he needed to know about it in order to effectively translate it and teach it when he returned.  That said, his quest was not over.  And after his time in Kannauj, he decided to continue on. His next stop was at the city of Ayodhya.  This was—and is—a city of particular importance in Hindu traditions.  It is said to be the city mentioned in the epic tale known as the Ramayana, though many argue that it was simply named that later in honor of that ancient city.  It does appear to be a city that the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, visited and where he preached.  It was also the home of a famous monk from Gandhara who authored a number of Buddhist tomes and was considered, at least by Xuanzang, a proper Boddhisatva.  And so Xuanzang spent some time paying homage to the places where the Buddha and other holy figures had once walked. “Ayodhya” appears in many forms across Asia.  It is a major pilgrimage center, and the city of “Ayutthaya” in Thailand was named for it, evoking the Ramayana—known in Thai as the Ramakien—which they would adopt as their own national story.  In Silla, there is a story that queen Boju, aka Heo Hwang-ok, wife to the 2nd century King Suro of Geumgwan Gaya, traveled to the peninsula all the way from the foreign country of “Ayuta”, thought to mean Ayodhya.  Her story was written down in the Gaya histories and survives as a fragment found in the Samguk Yusa.  Members of the Gimhae Kim, Gimhae Heo, and Incheon Yi clans all trace their lineage back to her and King Suro. From Ayodhya, Xuanzang took a trip down the Ganges river.  The boat was packed to bursting with some 80 other travelers, and as they traveled towards a particularly heavily forested area, they were set upon by bandits, who rowed their ships out from hiding in the trees and forced the travelers to the shore.  There the bandits made all the travelers strip down and take off their clothing so that the bandits could search for gold or valuables.  According to Xuanzang's biography, these bandits were followers of Durga, a Hindu warrior-goddess, and it is said that each year they would look for someone of particularly handsome features to sacrifice to her.  With Xuanzang's foreign features, they chose him.  And so they took him to be killed.  Xuanzang mentioned that he was on a pilgrimage, and that by interrupting him before they finished he was worried it might be inauspicious for them, but he didn't put up a fight and merely asked to be given time to meditate and calm his mind and that they perform the execution quickly so that he wouldn't even notice. From there, according to the story, a series of miracles occurred that ended up with Xuanzang being released and the bandits worshipping at his feet.  It is times like this we must remember that this biography was being written by Xuanzang's students based on stories he told them about his travels.  While being accosted by bandits on the river strikes me as perfectly plausible, we don't necessarily have the most reliable narrators, so I'm going to have to wonder about the rest.  Speaking of unreliable narration, the exact route that Xuanzang traveled from here on is unclear to me, based on his stated goals and where he was going.  It is possible that he was wandering as opportunities presented themselves —I don't know that he had any kind of map or GPS, like we've said in the past.  And it may be that the routes from one place to another were not always straightforward.  Regardless, he seems to wander southeast for a period before turning again to the north and eventually reaching the city of Shravasti. Shravasti appeared in our discussion of the men of Tukhara in Episode 119.  With the men of Tukhara there was also mentioned a woman from Shravasti.  While it is unlikely that was actually the case—the names were probably about individuals from the Ryukyuan island chain rather than from India—it is probably worth nothing that Shravasti was a thriving place in ancient times.  It was at one time the capital city of the kingdom of Kosala, sharing that distinction with the city of Ayodhya, back in the 7th to 5th centuries BCE.  It is also where the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was said to have spend many years of his life.  This latter fact would have no doubt made it a place of particular importance to Xuanzang on his journeys. From there he traveled east, ending up following the foothills of the Himalayas, and finally came to some of the most central pilgrimages sites for followers of the historical Buddha.  First, he reached Lumbini wood, in modern Nepal, said to have been the birthplace of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.  And then he visited Kushinagara, the site where the Buddha ascended to nirvana—in other words, the place where he passed away.  From there, he traveled to Varanasi, and the deer park monastery, at the place where the Buddha is said to have given one of his most famous sermons.  He even visited the Bodhi tree, the tree under which Siddhartha Gautama is said to have attained enlightenment.  He spent eight or nine days there at Bodhgaya, and word must have spread about his arrival, because several monks from the eminent Nalanda Monastery called upon him and asked him to come to the monastery with them. Nalanda Monastery was about 80 km from Bodhgaya.  This was a grand monastery and center of learning—some say that it was, for a time, the greatest in the world.  It had been founded in the 5th century by the Gupta dynasty, and many of the Gupta rulers and others donated to support the monastery, which also acted as a university.  After the fall of the Gupta dynasty, the monastery was supported by King Harsha of Kannauj, whom Xuanzang had visited earlier.  It ultimately thrived for some 750 years, and is considered by some to be the oldest residential university—meaning that students would come to the temple complex and stay in residence for years at a time to study.  According to Xuanzang, Nalanda hosted some 10,000 monks. Including hosts and guests.  They didn't only study Buddhist teachings, but also logic, grammar, medicine, and divination.  Lectures were given at more than 100 separate places—or classrooms—every day.  It was at Nalanda, that Xuanzang would meet the teacher Silabhadra, who was known as the Right Dharma Store.  Xuanzang requested that he be allowed to study the Yogacharabhumi Shastra—the Yugashijiron, in Japanese.  This is the work that Xuanzang is said to have been most interested in, and one of the works that he is credited with bringing back in one of the first full translations to the Tang dynasty and then to others in East Asia.  It is an encyclopedic work dedicated to the various forms of Yogacara practice, which focuses on the mental disciplines, and includes yoga and meditation practices.  It has a huge influence on nearly all Mahayana schools, including things like the famous Zen and Pure Land schools of Buddhism.  The Yogacharabhumi Shastra is the earliest such encyclopedic work, compiled between the 3rd and 5th centuries—so even if the monk Faxian had brought portions of it back, it was probably not in the final form that Xuanzang was able to access. Silabhadra, for his part, was an ancient teacher—some put his age at 106 years, and his son was in his 70s.  He was one of the few at Nalandra who supposedly knew all of the various texts that they had at the monastery, including the Yogacarabhumi Shastra.  Xuanzang seems to have been quite pleased to study under him.  Xuanzang stayed at the house of Silabhadra's son, Buddhabhadra, and they welcomed him with entertainment that lasted seven days.  We are told that he was then given his own lodgings, a stipend of spices, incense, rice, oil, butter, and milk, along with a servant and a Brahman.  As a visiting monk, he was not responsible for the normal monastic duties, instead being expected to spend the time in study.  Going out, he was carried around by an elephant.   This was certainly the royal treatment. Xuanzang's life at Nalandra wasn't all books: south of the monastery was the city of Rajagrha, the old capital of the kingdom of Magadha, where the ancient Gupta kings had once lived, and on occasional breaks from his studies, Xuanzang would venture out to see the various holy sites.  This included the famous Mt. Grdhrakuta, or Vulture Peak, a location said to be favored by the historical Buddha and central to the Lotus Sutra, arguably the founding document of Mahayana Buddhist tradition. After all, “Mahayana” means “Greater Vehicle” and it is in the Lotus Sutra that we see the metaphor of using different vehicles to escape a burning house.   We've already talked a bit about how the image of Vulture Peak had already become important in Japanese Buddhism: In Episode 112 we talked about how in 648, Abe no Oho-omi had drums piled up at Shitennoji in the shape of Vulture Peak. But although the sightseeing definitely enhanced his experience, Xuanzang was first and foremost there to study.  He spent 15 months just listening to his teacher expound on the Yogacarabhumi Shastra, but he also heard expositions on various other teachings as well.  He ended up studying at Nalandra Monastery for 5 years, gaining a much better understanding of Sanskrit and the various texts, which would be critically important when it came to translating them, later. But, Xuanzang was not one to stay in any one place forever, and so after 5 years—some 8 years or more into his journey, he continued on, following the Ganges east, to modern Bangladesh.  Here he heard about various other lands, such as Dvarapati—possibly referring to Dvaravati, in modern Thailand, as well as Kamalanka and Isanapura.  The latter was in modern Cambodia, the capital of the ancient Chenla kingdom.  Then Mahacampa—possibly referring to the Champa region of Vietnam—and the country of Yamanadvipa.  But there was still more of India for Xuanzang to discover, and more teachings to uncover, and so Xuanzang decided instead to head southwest, following the coast.  He heard of the country of Sinhala, referring to the island of Sri Lanka, but he was urged not to go by ship, as the long journey was perilous.  Instead he could stay on relatively dry land and head down to the southern tip of the subcontinent and then make a quick hop from there across to the island.  He traveled a long distance, all the way down to Kancipuram, the seat of the Pallava dynasty, near modern day Chennai.  From the seaport near Kancipuram, it was only three days to Sinhala—that is to say Sri Lanka—but before he could set out, he met a group of monks who had just arrived.  They told him that the king of Sinhala had died , and there was a great famine and civil disturbances.  So they had fled with some 300 other monks. Xuanzang eventually decided not to make the journey, but he did talk with the monks and gathered information on the lands to the south, on Sri Lanka, and on the islands south of that, by which I suspect he may have meant the Maldives.  While Sri Lanka is an area important to Buddhist scholarship, particularly to the Theravada schools, this likely did not impress Xuanzang, and indeed he seemed to feel that his studies in Nalanda had more than provided him what he needed.  Sri Lanka, however, is the source of the Pali canon, one of the most complete early canons of Buddhism, which had a huge influence on Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. So Xuanzang took plenty of notes but decided to forego the ocean voyage and headed northwest, instead.  He traveled across the breadth of India to Gujarat, and then turned back east, returning to pay respects once more to his teacher in Nalanda.  While there he heard of another virtuous monk named Prajnabhadra at a nearby monastery.  And so he went to spend several months with him, as well.  He also studied with a layman, Sastrin Jayasena, at Stickwood Hill.  Jayasena was a ksatriya, or nobleman, by birth, and studied both Buddhist and non-Buddhist texts.  He was courted by kings, but had left to continue his studies.  Xuanzang studied with him for another couple of years. Xuanzang remained at Nalanda, learning and teaching, expounding on what he had learned and gathering many copies of the various documents that he wished to take back with him, though he wondered how he might do it.  In the meantime, he also acquired quite the reputation.  We are told that King Siladitya had asked Nalanda for monks who could refute Theravada teachings, and Xuanzang agreed to go.  It isn't clear, but it seems that “Siladitya” was a title, and likely referred to King Harsha of Kannauj, whom we mentioned earlier.  Since he was a foreigner, then there could be no trouble that was brought on Nalanda and the other monks if he did poorly.  While he was waiting to hear back from Siladitya's court, which was apparently taking time to arrange things, the king of Kamarupta reached out to Nalanda with a request that Xuanzang come visit them.  While Xuanzang was reluctant to be gone too long, he was eventually encouraged to go and assuage the king. Kamarupta was a kingdom around the modern Assam region, ruled by King Bhaskaravarman, also known as King Kumara, a royal title.  This kingdom included parts of Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.  Bhaskaravarman, like so many other regents, seems to have been intrigued by the presence of this foreign monk, who had traveled all this way and who had studied at the famous Nalanda Monastery in Magadha. He invited Xuanzang to come to him.  Xuanzang's teacher, Silabhadra, had exhorted him to spread the right Dharma, and to even go to those non-Buddhists in hopes that they might be converted, or at least partially swayed. King Bhaskaravarman was quite taken with Xuanzang, wining and dining him while listening to him preach.  While there, Xuanzang learned about the country of Kamarupta.  He also learned about a path north, by which it was said it was a two month journey to arrive at the land of Shu, in the Sichuan Basin, on the upper reaches of the Yangzi – a kind of shortcut back to the Tang court.  However, the journey was treacherous—possibly even more treacherous than the journey to India had been. Eventually word reached the ears of King Siladitya that Xuanzang was at the court of King Bhaskaravarman, and Siladitya got quite upset.  Xuanzang had not yet come to *his* court, so Siladitya demanded that Bhaskaravarman send the monk to him immediately.  Bhaskaravarman refused, saying he'd rather give Siladitya his own head, which Siladitya said he would gladly accept.  Bhaskaravarman realized he may have miscalculated, and so he sailed up the Ganges with a host of men and Xuanzang to meet with Siladitya.  After a bit of posturing, Siladitya met with Xuanzang, who went with him, and eventually confronted the members of the Theravada sect in debate.  Apparently it almost got ugly, but for the King's intervention.  After a particularly devastating critique of the Theravada position, the Theravada monks are blamed for trying to use violence against Xuanzang and his fellow Mahayana monks from Nalanda, who were prepared to defend themselves.  The King had to step in and break it up before it went too far. Ultimately, Xuanzang was a celebrity at this point and both kings seem to have supported him, especially as he was realizing it was about time to head back to his own country.  Both kings was offered ships, should Xuanzang wish to sail south and then up the coast.  However, Xuanzang elected to take the northern route, hoping to go back through Gaochang, and see that city and its ruler again.  And so the Kings gave him money and valuables , along with wagons for all of the texts.  They also sent an army to protect all of the treasures, and even an elephant and more – sending him back in style with a huge send-off. So Xuanzang retraced his earlier steps, this time on an elephant.  He traveled back to Taxila, to Kashmir, and beyond.  He was invited to stay in Kashmira, but because of his retinue, he wasn't quite at leisure to just go where he wanted.  At one point, near Kapisa—modern Bagram, north of Kabul—they had to cross a river, and about 50 of the almost 700 documents were lost.  The King of Kapisa heard of this and had his own monks make copies to replace them based on their own schools.  The King of Kasmira, hearing that he was in Kapisa, also came to pay his respects. Xuanzang traveled with the King of Kapisa northwest for over a month and reached Lampaka, where he did take some time to visit the various holy sites before continuing northwest.  They had to cross the Snow Mountains—the outskirts of the Himalayas, and even though it wasn't the highest part of the range it was still challenging.  He had to dismount his elephant and travel on foot.  Finally, after going over the high mountains and coming down, he arrived back in the region of Tukhara, in the country of Khowst.  He then came to Kunduz, and paid his respects to the grandson of Yehu Khan.  He was given more guards to escort him eastward, traveling with some merchants.  This was back in Gokturk controlled lands, over a decade later than when he had last visited.  He continued east to Badakshan, stopping there for a month because of the cold weather and snow.  He eventually traveled through the regions of Tukhara and over the Pamir range.  He came down on the side of the Tarim Basin, and noted how the rivers on one side flowed west, while on the other side they flowed east.  The goings were treacherous, and at one point they were beset by bandits.  Though he and the documents were safe, his elephant panicked and fled into the river and drowned.  He eventually ended up in the country of Kashgar, in modern Xinjiang province, at the western edge of the Taklamakan desert. From there he had two options.  He could go north and hug the southern edge of the Tianshan mountains, or he could stay to the south, along the northern edge of the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau.  He chose to go south.  He traveled through Khotan, a land of wool and carpets.  This was a major trade kingdom, and they also grew mulberry trees for silkworms, and were known for their jade.  The king himself heard of Xuanzang and welcomed him, as many others had done.  While he was staying at the Khotanese capital, Xuanzang penned a letter to the Tang court, letting them know of his journey, and that he was returning.  He sent it with some merchants and a man of Gaochang to deliver it to the court. Remember, Xuanzang had left the Tang empire illegally.  Unless he wanted to sneak back in his best hope was that the court was willing to forgive and forget all of that, given everything that he was bringing back with him.  The wait was no doubt agonizing, but he did get a letter back.  It assured him that he was welcome back, and that all of the kingdoms from Khotan back to the governor of Dunhuang had been made aware and were ready to receive him. With such assurances, Xuanzang packed up and headed out.  The king of Khotan granted him more gifts to help see him on his way.  Nonetheless, there was still a perilous journey ahead.  Even knowing the way, the road went through miles and miles of desert, such that in some places you could only tell the trail by the bleached bones of horses and travelers who had not been so fortunate.  Eventually, however, Xuanzang made it to the Jumo River and then on to Dunhuang, from whence he was eventually escorted back to the capital city. It was now the year 645, the year of the Isshi Incident in Yamato and the death of Soga.  Xuanzang had been gone for approximately 16 years.  In that time, the Tang had defeated the Gokturks and taken Gaochang, expanding their control over the trade routes in the desert.  Xuanzang, for his part, was bringing back 657 scriptures, bound in 520 bundles carried by a train of some 20 horses.  He was given a hero's welcome, and eventually he would be set up in a monastery where he could begin the next part of his journey:  Translating all of these books. This was the work of a lifetime, but it is one that would have a profound impact on Buddhism across East Asia.  Xuanzang's translations would revolutionize the understanding of Mahayana Buddhist teachings, and students would come from as far away as the Yamato court to study under him and learn from the teacher who studied and taught at none other than Nalanda monastery itself.  His school would become popular in the Yamato capital, and the main school of several temples, at least for a time.  In addition, his accounts and his biography would introduce many people to the wider world of central and south Asia.  While I could go on, this has already been a story in three parts, and this is, after all, the Chronicles of Japan, so we should probably tune back into what is going on with Yamato.  Next episode, we'll look at one of the most detailed accounts we have of a mission to Chang'an. Until then, I hope that this has been enjoyable.  Xuanzang's story is one of those that isn't just about him, but about the interconnected nature of the entire world at the time.  While his journey is quite epic, there were many people traveling the roads, though most of them didn't write about it afterwards.  People, artifacts, and ideas traveled much greater distances than we often consider at this time, well before any kind of modern travel.  It was dangerous, but often lucrative, and it meant that various regions could have influence well beyond what one might expect. And so, thank you once again for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please 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. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan

What are referred to in the Mahayana Buddhist literature as the “eight mundane concerns” or the “eight worldly dharmas” are, in fact, simply primordial levels of attachment that exist virtually as assumptions in our minds. This assumption is that I must get what I want every second, thus causing us to constantly crave happy feelings, getting nice things, hearing pleasant words with our name in them, and having people approve of us. Attachment can't stand it when we get the opposite! Lhagsam Tibetan Meditation

What are referred to in the Mahayana Buddhist literature as the “eight mundane concerns” or the “eight worldly dharmas” are, in fact, simply primordial levels of attachment that exist virtually as assumptions in our minds. This assumption is that I must get what I want every second, thus causing us to constantly crave happy feelings, getting nice things, hearing pleasant words with our name in them, and having people approve of us. Attachment can't stand it when we get the opposite! Lhagsam Tibetan Meditation  

Greetings Friends,As we begin this new year, I want to spend sometime with the Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra. This chant is one that is chanted across Mahayana Buddhist traditions, within our own Zen school, it is chanted daily in most monasteries and regularly in many practice communities.It's a pithy teaching that cuts to the heart of our practice. And it starts with the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion (the archetype of compassion) practicing Prajna Paramita (which translates as wisdom beyond wisdom). Right here, in the first line of this chant we see a fundamental relationship between compassion and wisdom. Wisdom is the practice of Great Compassion. Great Compassion, the activity of wisdom beyond wisdom.There is a koan about the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion that I am quite fond of and would like to share.Blue Cliff Record Case 89—Hands and Eyes of Great CompassionYunyan asked Daowu, “‘How does the Bodhisattva Guanyin use those many hands and eyes?”'Daowu answered, “‘It is like someone in the middle of the night reaching behind her head for the pillow.”'Yunyan said, “I understand.”Daowu asked, “How do you understand it?”Yunyan said, “‘All over the body are hands and eyes.”Daowu said, “That is very well expressed, but it is only eight-tenths of the answer.”Yunyan said, “How would you say it, Elder Brother?”Daowu said, “Throughout the body are hands and eyes.The koan begins with two dharma brothers, two spiritual friends, walking together. One of the characters for friend in the Japanese kanji is the character for moon, twice. Two moons walking together. So intimate. The moon is a symbol we use in Zen to refer to our original, awakened nature. Two original humans, seeing each other's nature.I always think about this poem by Rumi called Sema, Deep ListeningThere is a moon in every human being, learn to be companions with itGive more of your life to this listeningIts like friendship is the act of seeing the awakened nature in another, nurturing their inner moon. And allowing our awakened nature to be seen by another. Letting them nurture our inner moon.And we also learn through friendship and through practice, how to companion ourselves—to nurture our own inner moons. To give more of our lives to this listening.Listening is an aspect of compassion. Kanzeon one manifestation of the bodhisattva of compassion hears the cries of the world.Listening is also a dharma gate to deep intimacy, wisdom beyond wisdom–many teachers awakened upon hearing a sound. Listening can help us move beyond the realm of concepts. We listen, and for many the sense of self expands. The whole body hears. Hearing open our awareness to the vast expanse of Mind's nature, spacious, without bounds.So we have two friends, two companions, the intimacy of friendship, deep listening, nurturing awakened nature in each other—And one friend poses a question—do you have friends like that? Who ask questions that draw you in? Ponder aspects of the dharma together? Ponder life together? Are you a friend like that? I think in Zen practice we are learning to be this kind of friend to ourselves, and others. We are practicing refining our questioning—and this can be playful.What do you think the bodhisattva of great compassion does with all those hands and eyes?In one depiction of Avalokiteshvara they have 10K arms and hands, in each hand sometimes they hold an eye (to see/bear witness to the suffering in the world) and sometimes they have a different kind of tool or instrument to help relieve suffering.Pause here—because we are learning more about compassion through these images, another facet of the jewel is being revealed. Compassion has this quality of bearing witness, of hearing, of seeing—of being present with. So often our attention—our kind, open attention is medicine—is healingAnd then another aspect of compassion is more active—taking the form of the medicine in the moment, responding as best as we can.In Shantideva's prayer, we become whatever is needed to relieve the suffering in the world, in others, in ourselves—may I be a bridge, a boat, a ship—may I be doctor, nurse and medicine.I like this question because they are playing in the mythology of buddhism, but they are also pondering it in real time. What is compassion? How does it function?So one responds—its like reaching back for a pillow in the middle of the night.Compassion is so natural—its happening even when we are unconscious or semi-conscious.When we are emptied out of the self who is trying to be good, to do it right—compassion, compassion.Here in the reaching in the darkness, there is something about spontaneity, uncontrivedness, naturalness.Is compassion our nature? How would we know? Can we even track all the moments of compassion that sustain our lives minute by minute, day by day?More immediate answer might have been reaching out and squeezing his hand, or scratching his back, or handing him a piece of fruit or some water—Don't just tell me about compassion being our nature—show me.But this image is good. Its an invitation. Something we can take with us and explore. How are your very own hands enacting compassion?What is your experience of letting the thinking mind get quiet, or open? What happens when you slip below the story of self?How does love arise? what does it look like now?…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: An emergent online community braiding spirit and soul First Sundays10:30A - 12:30P PT / 1:30P - 3:30P ETnext Meeting March 2ndIn-Person in OregonFeb 1 — Sky+Rose Daylong Retreat: The Strange Garden of DesireThe strange garden of desire: wandering, dreaming, feasting, tending, destroying.In this daylong workshop each person will explore their singular Strange Garden of Desires, taking a fresh look at what loves, longings, obsessions and obligations live within us.Through parts work, meditation, and practices of somatic expression we will engage our gardens in five distinct ways: wandering, dreaming, tending, feasting and destroying.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) 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

There are of course innumerable similarities between the life and message of the Buddha and Swami Vivekananda: in a future lecture, I hope to sketch this out in much more detail. I think there is a particularly strong resonance between Swami Vivekananda's various spiritual experiences and realizations (and also his highest ideal of serving God man) and the Boddhicitta/Boddhisattva ideal of Mahayana Buddhism. One day, I will make a strong case for the Mahayana Buddhist interpretation of Sri Ramakrishna's life and teaching. Of course, in terms of modality, Sri Ramakrishna emphasized a Tantrik, deity-oriented approach which leads us into exciting Vajrayana territory too. A discussion comparing Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya and Dharmakaya to Vaikhari, Madhyama and Pasyanti Vak is of course fore coming. And I have a desire to do a short biography on Milarepaji also, perhaps on his Parinirvana which is the full moon of Bumjur Dawa (by the Tibetan Lunar Calendar) I believe. It will be around Shiva Ratri time!Naturally all these links between Shiva, Swami Vivekananda and the Buddha are particularly pronounced in Varanasi, especially near Sarnath where the Buddha spoke the words that would resound timelessly through eternity! There is a striking resemblance to what he spoke about and what Swami Vivekananda spoke out, a resemblance that is of course more tangibly felt in this place than intellectually cognized. Since I happen to be in Sarnath on Christmas Eve, I thought I'd reflect a little on that in this talk. Jai Jesus Christ! Jai Buddha! Jai Swami Vivekananda Guru Maharajji Ki Jai!Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.Use this link and I will see you there:https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnishTo get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrMAnd if you feel moved to donate to support me and this work, you're welcome to here:https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jaimakaliSupport the show

How can we use the wisdom of the Paramis to guide our everyday life? In this talk, Jokai makes practical the six essential qualities that form the foundation of Mahayana Buddhist practice: The Paramis. Through humor and personal anecdotes, Jokai makes the teachings relatable, reinforcing that the essence of the Paramis is not in striving for perfection but in embodying compassion, resilience, and openness throughout life's journey.He begins by quoting Nagarjuna, from his work called Ratnavali or Precious Garland of Advice for a King:"Generosity and morality for benefiting others,Patience and diligence for cultivating self,Meditation and wisdom for casting off self and others.This is, in short, the great vehicle's meaning.This is, in brief, the Buddha's true teaching.For the liberation of self and all beings,These six means are the treasure-house."Jokai describes the Paramis as steps toward self-liberation and service to others. He highlights the practical and transformative nature of the Paramis, reflecting on their ability to guide practitioners toward compassion and awakening, even amidst the complexities of daily life. He stresses the importance of starting with generosity and ethical conduct as a way to shift from self-centeredness to a collective sense of care and responsibility.While meditation and wisdom are often emphasized in Zen practice, the Paramis remind us that spiritual growth also requires cultivating patience and perseverance. He acknowledges the challenges and frustrations that can arise but encourages staying committed to the path, not for personal enlightenment alone, but for the benefit of all beings.______________Jokai relocated to California from the UK in 2000 to study with Tenshin Fletcher Roshi at Yokoji Zen Mountain Center. After completing formal study, encompassing over two decades of residential training and service, he received Dharma Transmission (full authorization to teach) in the White Plum Lineage of Zen Buddhism in 2014, and Inka (final seal of approval) in 2022.Jokai Roshi emphasizes the direct experience of awakening using contemporary language and time-honored methods. ______________ To support our efforts to share these talks with LGBTQIA audiences worldwide, please visit https://gaybuddhist.org/There you can: Donate Learn how to participate live Find our schedule of upcoming speakers Join our mailing list or discussion forum Enjoy many hundreds of these recorded talks dating back to 1996 CREDITSAudio Engineer: George HubbardProducer: Tom BrueinMusic/Logo/Artwork: Derek Lassiter

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 10/26/24 - Gateless Gate, Case 37 - Selflessness is what makes a paramita a “perfection.” To explore  the wisdom paramita, Shugen Roshi takes up Shantideva's description of the two truths of the relative and absolute. The two truths describe a reality in the mind of one who does not grasp on to appearances as real, and therefore is not in conflict with anything. In this perfect wisdom, when there is nothing to actually hold on to, what remains? Everything! These two truths are a foundational aspect of the Mahayana Buddhist path.

A reading of excerpts taken from Chapter 1 of The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra - translated by Suzuki and Goddard. The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra was first translated into Chinese in the 5th century and has been the subject of many treatises and commentaries. It is a distinctive and influential philosophical discourse in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. The sutra recounts a teaching primarily between Gautama Buddha and a bodhisattva named Mahāmati ("Great Wisdom"). The sūtra is set in mythical Laṅkā, ruled by Rāvaṇa, the king of the rākṣasas. The Laṅkāvatāra discusses numerous Mahayana topics, such as Yogācāra philosophy of mind-only (cittamātra) and the three natures, the ālayavijñāna (store-house consciousness), the inner "disposition" (gotra), the buddha-nature, the luminous mind (prabhāsvaracitta), emptiness (śūnyatā) and vegetarianism. It is also notably an important sūtra in Zen Buddhism, as it discusses the key issue of "sudden enlightenment".

Filling in the rest of Takara's reign with the stories of the various envoys at court, the Baekje princes living in Yamato, and the story of a 7th century millenial cult. For more, check out https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-107   Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is episode 107: Winds Across the Straits Villagers gathered near the center of their community.  In contrast to the clean, walled up compounds of the local elites, with their raised floor buildings, the buildings here were much simpler, often sitting directly on the ground, or dug down into the earth in the pit dwelling style that had been used for centuries.  Mostly what anyone would notice were the thatched roofs, which had been used for centuries to keep out the rain and snow.   A tall watchtower was currently unmanned as everyone had gathered around, curious at the news coming from the east. A wandering mystic had come to town, and she was spreading words of hope across the country of Yamashiro.  Over the past few years there had been droughts, famine, earthquakes, and more.  People had tried everything in conjunction with the advice of their local hafuri, or priests. They had petitioned the local kami of the rivers and lakes, they had tried imported practices like sacrificing horses, and at a nearby village they had changed the location of the marketplace to see if that would work. Even when the rains had come, the damage had been done.  Food was scarce, and many of those who had survived were hardly in the best of situations.  Life in the village, working the land, was quite different from the life of the elites.  The wealthy had servants and slaves to tend to their needs, and they had access to stores of grain and other food in times of trouble.  They also had charge of the mononofu—the warriors who worked for them and were often an implicit—if not explicit—threat of violence for anyone who didn't pay their expected taxes.  This is perhaps what made the mystic's message so alluring.  She told them about the teachings of a man from the River Fuji, in the East, named Ohofu Be no Ohoshi:  he claimed to have discovered a new kami, the god of Tokoyo, the Everlasting world.  It was said that those who worshipped this god, who appeared in the land in the form of a caterpillar that thrived on orange tree leaves, would earn great things in this new world, when it came.  The poor would become rich and the old would become young again, when the promises of Tokoyo came to fruition. But it wasn't as easy as just saying some words.  True devotees would need to prove themselves, casting out the valuables of their house and setting out any food on the side of the road.  They would then yell out: “The new riches have come!” Then they were to worship these insects that were the kami's incarnation.  They would put them in a pure place and worship them with song and dance.  Many had already started doing this, the mystic said.  Indeed, the people of Yamashiro had heard rumors of some of these new practices, but only now were learning about why they had arisen.  It was a lot to ask, to give up their valuables and the little food they had — but then again, in this dew drop world, what was there to lose, for those already working themselves to the bone?  Was this any more incredible than asking the hafuri to pray to the kami, or even relying on that new religion in Yamato, where they prayed to giant bronze and gold statues to bring about prosperity and happiness.  Besides, if so many others had joined up already, perhaps there was something to these fantastic stories. And thus, village by village, a new religion began to take hold of the countryside, eventually making its way to the capital of Yamato, itself.     Greetings, listeners!  While the thing we covered last episode -- the Isshi Incident of 645, which is to say the assassination of Soga no Iruka in front of Her Majesty Takara, aka Kougyoku Tenno -- certainly dominates the narrative in the popular imagination for this particular point in Japanese history, there was a lot more going on over these last few years, both over on the continent in the archipelago.  And so this episode we are going to cover some of that:  From the missions from Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla, which were likely driven by conflict on the peninsula, to the Baekje Princes who resided in the Yamato court as political hostages as well as esteemed guests.  And to finish it off we'll talk about the popular 7th century millennial cult that sprang up in Yamashiro around the worship of the God of Tokoyo, the Everlasting World.  All in the reign of the Empress known to history as Kougyoku Tennou…. At least for now. Michael Como, in his book on Shoutoku Taishi, makes particular note of some of the overarching themes across the straits and how that affected what was happening—or at least what gets remembered—in Yamato.  As we discussed back in episode 98, Como makes the point that the early, opposing Buddhist factions that placed Shotoku Taishi on a pedestal were largely connected with one or more continental factions.  While the Soga were heavily connected with Baekje, other family groups, like the Hata, were more closely tied with Silla, at least according to later accounts. And on top of that, the area around Koshi and Tsunaga had ties with Goguryeo.  As the Tang dynasty and Goguryeo were in contention on their own borders, no doubt both of them and their allies were looking to nearby nations for either support or at least neutrality.  One can also see how peninsular enmities might also make their way across the strait to the archipelago with families of various ethnic backgrounds no doubt carrying on some of the continental prejudices with them even into a new land. A lot of the accounts for this reign that aren't dealing with the weather and natural disasters—topics of particular concern from the 642 to 643—are dealing with the continent. It started out in 642, with Baekje envoys arriving in the first month of that year, apparently to deliver their condolences on the death of the sovereign.  They were accompanied by Yamato's envoy to Baekje, Azumi no Yamashiro no Muraji no Hirafu, who left them at Tsukushi to rush back to Yamato via post-horse, while the Baekje envoys took their time via the normal, ship-borne route. And right off the bat we have a few things of note.  The first is this idea of post-horses.  The various circuits around the archipelago had reportedly been set up some time back, even before horses were a thing.   While a single horse would have been rather fast overland, the mention of post-horse system implies a method of travel more akin to the short-lived pony express in the American west, where various post stations were set up across the major highways so that officials could quickly traverse them, riding horseback from one station to the next, where a fresh horse would be waiting for them.  This way the horses themselves could be properly fed and rested, since no single horse could cover all of the ground in a straight up gallop, just as no person could.  Instead, this is something like a relay race, where the envoy Hirafu became the baton passed from horse to horse.  The Pony Express used stations set up at intervals of approximately 5 to 20 miles, so that the horses could be changed out frequently.  Of course, changing horses would also take some time—I've found some sources citing average speeds of only about 10 miles per hour for the Pony Express, but that beats by far the four miles per hour for a fast walker, not to mention the ability to keep going for much longer than just 8 hours a day.  Of course, he would have had to take a boat for at least some of the journey, likely crossing from Kyuushuu over to Honshuu near Shimonoseki or something similar, at which point he could have caught another horse from there.  The resonates with something that goes back to pre-Qin Dynasty times, when kingdoms on the continent would set up not just courier stations with horses, but systems of canal boats, and inns for people to stay overnight on long journeys.  Still, it must have been a grueling experience. That such a means of conveyance could take Hirafu from Kyushu to Yamato, though, implies that Yamato's reach was fairly solid all the way out to the Dazai near modern Fukuoka, at least.  It is unclear how these post stations were set up in regards to the local Miyake, or royal granaries, another government project we've talked about, but either way it demonstrates a certain degree of control over the region. And so Hirafu was able to make it back to the court in time for the ceremonies associated with the mourning of Tamura, aka Jomei Tennou, and the ascension of Her Majesty, Takara no Ohokimi.  He likewise was able to inform the court of Baekje's condolence envoys' imminent arrival and give the court a head's up on the situation in Baekje, where he said that the country was “greatly disturbed”.  When the Baekje envoys themselves arrived, Azumi no Hirafu, Kusakabe no Iwakane, and Yamato no Aya no Agata were sent to ask them about their news. From what we know in the Samguk Sagi, King Wicha of Baekje had just come to the throne.  The previous king, King Mu, died in the third month of 641, so it hadn't even been a year since his death.  Furthermore, we are told that his wife, the mother of King Wicha, had also passed away.  The Baekje envoys asked for the return of prince Saeseong, possibly the younger brother of Prince P'ung, saying he had behaved badly and they wanted to convey him back to the King, but Takara refused.  Presumably, based on context, this was one of the hostages that Yamato held from Baekje, but why they wouldn't turn them over to the Baekje envoys isn't explained.  I suspect it had something to do with the politics of King Wicha coming to the throne, which seems like it may have not been accepted by everyone, as evidenced by his tour of the realm, mentioned in the Samguk Sagi, which was likely a political move to demonstrate his authority over the realm. This colors a lot of what we are going to talk about, so let's try to get some of it straight off the bat.  Unfortunately, as we talked about in Episode 105, some of the Baekje related dates are questionable, and that means that there is a lot here that I'm going to give you where we may have to back track a bit and see if we can put it in the right order.  I'm going to try to give you the information in largely chronological order according to the Nihon Shoki, but then I'll also try and place it where we think it might actually go, so apologies if this feels disjointed. Also, let me take a moment to talk a little bit more about the Baekje royal family, which will become rather important to our narrative.  For one, there is King Wicha, son of King Mu.  Mu passed away in 640 and Wicha came to the throne.  Wicha already had several children of his own, one of whom, Prince Pung, or Prince Pungjang, will feature heavily in both the Japanese and Korean sources, though as we mentioned in episode 105, the dates around Prince Pung's arrival, which the Nihon Shoki has about 630, doesn't match up with what we know.  We are fairly confident that Prince Pung returned to Baekje in 661, which accords with the Nihon Shoki, Samguk Sagi, and Tang records.  However, Best makes a good case that he didn't actually come over to the archipelago until much later—probably 643. He wasn't the only royal prince of Baekje in Yamato, however.  We are told of two others:  Saeseong and Gyoki.  Saeseong is mentioned as being a bit of a troublemaker, and requested to come home, but Yamato refuses to let him go.  Gyoki is said to have caused trouble and been banished with some 40 others out to sea.  I have a suspicion that much of this is misplaced in the Chronicle.  Saesong may have been there first or perhaps came over with Prince Pung—I've seen him mentioned as the younger brother to Prince Pung, but I also wonder if he wasn't the younger brother to King Wicha.  Gyoki, meanwhile, despite what we initially hear about him, is invited to Yamato shortly after that entry and treated like a real celebrity.  It is unclear to me if he is a younger brother to Wicha or an elder brother to Prince Pungjang, but either way, he seems to have been a royal prince that wasn't quite in line for the throne. I suspect that in reality the mission that is listed as coming in 641 was actually much later—possibly in the 650s.  That would explain some of it, including the gossip that the Senior Counselor, Chijeok, died in the 11th month of the previous year, Aston writes off most of this as an unreliable narrative by servants.  Jonathan Best, in his translation of the Samguk Sagi, is a bit more generous and suggests that, much as with Prince Pung-jang, whom the Nihon Shoki records arriving in the 630s but who couldn't reasonably have arrived until the 640s, there was probably a dating issue.  The scribes were using records with the branch and stem system of dates, and so it could easily have been off by a factor of ten or twelve years, at least.  We know, for instance, that there is a record of Senior Counselor Chijeok in the Nihon Shoki in the 7th month of 642, though it says he died in 641.  Furthermore, we have his name on a fragmentary inscription, likely dating to 654, noting him as a patron of a Buddhist monastery.  So it would seem that word of his death was exaggerated or parts of this are coming from later accounts, and the scribes simply made a mistake.  Hence my suggestion that this entire entry might be misplaced.  If so, it would make more sense for Yamato to be asking about the fates of people that they knew, and hence hearing the fates of Chijeok and Gyoki, who had both visited Yamato and would have been known to the court.   Regardless, it likely was the case, as recorded in the Nihon Shoki, that the envoys' ship was anchored in Naniwa harbor and the envoys were put up at the official government residence there, in modern Ohosaka.  This may indicate that the mission mentioning Chijeok and Gyoki got conflated with other entries about the actual envoys of condolence and congratulations. Then, 19 days later, on the 22nd day of the 2nd month, another group of envoys showed up.  This time it was Goguryeo.  As mentioned, Goguryeo had a few things going on, but they still knew how to make an entrance.  For example, the Chronicles mention that high ministers were sent to the district office in Naniwa to inspect the gold and silver that Goguryeo had sent with their envoys, along with other things from their country.  This may have been them trying to get Yamato on their side. That said, Goguryeo had been going through a lot themselves, we are told.  First off, based on the Samguk Sagi accounts, Goguryeo had sent envoys to the Tang in 640.  In 641, the Tang court returned the favor, and in so doing their envoy, the Director of the Bureau of Operations in their Ministry of War, Chen Dade, used it as a chance to spy out the border region.  At every walled town he would offer the local officials gifts of silk, and ask to be allowed to see the scenic spots.  They let him roam freely, so by the time he went back he had an intimate account and understanding of Goguryeo's defenses along the Tang-Goguryeo border.  Goguryeo seems to have been completely unaware of this touristic espionage, but then again, they may have been distracted dealing with their own internal problems. And so the Nihon Shoki reports that the envoys delivered news of this to the court: How the younger prince of Goguryeo died in the 6th month of 641.  Then, in the 9th month, the Prime Minister murdered the king, along with some 180 people.  He then put the son of the younger prince on the throne as king. In the Samguk Sagi, these events appear to happen a year later.  Yon Gaesomun killed King Keonmu in the 10th month of 642 and put Prince Chang, aka Pojang, on the throne.  The Samguk Sagi says he was the younger brother of King Keonmu, the son of King Taeyang—who was the younger brother of King Yeongnyu, so that may be where the Nihon Shoki gets that he was the “son of the younger prince”.  Still, the gist is correct, even if it seems to be off by a year or so.  From here, Goguryeo would be at war with the Tang dynasty for much of the next thirty years, all under the reign of King Pojang.  They were able to fend the Tang off for a while, but the Tang would eventually ally with Silla, and though Baekje seems to have supported Goguryeo in general, Baekje itself was also caught between the Tang and Silla.  They no doubt hoped for Yamato's aid, but while the archipelago may have had warriors, they were still a good ways from the continent, and would likely need to avoid confrontation with Silla, who now controlled all the way to the Nakdong river basin.  Not that they wouldn't try.  Insert dramatic sound effects alluding to a later episode. All that prognosticating aside, at this point, at least from the envoys' point of view, all of the future was unwritten.  Both Goguryeo and Baekje guests were entertained at the Naniwa district office, and envoys were named to Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla, and to the no longer extant Nimna—the latter seems to have been, at this point, a not-so-polite fiction between Silla and Yamato that Nimna was still at least semi-independent. It was at this time that Gyoki was also brought to Yamato and lodged in the house of Azumi no Hirafu, the previous envoy to Baekje.  Gyoki likely knew Hirafu from his time at the Baekje court.  This was probably the actual arrival of Gyoki, I suspect. A week or so later, the Silla envoys of congratulations and condolence arrived: congratulations on Takara's ascension and then a group of envoys expressing condolence for her husband's death.  They left after less than two weeks—apparently they simply delivered their message and left, unless there was some other reason having to do with the Baekje and Goguryeo envoys being there at the same time.  No mention is made in the Nihon Shoki of exactly why they turned around so quickly. Meanwhile, Gyoki was living it up.  He's referenced as the Chief Envoy from Baekje at this point—probably the highest ranking individual from the court present.  On the 8th day of the fourth month he attended an audience with Her Majesty, Takara, and then two days later he was partying with Soga no Emishi out at his mansion in Unebi.  Soga no Emishi had good conversations and presented a good horse and twenty bars of iron, but curiously the hostage crown prince, Sesaeng, was not invited to any of this. Given that we know what the Chroniclers think of Soga no Emishi, I'm wondering if there isn't a little bit of that same feeling towards Gyoki.  After all, we were previously told he and some 40 others were exiled, so perhaps this is just leading up to that? Gyoki and his companions were later invited to witness an “archery hunt” in front of the Yosami Miyake in Kawachi.  This is glossed as “Uma-yumi” or “Horse-Bow”, leading one to wonder if this was similar to yabusame, the traditional horsed archery, performed at various shrines each year.  Or perhaps it was one of the other archery games from horseback, many of them much less savory, often using a live animal as the target, usually staked or confined to an area, and the archers circle around and shoot at them. By the 5th month of 642 – a little over three months after Baekje had first arrived with envoys of condolences, we are told that a shipp of Baekje envoys anchored together along with the ship of the Kishi family.  This is likely Naniwa no Kishi, as Naniwa no Kishi no Kuhina had been assigned as envoy to Baekje.  The envoys delivered their goods and Kuhina reported on their mission. Once again, the dates look to be slightly off.  Had Kuhina really traveled to Baekje and back in just three months?  It is possible, but not typically how things were done at the time.  Ships often had to take their time, navigating the Seto Inland Sea and then checking in at modern Fukuoka before following the island chains out to Tsushima.  At that point they could sail around Tsushima, or cross at a narrow part of the island, known today as Kofunakoshi.  We know that this was used from at least the 9th century as a place where ships coming to and from the islands would stop, often transmitting their goods to a local ship on the other side, with a crew that presumably better knew the waters and was under the command of the appropriate government.  In addition, as the ships reached various checkpoints they would stop for a while, and often another ship would be sent ahead to prepare the way for an official delegation.  Since they didn't have phones, something like this would have been required to inform the next post to be ready to receive the visitors. More likely, this would have been Kuhina finally ready to depart to take on his mission with Baekje. Shortly after this, we are told that one of Gyoki's companions died, and then his own child died—we aren't told if it was from disease or something else.  It did provide an opportunity to see some of the cultural differences between Baekje and Yamato at the time, as Gyoki and his wife refused to attend the ceremonies for their late son.  The Chroniclers explained that, in Baekje and Silla, when someone dies, the parents, siblings, and spouse were not supposed to look on them again. For what it's worth, I could find no relationship between this and any contemporary Korean practice.  This may have been something in Baekje and Silla that eventually went away.  Then again, it is possible there was something else going on, and it was misinterpreted by the Wa.  Given that the Chroniclers are dismissive of the practice, it is entirely possible that this was just slanderous rumor, too.  The Chroniclers make a point of saying that the people of Baekje and Silla who practice these kinds of death rites are without feeling, and thus no better than animals.  So, yeah, clearly the Chroniclers were presenting just the facts, right? Gyoki's child was buried in Ishikawa in Kawachi, and Gyoki moved his family to a house in Ohowi, in Kudara—which is to say the area of Kawachi named for Baekje. Two months after he lost his son, on the 22nd day of the 7th month, Senior Counsellor Chicheok and colleagues were entertained at the Yamato court.  This is that same Senior Counsellor previously thought to be dead.  Again, Aston simply treats it as gossip, while I tend to wonder if the records aren't out of order—unless Chijeok was some kind of Baekje Benjamin Button.  Entertainment at the Yamato court apparently included havingvarious people wrestle for their entertainment. Even Prince Gyoki himself entered the contest.  When the banquet was finished they went to pay their respect's at Gyoki's compound, likely stopping by and having a bit of a nightcap. Two weeks later the Baekje envoys tried to leave, but the storms kicked up.  One of the ships was wrecked on the shore.  Fortunately, it seems like those on the boat survived and they were placed on another boat a couple weeks later.  A day after that, the Goguryeo envoys left for their own country. The Baekje envoys finally made it back, we are told, 11 days later, on the 26th day of the 8th month.  Not bad given the journey they had to undertake, and actually a bit hard to believe.  In contrast, the Silla envoys, who left in the 3rd month, apparently only made it as far as the island of Iki, between Kyushu and Tsushima, by the 10th month of 642.  Perhaps they were just going at a more leisurely pace, but it does make it hard to trust that all the records were rearranged in precisely the correct order. As for this period, outside of the Silla envoys, the entire episode, starting on the 2nd day of the 2nd month of 642, finally concluded—mostly—over six months later.  It occupies most of that part of Chronicle, with the exception of the accounts of the weather, drought, and famine. After all of these people had returned to the peninsula, the Nihon Shoki focuses on a few local things from the archipelago.  Soga no Emishi was ordered to raise a levy in Afumi and Koshi to build a temple, the court levied various provinces to make ships—we aren't told why but previously this was often something done in preparation for war—and then Takara ordered Soga no Emishi to build a new palace with levies on various provinces and workmen from Toutoumi and Aki.  That was all in the 9th month, at the end of which, we are told that several thousand Emishi from the Koshi region, where Soga no Emishi had been ordered to levy workers for a temple earlier in the month, submitted to Yamato and were entertained at court. Soga no Emishi himself entertained them at his house and asked them about their welfare. This is all a bit confusing, but let's try to understand some of what might be going on.  First, you may recall in the previous reign there was a mention with General Katana who went to the east to subdue an uprising of Emishi there, so it is possible that this is a continuation of that.  At the same time, these Emishi, we are told, are from the land of Koshi. It is likely that this is evidence of Yamato's increased presence in the northern region of the island of Honshi, which stretched along the northern edge of the Chubu, or middle Honshu, region, including the Noto peninsula and eastward to Tohoku, or the Northeast region.  This had been an important area for various resources, including the source of jade magatama, since at least the early days of the Yayoi period, judging from artifacts discovered at various sites.  It is also a region connected to the current dynasty, in that Wohodo no Ohokimi, aka Keitai Tennou, generally seen as the progenitor of the current line of sovereigns, is said to have come from that region. Furthermore, this region is closely connected to various overseas trade routes.  While the most common route we hear about, at least at this point in the chronicles, is the Seto Inland Sea route, there was also a route along the Japan Sea side of Honshu, which included the areas of Izumo and the port of Tsunuga—modern day Tsuruga—which includes the Kehi shrine, purportedly for a kami who came over from the peninsula.  At least one Goguryeo mission explicitly used this route—whether intentionally or otherwise—to get to Yamato, crossing over to Afumi, aka Lake Biwa, and then taking the rivers south to Naniwa. Michael Como suggests that there is enough evidence to suggest a fairly heavy Goguryeo influence in the region.  He also suggests that the Soga had a good deal of interactions and influences themselves with Goguryeo, pointing out that Shotoku Taishi's teacher had supposedly been a monk from Goguryeo, and that the plan for Asukadera, the Soga temple, with three golden halls around a central pagoda, is extremely similar to temple plans found in Goguryeo and not in Silla and Baekje. I do feel it is worth pointing out that it is very possible that this was not Asukadera's original layout, and it is hard to say how much of the stories surrounding Shotoku Taishi we can trust. Still, Koshi was an area that had a long history of trade with the continent, and the ease of the waterways from Yamato to the Japan Sea would have made it at least strategically useful to the growing state. There is another aspect here, but it is a bit more tenuous.  There are some that suggest that Soga no Emishi's own name, or at least the name as it is handed down to us today, comes from his dealings with the Emishi people.  Here we see him intimately involved in Koshi, in the Emishi coming to submit, and him then hosting them in his own house.  So even if his name is coincidental, there does appear to be some connection there. And we are still in the first year of Takara's reign.  It was in this twelfth month that Okinaga no Yamana no Kimi finally pronounced a eulogy for the entire royal line.  As you may recall, Takara's husband, Tamura, aka Jomei Tennou, had been a member of the Okinaga royal line, so this was likely part of the ceremonies around his death and burial. There is more here about the placement of palaces, which we touched on a lot in the last episode.  There is also a lot about storms, weather, and peach blossoms blooming. Then on the thirteenth day of the third month of 643, the second year of Takara's reign, there was a terrible fire in Naniwa.  The official guest quarters for Baekje burned down, and the houses of the common people also caught fire. This is also around the time that Best suggests that Prince Pungjang, son of King Wicha of Baekje, may have actually arrived, as we discussed earlier.  That actually could be tied to events a month later, when the Dazai in Tsukushi—the government outpost on Kyushu—sent a mounted messenger to Her Majesty, Takara, to let her know that Gyoki's younger brother, the son of the King of Baekje, had arrived.  The Baekje ships, which had arrived in the area of modern Fukuoka around the 21st day of the 4th month finally arrived in Naniwa two months later.  Presumably the Baekje envoys' official guest quarters had been repaired or rebuilt at this point, and several high ministers went to inspect the tribute.  They couldn't help but notice that the tribute this time was less—fewer items and of lower quality that previously.  The Envoys promised that they would make up the shortfall. Around all of this, the drama between the Soga, Prince Naka no Oe, and others was playing out, with Iruka attacking and eventually killing Yamashiro no Oe, all of which was discussed in the last episode.  Meanwhile we get a small line about Prince Pung keeping four hives of bees on Mt. Miwa, but apparently they didn't grow large enough to multiply, so that doesn't seem to have taken off. We'll return to Prince Pungjang later.  For now, we have seen much of the disturbances that were caused and eventually led up to the Isshi Incident in 645, and 644 is full of many long entries about everything that happened, but I don't want to worry about that—we covered most of that last episode.  What I do want to concern ourselves with is the story I started the episode with – the curious tale of a man named Ohofube no Ohoshi, who started up his own millennial cult. Now there has been quite a bit of speculation around this episode, especially given that all we really have is a single entry, dated to the 7th month of 644, and here I'll quote Aston's translation:  “A man of the neighbourhood of the River Fuji in the East Country named Ohofu Be no Oho urged his fellow-villagers to worship an insect, saying: "This is the God of the Everlasting World. Those who worship this God will have long life and riches." At length the wizards and witches, pretending an inspiration of the Gods, said:--"Those who worship the God of the Everlasting World will, if poor, become rich, and, if old, will become young again." So they more and more persuaded the people to cast out the valuables of their houses, and to set out by the roadside sake, vegetables, and the six domestic animals. They also made them cry out: "The new riches have come!" Both in the country and in the metropolis people took the insect of the Everlasting World and, placing it in a pure place, with song and dance invoked happiness. They threw away their treasures, but to no purpose whatever. The loss and waste was extreme. Hereupon Kahakatsu, Kadono no Hada no Miyakko, was wroth that the people should be so much deluded, and slew Ohofu Be no Oho. The wizards and witches were intimidated, and ceased to persuade people to this worship. The men of that time made a song, saying: Udzumasa Has executed The God of the Everlasting World Who we were told Was the very God of Gods. This insect is usually bred on orange trees, and sometimes on the Hosoki. It is over four inches in length, and about as thick as a thumb. It is of a grass-green colour with black spots, and in appearance entirely resembles the silkworm.” This is remarkable in several ways.  For one, we get a glimpse of how a popular cult might get started.  Since it is at this same time the cult of Shotoku Taishi is taking hold in some temples, it is interesting to draw parallels between the two.  Como points this out in his book on Shotoku Taishi, and notes several other things.  For one is the discussion of this “ever-lasting world”, or Tokoyo.  We've heard of Tokoyo before – the  term is found in the Chronicles in the section around the Age of the Gods.  Sukuna Bikona himself leaps off to Tokoyo from a blade of grass in one story, much like an insect himself. Tokoyo is a bit mysterious.  It isn't the land of the dead, where Izanami goes to live when she dies in childbirth.  Neither is it the Great Plain of Heaven, Takama no hara, where Amaterasu dwells.  We have the gods of the Heavens and gods of the Earth, but no gods of Tokoyo.  Indeed, Tokoyo is mentioned, but not well described.  By all accounts it would appear to be a place that spirits go after death to an unchanging world, rather than coming back to this one. This fits in with various other continental ideas starting to come over at the time, especially as part of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, which included a search for effective ways to reach enlightenment.  There had been feelings for some time that humans were already in the latter days of the law, or Mappo: the concept that the further we get from the time of the Buddha, the more morality would decline and the harder it would be for people to break the chains of materialism and desire that hold them to this plane of existence.  As such, some sects and teachers taught simpler and more expedient methods, in an effort to save all of the sentient beings.  Things like an abbreviated mantra that would help you get into a paradise where you could eventually attain enlightenment certainly had its adherents, especially amongst those who might not have the time or inclination to join the monastery themselves.  The idea of a Pure Land, or Joudo, took off early, This Pure Land, is most commonly connected with Amida Butsu, the Amithaba Buddha.  Sutras referencing Amida and the Pure Land were translated by Kumarajiva as early as the 5th century, and may have been part of the larger corpus of scrolls brought over to the archipelago.  According to the sutra, they say that if you honestly chant Amida Butsu's name just once—often through the phrase “Namu Amida Butsu”—then rather than being reborn again into the world on your death, you would instead be reincarnated in a Pure Land, where you could focus entirely on your own enlightenment for however long it would take, removing yourself from the pain and suffering of this world.  This practice was taught by the Sanron school as well as by the Hossou school in the 7th and 8th centuries, along with other practices.  It would continue to be taught, especially developing in the Tendai sect. Of course chanting “Namu Amida Butsu” was something you could do while working the fields, or doing any other number of profane, yet necessary tasks.  So you can see why this was an attractive idea to many people, even if they didn't have the ability to start a temple or study the scriptures or become monks or nuns themselves, at least in this life. Pure Land belief and practices continued to grow and develop in various Buddhists sects, but really took off as an independent practice in Japan in the Kamakura Period, appealing to warriors and commoners alike with its seemingly simple mantra. Shotoku Taishi himself is closely connected to the Pure Land concept, as Como points out.  He and his teacher, Eija, are both said to have attained the Pure Land upon their deaths.  The famous embroidery, commissioned after Shotoku Taishi's death, known as the Tenjukoku Mandala, presumably also describes a country of Heavenly Long Life.  “Tenjukoku” does not have an immediate connection to any particular continental sect or philosophy, but it does seem to be at least a cognate for some of these other ideas such as the Joudo Pure Land OR the Tokoyo of Ohofube no Ohoshi. Whether Ohoshi was, in fact, influenced by other continental ideas is unclear.  We're not even sure if his was the first use of the concept of “Tokoyo” or if that was an idea already planted in the public consciousness by that time—though if so, I would think it would be a bit more widespread.  One could understand, however, how people who had been through famines, floods, earthquakes, disease, and more might find the idea of an eternal ever-after where they could be rich and young again quite inviting.  Enough people found it so that they apparently were willing to give up everything they owned and place it out on the streets.  Even if this wasn't just a scheme to go and scoop up all the goods and skip town, one can see how this may have been viewed as disruptive and unhealthy for the community, at least by those comfortably seated in power, whose workforce was being pulled away from their labors to this new belief system. The ones who were spreading this good news, while called wizards and witches by Aston, use characters that one could just as easily ascribe to Shinto priests and sacred Miko.  Since Shinto wasn't fully formed as we know it today, I think it might be better to say various ritualists and diviners.  Whether they were true believers or simply “pretending” to be inspired, as the Nihon Shoki says, who can say for certain.  What makes one vision more objectively “true” than another, beyond your own belief and faith? And it should be remembered that bringing in new spiritual ideas wasn't, well, new.  That's how Buddhism got started, and likely was one of the ways that Yamato itself expanded its own influence.  How many other quote-unquote “cults” like this existed, and how many were absorbed into the establishment and how many were cast aside? In this case, it would seem that Ohoshi's main problem was likely that he was attracting the wrong sorts of people, which is to say he was appealing to commoners.  In the Warring States period, we would see a not dissimilar dynamic with the independent Joudo Shinshu, a sect of Pure Land Buddhism, supporting commoners in what became known as the ikkou ikki.  They formed communities that helped each other, but at the same time bucked the yoke of the local daimyo and others.  This would bring about violent retribution from warlords like Oda Nobunaga, who wasn't having any of it. Similarly, as the Tokoyo sect spread into Yamashiro and down into the capital region, Kadono no Hata no Miyatsuko no Kawakatsu decided to take matters into his own hands.  Ostensibly, he was upset that people would be so deluded, and under that pretext, he had Ohoshi killed and his followers intimidated.  Cutting the head off the snake, as it were, caused the body to wither, and apparently the Tokoyo cult was not so everlasting after all. And here's where we bring things back around.  You may recall Hata no Kawakatsu, or at least his family.  The progenitor of the Hata family was called Uzumasa, and even today their name is affixed to an area of Kyoto, which was built in the old Hata territory.  Hence the poem about Uzumasa executing the God of the Everlasting World. That area, from Lake Biwa down to Naniwa, is on that corridor from Yamato to Koshi.  The Hata themselves are connected with the continent—especially with Silla.   The Hata temple of Kouryuuji even has a Silla image said to have been obtained by Shotoku Taishi and given to them.  Along with Shitennoji, it is one of several Silla-influenced temples that helped promote the cult of Shotoku Taishi.  It is, of course, possible that we are reading way too much into this.  Some of these things could just be coincidence, but then again, why was it written down and why did the Chroniclers feel that it was important to spend ink on the process?  That's the real question here.   And what more was going on that never got written down, or at least not clearly?  It is likely that we will never truly know the answer to all of these questions.  Unless some ancient documents are found from the period that miraculously survived, with significantly different stories, it would be hard to say much more, but that doesn't mean we can't wonder. But that's all we'll do for now.  At this point, I think we've covered these years from 642 to 645 as best we could, and it is probably time to move on.  I'm not going to prognosticate on next episode just yet, other than to say that we will eventually need to talk about the Taika Reforms—the Great Change.  But that may take a little more time to research so that we can do it properly, but we'll see. 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. Also, feel free to Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

The Heart Sutra is the most chanted sutra in Mahayana Buddhist temples throughout the world. We chant it at BZC twice daily on weekdays, and on Saturday and Sesshins. Sojun often said all of Buddhism and Zen is expressed in this Perfection of Wisdom in 25 lines.

The Heart Sutra is the most chanted sutra in Mahayana Buddhist temples throughout the world. We chant it at BZC twice daily on weekdays, and on Saturday and Sesshins. Sojun often said all of Buddhism and Zen is expressed in this Perfection of Wisdom in 25 lines.

The Heart Sutra is the most chanted sutra in Mahayana Buddhist temples throughout the world. We chant it at BZC twice daily on weekdays, and on Saturday and Sesshins. Sojun often said all of Buddhism and Zen is expressed in this Perfection of Wisdom in 25 lines.

The Heart Sutra is the most chanted sutra in Mahayana Buddhist temples throughout the world. We chant it at BZC twice daily on weekdays, and on Saturday and Sesshins. Sojun often said all of Buddhism and zen is expressed in this Perfection of Wisdom in 25 lines.

Scott Tusa leads an equanimity meditation—based on the Mahayana Buddhist tradition—that works with three kinds of relationships in our life. The purpose is to cultivate compassion, loving-kindness, and understanding.Episode 149: Equanimity Meditation with Scott TusaPre-order Scott Snibbe's new book How to Train a Happy Mind with a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Enter your your order number at skepticspath.org for an invitation to a special pre-release broadcast interview of Scott Snibbe by bestselling author Vicki Mackenzie.Support the show

Santideva's 8th-century Mahayana Buddhist classic, "The Guide to the Practices of Awakening" (Bodhicaryavatara), has been a source of philosophical inspiration in the Indian and Tibetan traditions for over a thousand years.  In Buddhist Ethics and the Bodhisattva Path: Santideva on Virtue and Well-Being (Bloomsbury, 2023), Stephen Harris guides us through a philosophical exploration of Santideva's masterpiece, introducing us to his understanding of the compassionate bodhisattva, who vows to liberate the entire universe from suffering. Individual chapters provide studies of the bodhisattva virtues of generosity, patience, compassion, and wisdom, illustrating the role each plays in Santideva's account of well-being and moral development. Harris also provides an in-depth analysis of many of Santideva's most influential arguments, demonstrating how he employs reasoning as a method to cultivate moral character. As the first book-length English language philosophical study of Santideva's most influential text, this will be essential reading for students and scholars of Buddhist ethics, as well as for anyone interested in intercultural ethics and the philosophy of well-being. Dr. Tiatemsu Longkumer is a faculty in the Department of Anthropology at Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan. His academic pursuits center on the fields of Anthropology and the Philosophy of Religion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Santideva's 8th-century Mahayana Buddhist classic, "The Guide to the Practices of Awakening" (Bodhicaryavatara), has been a source of philosophical inspiration in the Indian and Tibetan traditions for over a thousand years.  In Buddhist Ethics and the Bodhisattva Path: Santideva on Virtue and Well-Being (Bloomsbury, 2023), Stephen Harris guides us through a philosophical exploration of Santideva's masterpiece, introducing us to his understanding of the compassionate bodhisattva, who vows to liberate the entire universe from suffering. Individual chapters provide studies of the bodhisattva virtues of generosity, patience, compassion, and wisdom, illustrating the role each plays in Santideva's account of well-being and moral development. Harris also provides an in-depth analysis of many of Santideva's most influential arguments, demonstrating how he employs reasoning as a method to cultivate moral character. As the first book-length English language philosophical study of Santideva's most influential text, this will be essential reading for students and scholars of Buddhist ethics, as well as for anyone interested in intercultural ethics and the philosophy of well-being. Dr. Tiatemsu Longkumer is a faculty in the Department of Anthropology at Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan. His academic pursuits center on the fields of Anthropology and the Philosophy of Religion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Santideva's 8th-century Mahayana Buddhist classic, "The Guide to the Practices of Awakening" (Bodhicaryavatara), has been a source of philosophical inspiration in the Indian and Tibetan traditions for over a thousand years.  In Buddhist Ethics and the Bodhisattva Path: Santideva on Virtue and Well-Being (Bloomsbury, 2023), Stephen Harris guides us through a philosophical exploration of Santideva's masterpiece, introducing us to his understanding of the compassionate bodhisattva, who vows to liberate the entire universe from suffering. Individual chapters provide studies of the bodhisattva virtues of generosity, patience, compassion, and wisdom, illustrating the role each plays in Santideva's account of well-being and moral development. Harris also provides an in-depth analysis of many of Santideva's most influential arguments, demonstrating how he employs reasoning as a method to cultivate moral character. As the first book-length English language philosophical study of Santideva's most influential text, this will be essential reading for students and scholars of Buddhist ethics, as well as for anyone interested in intercultural ethics and the philosophy of well-being. Dr. Tiatemsu Longkumer is a faculty in the Department of Anthropology at Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan. His academic pursuits center on the fields of Anthropology and the Philosophy of Religion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

Santideva's 8th-century Mahayana Buddhist classic, "The Guide to the Practices of Awakening" (Bodhicaryavatara), has been a source of philosophical inspiration in the Indian and Tibetan traditions for over a thousand years.  In Buddhist Ethics and the Bodhisattva Path: Santideva on Virtue and Well-Being (Bloomsbury, 2023), Stephen Harris guides us through a philosophical exploration of Santideva's masterpiece, introducing us to his understanding of the compassionate bodhisattva, who vows to liberate the entire universe from suffering. Individual chapters provide studies of the bodhisattva virtues of generosity, patience, compassion, and wisdom, illustrating the role each plays in Santideva's account of well-being and moral development. Harris also provides an in-depth analysis of many of Santideva's most influential arguments, demonstrating how he employs reasoning as a method to cultivate moral character. As the first book-length English language philosophical study of Santideva's most influential text, this will be essential reading for students and scholars of Buddhist ethics, as well as for anyone interested in intercultural ethics and the philosophy of well-being. Dr. Tiatemsu Longkumer is a faculty in the Department of Anthropology at Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan. His academic pursuits center on the fields of Anthropology and the Philosophy of Religion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies

Santideva's 8th-century Mahayana Buddhist classic, "The Guide to the Practices of Awakening" (Bodhicaryavatara), has been a source of philosophical inspiration in the Indian and Tibetan traditions for over a thousand years.  In Buddhist Ethics and the Bodhisattva Path: Santideva on Virtue and Well-Being (Bloomsbury, 2023), Stephen Harris guides us through a philosophical exploration of Santideva's masterpiece, introducing us to his understanding of the compassionate bodhisattva, who vows to liberate the entire universe from suffering. Individual chapters provide studies of the bodhisattva virtues of generosity, patience, compassion, and wisdom, illustrating the role each plays in Santideva's account of well-being and moral development. Harris also provides an in-depth analysis of many of Santideva's most influential arguments, demonstrating how he employs reasoning as a method to cultivate moral character. As the first book-length English language philosophical study of Santideva's most influential text, this will be essential reading for students and scholars of Buddhist ethics, as well as for anyone interested in intercultural ethics and the philosophy of well-being. Dr. Tiatemsu Longkumer is a faculty in the Department of Anthropology at Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan. His academic pursuits center on the fields of Anthropology and the Philosophy of Religion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/indian-religions

Santideva's 8th-century Mahayana Buddhist classic, "The Guide to the Practices of Awakening" (Bodhicaryavatara), has been a source of philosophical inspiration in the Indian and Tibetan traditions for over a thousand years.  In Buddhist Ethics and the Bodhisattva Path: Santideva on Virtue and Well-Being (Bloomsbury, 2023), Stephen Harris guides us through a philosophical exploration of Santideva's masterpiece, introducing us to his understanding of the compassionate bodhisattva, who vows to liberate the entire universe from suffering. Individual chapters provide studies of the bodhisattva virtues of generosity, patience, compassion, and wisdom, illustrating the role each plays in Santideva's account of well-being and moral development. Harris also provides an in-depth analysis of many of Santideva's most influential arguments, demonstrating how he employs reasoning as a method to cultivate moral character. As the first book-length English language philosophical study of Santideva's most influential text, this will be essential reading for students and scholars of Buddhist ethics, as well as for anyone interested in intercultural ethics and the philosophy of well-being. Dr. Tiatemsu Longkumer is a faculty in the Department of Anthropology at Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan. His academic pursuits center on the fields of Anthropology and the Philosophy of Religion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Santideva's 8th-century Mahayana Buddhist classic, "The Guide to the Practices of Awakening" (Bodhicaryavatara), has been a source of philosophical inspiration in the Indian and Tibetan traditions for over a thousand years.  In Buddhist Ethics and the Bodhisattva Path: Santideva on Virtue and Well-Being (Bloomsbury, 2023), Stephen Harris guides us through a philosophical exploration of Santideva's masterpiece, introducing us to his understanding of the compassionate bodhisattva, who vows to liberate the entire universe from suffering. Individual chapters provide studies of the bodhisattva virtues of generosity, patience, compassion, and wisdom, illustrating the role each plays in Santideva's account of well-being and moral development. Harris also provides an in-depth analysis of many of Santideva's most influential arguments, demonstrating how he employs reasoning as a method to cultivate moral character. As the first book-length English language philosophical study of Santideva's most influential text, this will be essential reading for students and scholars of Buddhist ethics, as well as for anyone interested in intercultural ethics and the philosophy of well-being. Dr. Tiatemsu Longkumer is a faculty in the Department of Anthropology at Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan. His academic pursuits center on the fields of Anthropology and the Philosophy of Religion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

01/10/2024, Anshi Zachary Smith, dharma talk at City Center. In this talk, from Beginner's Mind Temple, Zachary discusses an often-used koan (teaching story): Yúnmén's “Every day is a good day.” Zen, a Mahayana Buddhist school that theoretically eschews lists, dualities, categories of experience and other conceptual forms on the grounds that they're empty, is nonetheless swimming in them. We'll examine Case 6 of the Blue Cliff Record, in which Yúnmén, unquestionably one of the great Chán masters of the Táng Dynasty, employs such a device, and try to divine what he could possibly have been doing.

In his essay "Bussho," or "The Buddha-Nature," Dogen explores and expands a classic Mahayana Buddhist teaching. I reflect on a few central concepts from the first paragraph.

The primary motivation behind wanting to become a Buddha for the sake of all living beings is boundless compassion. This unconditional love and concern for the well-being and liberation of all sentient beings, without exception, takes effort to cultivate.   A bodhisattva is someone who, out of compassion, vows to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. The wish itself is called "bodhicitta." What marks becoming a bodhisattva is that their intention to become a Buddha is unmovable (meaning they've developed bodhicitta).  While the Bodhisattva Vow is central to the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, this aspiration to become a Buddha transcends cultural, religious, and philosophical boundaries. It is a universal call to alleviate suffering for all living beings, regardless of their background or beliefs. Some may view the aspiration to become a Buddha as a sacred duty, a calling that arises from a deep sense of responsibility towards all living beings and the world as a whole. The practice of Taking and Giving, or Tonglen, is a powerful method for cultivating compassion and ripening bodhicitta. It does so by developing empathy, erasing boundaries between self and other, transforming negative mental states, and deepening one's commitment to the welfare of all beings. Through consistent practice, we can gradually mature in our capacity for selfless love and compassion. By day shines the sun;  by night shines the moon;  in regalia shines the king;  in meditation shines the arahat;  but the Buddha in his glory shines at all times,  by day and by night. Verse 387 —Buddha, The Dhammapada   References and Links Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. (Kindle). Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 78 (Link) Buddha (1986).The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories. Translated by Daw Mya Tin, M.A. (Website). Edited by Editorial Committee, Burma Tipitaka Association Rangoon. Courtesy .of Nibbana.com. For free distribution only, as a gift of dhamma. Retrieved from https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=386 Find us at the links below:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Buddhismforeveryone Facebook Group:Join our private group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sanghatalk/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buddhism.with.joann.fox Website: Buddhismforeveryone.com

Easily listen to The Science of Self in your podcast app of choice at https://bit.ly/ScienceOfSelfPodcast00:04:44 The Law of the Instrument00:09:05 How to Develop Better Mental Models00:09:50 To develop your ability to use and create better models, try the following: Expose Yourself to a Variety of Ideas The key is variety.00:10:40 Always Connect 00:11:24 Cultivate Metacognition00:16:43 In the Lankavatara (a third- or fourth-century Mahayana Buddhist sutra), there is a passage 00:23:55 How to Make Your Own Analogies00:29:39 How to Teach Like Feynman00:30:24 The Protégé Effect00:37:29 How to Explain Anything to Anyone00:39:07 I is for Introduce00:40:00 R is for Relate00:40:31 A is for Apply00:41:29 D is for Demonstrate00:42:05 E is for ExamineHear it Here - https://adbl.co/3OsoIY1• A model is a map of reality and a scaled down, simplified representation of something in the world. Feynman's genius rested on the power of his mental models and maps of reality and his ability to switch between them. Kaplan's law of the instrument says that “when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” To better solve problems, have more tools in your inventory and become better at choosing which one to use when.• Developing good mental models is not the same as refining your personal worldview or philosophy. It's about learning to use your own brain as your primary instrument, and use worldviews as secondary instruments. To develop better models, expose yourself to a range of ideas, constantly seek to connect different ideas, and cultivate metacognition.• Science is a form of imagination that uses language, imagery, metaphor, symbolism, and analogy to engage with reality. We can understand more by connecting the unknown to the known—but without getting confused about what is “finger” and what is “moon”!• The protégé effect is simply when teaching (or even pretending to teach or preparing to teach) helps us understand our material in a deeper and more insightful way. Use simplified, ordinary language, get your ego out the way, and teach someone else/yourself to get to the heart of a concept. • The IRADE method is an approach used in physics education, and it stands for introduce, relate, apply, demonstrate, and examine. It can help you not only teach and learn, but communicate your ideas more clearly.#Analogy #Bessel #BetterMentalModels #CultivateMetacognition #ExposeYourself #Feynman #AuthorAbrahamKaplan #IRADE #Lankavatara #Mahāmati #MahayanaBuddhist #Mental #NeilsBohrA #Nestojko #ProtégéEffect #RichardFeynmansMentalModels #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #PeterHollins #TheScienceofSelf #RichardFeynman'sMentalModels

Welcome to the Psychedelic Science conference in Denver, Colorado! In this episode we delve into Lena and Jeff's background story and what brought both of them to work with psychedelic medicine. We discuss the distinction between a psychedelic-assisted therapist and a medicine person, their structured healing program "The EAST Method", their microdosing program "Embody", and their partnership with "The Bonefrog Foundation" - helping veterans with TBI (traumatic brain injury) and combat-induced PTSD. 00:00 - Fire Moment 00:32 - Introduction 01:44 - Lena's Background 03:29 - Jeff's Background 06:49 - Medicine People 08:21 - The Medicine Path 12:21 - The Intention Is One 13:42 - The EAST Method, Embody 17:24 - The Bonefrog Foundation 20:40 - Last Words Of Wisdom 23:41 - Outro About Lena: Lena grew up in a hybrid Vietnamese Buddhist and Southern Presbyterian home. Her mother, originating from the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, taught her meditation and spiritual rituals when she was a young child. Lena grew up traveling back and forth from Vietnam visiting her family in the Mekong Delta. These spiritual roots deeply inform her life's work of teaching meditation and ancient forms of spiritual healing to the world. During Lena's first year in graduate school, her beloved Vietnamese mother suddenly passed from a stroke. This traumatic loss returned Lena to the spiritual seeds her mother planted within her. Lena went on to study ancient healing traditions abroad, including in Peru where she received her healer's rites from the Q'ero Shamanic Tribe. Lena's intelligent integration of meditation, transpersonal psychology, energy medicine and shamanism is an integrative and powerful approach to multi-dimensional healing. Lena's unique work has been featured in the New York Times, Yoga Magazine and The Telegraph in addition to TV networks such as Bravo and Lifetime. About Jeff: Jeff is a Shaman, Energy Medicine Man, and Conscious Business leader. Merging the ancient traditions and modern science, Jeff integrates his successful business experience with his passion for the healing work he's called to share with humanity. Jeff's formal education includes earning a BS in Biology and Physics with advanced studies in Integrative Energy Medicine, Intuitive Medicine, Energy Psychology and Clinical Hypnotherapy. Jeff has trained with and been initiated into numerous Shamanic tribes and was given the opportunity to learn from Shamans in China, Tibet and Peru, the traditional healing power of Plant Medicines. Now, Jeff is seeing clients from all over the globe for deep energetic, soul healing in addition to staying active in the Conscious Business space. Jeff has been featured on TV networks such as Lifetime and Discovery and has written for magazines and books. Links: Website: https://www.theeastinstitute.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamlenafranklin?mibextid=LQQJ4d Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeffGlattsteinEnergyMedicine?mibextid=LQQJ4d Instagram: https://instagram.com/iamlenafranklin?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Instagram: https://instagram.com/jeffglattstein?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Thank you so much for joining us! Psychedelic Conversations Podcast is designed to educate, inform, and expand awareness. For more information, please head over to https://www.psychedelicconversations.com This show is for information purposes only and is not intended to provide mental health or medical advice. About Susan Guner: Susan is a trained somatic, trauma-informed holistic psychotherapist with a mindfulness-based approach grounded in Transpersonal Psychology that focuses on holistic perspective through introspection, insight, and empathetic self-exploration to increase self-awareness, allowing the integration of the mind, body and spirit aspects of human experience in personal growth and development.

I am super delighted to announce the first of two online programs being offered in the fall. Welcome to our Autumn Retreat offering: "Lovingkindness. The Heart Of The Matter" Metta, often translated as Lovingkindness, is one of the Four Immeasurable Minds in the Buddhist traditions. During these twelve weeks our facilitator Chris Luard will guide us through an exploration cultivating a boundless quality of kindness, friendliness, and care. In drawing on the meditation techniques found in the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions, neuroscience and psychology, this retreat will bring its participants to experience the circle of kindness and care widening gradually to include all beings everywhere. The sessions are offered live, not pre-recorded. The Lovingkindness live sessions will be on Sunday at 12 noon to 2:30pm. Meetings will occur live on Zoom and will be recorded for those participants who miss the live sessions, or for those who wish to enjoy the course at their own pace. The retreat opens Oct 1st and closes Dec 17th 2023. Sessions will include guided meditations, Q n A, A one to one private session with Chris, and interactive discussions with the retreat participants If you would like to participate, but find these times limiting, please feel free to message Chris here on Facebook or through the website: www.suchsweetthunder.org The fee for the complete eight week offering is 119.00 USD. There are scholarships and financial assistance available, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Spaces are limited. Signing up for this special offering in advance is recommended. To do so, message Chris directly here on FB, chrisluard@yahoo.com or through www.suchsweetthunder.org May All Benefit

I am super delighted to announce the first of two online programs being offered in the fall. Welcome to a feature event in our Autumn online offerings: Resting In A Non-Reactive Space. A Live, Twelve Week Immersive Online Meditation Program. During these twelve weeks, our facilitator Chris Luard, will guide us through a deep dive into a series of resting meditations. Meditations composed with the intent to bring one into a very alert, but very peaceful, calm state of tranquility. Coming to rest in a non-reactive space can provide a resource for resilience, stability, and peace in our lives. By drawing on Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions, neuroscience and psychology, this retreat will offer a very broad range of teachings, in such a way that all may benefit, that all may indeed rest in a non-reactive space, regardless of religion, belief, or ideology. All sessions are facilitated live, and are not at all pre-recorded. The Resting In A Non-Reactive Space retreat will be offered on Sundays 12 noon-2:30pm. From October 1st to Dec 17th. The live sessions will meet once a week. 12 sessions in total. Meetings will occur live on Zoom and will be recorded for those participants who miss the live sessions, or for those who wish to enjoy the course at their own pace. Sessions will include guided meditations, Q n A, A one to one private session with Chris, and interactive discussions with the retreat participants. If you would like to participate, but find these times limiting, please feel free to message Chris here on Facebook or through the website: www.suchsweetthunder.org The fee for the complete eight week offering is $119.00 USD. There are scholarships and financial assistance available, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Spaces are limited. Chris Luard has been practicing meditation for over 37 years and has been successfully teaching meditation worldwide since 2009, giving talks, facilitating retreats, and has authored two books. Chris has received formal training in Zen, Mahamudra and Dzogchen, from the Mahayana (Japanese, Korean, and Tibetan) traditions, Vipassana and early buddhist studies from the Theravada traditions, and Vedanta from the Hindu traditions. In addition to this Chris has received formal instruction from the more modern traditions and modalities such as Secular Buddhism, MBSR, Insight, Buddhist Psychology, Nonviolent Communication, Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, Neuroplasticity, and Trauma Healing. Signing up for this special offering in advance is recommended. To do so, message Chris directly here on FB, chrisluard@yahoo.com or through www.suchsweetthunder.org May All Benefit

I am super delighted to announce the first of two online programs being offered in the fall. Welcome to our Autumn Retreat offering: "Lovingkindness. The Heart Of The Matter" Metta, often translated as Lovingkindness, is one of the Four Immeasurable Minds in the Buddhist traditions. During these twelve weeks our facilitator Chris Luard will guide us through an exploration cultivating a boundless quality of kindness, friendliness, and care. In drawing on the meditation techniques found in the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions, neuroscience and psychology, this retreat will bring its participants to experience the circle of kindness and care widening gradually to include all beings everywhere. The sessions are offered live, not pre-recorded. The Lovingkindness live sessions will be on Sunday at 12 noon to 2:30pm. Meetings will occur live on Zoom and will be recorded for those participants who miss the live sessions, or for those who wish to enjoy the course at their own pace. The retreat opens Oct 1st and closes Dec 17th 2023. Sessions will include guided meditations, Q n A, A one to one private session with Chris, and interactive discussions with the retreat participants If you would like to participate, but find these times limiting, please feel free to message Chris here on Facebook or through the website: www.suchsweetthunder.org The fee for the complete eight week offering is 119.00 USD. There are scholarships and financial assistance available, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Spaces are limited. Signing up for this special offering in advance is recommended. To do so, message Chris directly on FB, chrisluard@yahoo.com or through www.suchsweetthunder.org May All Benefit

08/30/2023, Dawn Neal, dharma talk at City Center. In this dharma talk from Beginner's Mind Temple, San Francisco Zen Center, Dawn Neal discusses the Mahayana Buddhist ethical precepts, with a particular focus on how to bring these precepts to life in our daily practice.

Anshi Zachary Smith: “We'll explore, among other things, the intellectual and philosophical environment in which Zen Buddhism developed in China, in particular the that fact that it contained both a proliferation of dualistic “list-making” and a preponderance of radical non-dualism (perhaps “anti-dualism”) as pioneered by some earlier Mahayana Buddhist schools, e.g. the Huayan school. We'll also see how this balancing act has continued even up to the present day.”

I am super delighted to announce the first of two online programs being offered in the fall. Welcome to a feature event in our Autumn online offerings: Resting In A Non-Reactive Space. A Live, Twelve Week Immersive Online Meditation Program. During these twelve weeks, our facilitator Chris Luard, will guide us through a deep dive into a series of resting meditations. Meditations composed with the intent to bring one into a very alert, but very peaceful, calm state of tranquility. Coming to rest in a non-reactive space can provide a resource for resilience, stability, and peace in our lives. By drawing on Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions, neuroscience and psychology, this retreat will offer a very broad range of teachings, in such a way that all may benefit, that all may indeed rest in a non-reactive space, regardless of religion, belief, or ideology. All sessions are facilitated live, and are not at all pre-recorded. The Resting In A Non-Reactive Space retreat will be offered on Sundays 12 noon-2:30pm. From October 1st to Dec 17th. The live sessions will meet once a week. 12 sessions in total. Meetings will occur live on Zoom and will be recorded for those participants who miss the live sessions, or for those who wish to enjoy the course at their own pace. Sessions will include guided meditations, Q n A, A one to one private session with Chris, and interactive discussions with the retreat participants. If you would like to participate, but find these times limiting, please feel free to message Chris here on Facebook or through the website: www.suchsweetthunder.org The fee for the complete eight week offering is $119.00 USD. There are scholarships and financial assistance available, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Spaces are limited. Chris Luard has been practicing meditation for over 37 years and has been successfully teaching meditation worldwide since 2009, giving talks, facilitating retreats, and has authored two books. Chris has received formal training in Zen, Mahamudra and Dzogchen, from the Mahayana (Japanese, Korean, and Tibetan) traditions, Vipassana and early buddhist studies from the Theravada traditions, and Vedanta from the Hindu traditions. In addition to this Chris has received formal instruction from the more modern traditions and modalities such as Secular Buddhism, MBSR, Insight, Buddhist Psychology, Nonviolent Communication, Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, Neuroplasticity, and Trauma Healing. Signing up for this special offering in advance is recommended. To do so, message Chris directly here on FB, chrisluard@yahoo.com or through www.suchsweetthunder.org May All Benefit

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra is a Mahayana Buddhist text from the 2nd century CE that explores the nature of enlightenment and the teachings of the Buddha. In this contemporary commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Pragmatic Dharma teacher Kenneth Folk shares his personal understanding of what he refers to as “a magical spell.”Episode Links:Watch the Video Version of this Talk on YoutubeKenneth Folk DharmaThe Vimalakīrti Sūtra, translated by Burton WatsonPragmatic Dharma TrainingSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this Special Episode, I'll be reciting Volume 8 of Śūraṅgama Sūtra. Śūraṅgama Sūtra is a Mahayana Buddhist scripture which first appeared in 8th century China, though it may have been circulated before that, possibly in India as well.

Into the Mirror: A Buddhist Journey through Mind, Matter, and the Nature of Reality (Shambhala, 2023) examines the materialism of the modern world through the profound teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and offers an accessible and powerful method for investigating the way our minds construct our worlds. Into the Mirror combines contemporary Western inquiries into the nature of consciousness, with classical Buddhist investigations into the nature of mind, to offer deep insights into the nature of reality. Andy Karr invites the reader to make this a personal, experiential journey through study, contemplation, and meditation.  The first part of the book presents the Mahayana Buddhist approach to the path of freedom from suffering. It explores foundational teachings, such as the four truths, the notion of enlightenment, and the practice of meditation, from a fresh perspective. The second part deconstructs assumptions about mind and the material world using easily understood tools from contemporary Western philosophy. Part three presents a series of contemplative practices, ethics, and insights, starting with the Middle Way teachings on emptiness and interdependence, through Yogachara's subtle understanding of non-duality, to the view that buddha nature is already within us to be revealed rather than something external to be acquired. Into the Mirror concludes with a call to cultivate compassion for beings and the environment right within this world of illusion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Into the Mirror: A Buddhist Journey through Mind, Matter, and the Nature of Reality (Shambhala, 2023) examines the materialism of the modern world through the profound teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and offers an accessible and powerful method for investigating the way our minds construct our worlds. Into the Mirror combines contemporary Western inquiries into the nature of consciousness, with classical Buddhist investigations into the nature of mind, to offer deep insights into the nature of reality. Andy Karr invites the reader to make this a personal, experiential journey through study, contemplation, and meditation.  The first part of the book presents the Mahayana Buddhist approach to the path of freedom from suffering. It explores foundational teachings, such as the four truths, the notion of enlightenment, and the practice of meditation, from a fresh perspective. The second part deconstructs assumptions about mind and the material world using easily understood tools from contemporary Western philosophy. Part three presents a series of contemplative practices, ethics, and insights, starting with the Middle Way teachings on emptiness and interdependence, through Yogachara's subtle understanding of non-duality, to the view that buddha nature is already within us to be revealed rather than something external to be acquired. Into the Mirror concludes with a call to cultivate compassion for beings and the environment right within this world of illusion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Into the Mirror: A Buddhist Journey through Mind, Matter, and the Nature of Reality (Shambhala, 2023) examines the materialism of the modern world through the profound teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and offers an accessible and powerful method for investigating the way our minds construct our worlds. Into the Mirror combines contemporary Western inquiries into the nature of consciousness, with classical Buddhist investigations into the nature of mind, to offer deep insights into the nature of reality. Andy Karr invites the reader to make this a personal, experiential journey through study, contemplation, and meditation.  The first part of the book presents the Mahayana Buddhist approach to the path of freedom from suffering. It explores foundational teachings, such as the four truths, the notion of enlightenment, and the practice of meditation, from a fresh perspective. The second part deconstructs assumptions about mind and the material world using easily understood tools from contemporary Western philosophy. Part three presents a series of contemplative practices, ethics, and insights, starting with the Middle Way teachings on emptiness and interdependence, through Yogachara's subtle understanding of non-duality, to the view that buddha nature is already within us to be revealed rather than something external to be acquired. Into the Mirror concludes with a call to cultivate compassion for beings and the environment right within this world of illusion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

Into the Mirror: A Buddhist Journey through Mind, Matter, and the Nature of Reality (Shambhala, 2023) examines the materialism of the modern world through the profound teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and offers an accessible and powerful method for investigating the way our minds construct our worlds. Into the Mirror combines contemporary Western inquiries into the nature of consciousness, with classical Buddhist investigations into the nature of mind, to offer deep insights into the nature of reality. Andy Karr invites the reader to make this a personal, experiential journey through study, contemplation, and meditation.  The first part of the book presents the Mahayana Buddhist approach to the path of freedom from suffering. It explores foundational teachings, such as the four truths, the notion of enlightenment, and the practice of meditation, from a fresh perspective. The second part deconstructs assumptions about mind and the material world using easily understood tools from contemporary Western philosophy. Part three presents a series of contemplative practices, ethics, and insights, starting with the Middle Way teachings on emptiness and interdependence, through Yogachara's subtle understanding of non-duality, to the view that buddha nature is already within us to be revealed rather than something external to be acquired. Into the Mirror concludes with a call to cultivate compassion for beings and the environment right within this world of illusion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Buddha Nature is a concept that arises primarily in the Mahayana Buddhist teachings, though without using that language, specifically,  could certainly be interpreted within the early teachings as well.   The most famous Koan on this is "Does a Dog of Buddha Nature?"Doug and Jon have a spirited and at times confusing discussion on this.  Join in with us!Support the showGo to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/

When we hold on to resentment, anger, or any form of grudge, we hinder, veil, and block our access to the present moment. In this eight week course, our facilitator Chris Luard will gently guide participants through a series of practices designed to give one a way to work with these hindrances and to allow one to live a life free from the torments of the judging mind, the critical mind, and the resentful mind. By drawing on the meditation techniques found in the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions, as well as practices offered by modern neuroscience and psychology, this retreat will bring its participants to By drawing on the meditation techniques found in the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions as well as practices offered by modern neuroscience and psychology, this retreat will bring its participants to glimpse a life free from the splinter of resentment and the harshness of the inner critic. The Self-Compassion, Forgiveness, Inner-Critic retreat live sessions will be from 7pm-9:30pm EST on Sunday Evenings, From July 2nd- Sept 17th, 2023 The live sessions will meet once a week for 12 weeks. Meetings will occur live on Zoom and will be recorded for those participants who miss the live sessions, or for those who wish to enjoy the course at their own pace. Sessions will include guided meditations, Q n A, A one to one private session with Chris, and interactive discussions with the retreat participants. If you would like to participate, but find these times limiting, please feel free to message Chris here on Facebook or through the website: www.suchsweetthunder.org The fee for the complete eight week offering is $119.00 USD. There are scholarships and financial assistance available, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Spaces are limited. Signing up for this special offering in advance is recommended. To do so, message Chris directly here on FB, chrisluard@yahoo.com or through www.suchsweetthunder.org

Today we'll scat with Dogen's jazz in Shobogenzo Nyorai Zenshin (The Buddha Whole Body). Some 700 or so years before modern jazz folks, Dōgen had the equivalent jazzy approach, taking “standard” Mahayana Buddhist teachings, fanciful but traditional Buddhist images, and “samples” of quotes from well-known stories related to his intended topics, tearing them apart, and tossing all back together again, remixing them, in order to discover and uncover new feelings, sounds, implications, visions, and Wisdom, all in what was often pretty wild imagery to start with! Further reading and discussion for this talk are available on the Treeleaf forum: June 2-3 2023 -OUR MONTHLY 4-hr ZAZENKAI- Nyorai Zenshin -A Mini-Lesson in Dogen Jazz

On this episode I am joined by my friend, Rachel Tanner-Smith, and my friend, teacher, and mentor Mikey Noechel! We talk about their upcoming “Practice Intensive” on Buddhist Psychology and the Five Aggregates happening April 15th at Wildheart Meditation Center in Nashville, TN. We also talk about how the Dharma came into their lives, 90's hip-hop, sideways mullets, and Mikey and Rachael unpacks what the Five Aggregates are and explains how by clinging to them, all of our suffering is created. We basically nerd out on the Dharma, which is one of my favorite things to do! This is one not to be missed and I hope that you enjoy it!   Info for April 15th Practice Intensive @ WHMC Info for July 6-9 "Interdependence Day" Retreat Rachael Tanner-Smith is a long time dedicated practitioner in the nashville community and the former co-director of Wild Heart Meditation Center.  Her teaching integrates Buddhist wisdom and Western psychology, with an emphasis on extending practice off the cushion.    Having practiced across traditions, she weaves somatic, heart centered, and creative practices together to support awakening through body, speech, and mind. Her personal practice is supported by regular retreat and the accountability of working with a meditation mentor. Rachael is most at ease outside and finds great joy in parenting.     -- Rachael Tanner-Smith, PMHNP, LPC-MHSP Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Professional Counselor   Teaching Council, Wild Heart Meditation Center https://wildheartmeditationcenter.org/   Founding Partner, Experience Therapy Group https://www.experiencetherapygroup.com/   Rev. Mikey Noechel, MS is the guiding teacher and co-director of Wild Heart Meditation Center. In 2020, Mikey received lay ordination and empowerment to teach as a Dharmacharya (Dharma Teacher) in both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions through the authorization of Ven. Pannavati Bhikkhuni and Ven. Pannadipa Bhikkhu. Mikey was given the name Rogahari Sokatura which means “healer of the brokenhearted.” Through this empowerment, he is committed to bringing the Buddha's teachings into nontraditional settings such as addiction treatment centers, jails, and a variety of settings.   Mikey also regularly teaches residential retreats, weekly classes, and workshops. He holds a master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Troy University and has been trained to facilitate meditation groups through Against The Stream Buddhist Meditation Society under the guidance of JoAnna Hardy and Vinny Ferrero. Mikey lives in Nashville, TN, with his wife Cassie, their dog Durt McGurt and their kitty cat Mafia.  

Mind-training is a Mahayana Buddhist practice focused on the cultivation of altruism, understanding, and compassion. Mind-training, or more appropriately ‘heart-training', is a practice utilized by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. First brought to Tibet by the Indian Buddhist Master Atisha in the eleventh century CE, mind-training is a practice with the aim of cultivating and attaining bodhichitta, defined as the altruistic mind of awakening. The term bodhichitta is comprised of two words, bodhi (Skt.) meaning awakened, and citta (Skt.) meaning mind; together they are commonly translated as, awakened mind or mind of enlightenment. Venerable Tarpa is an American Buddhist monk in the Tibetan Tradition who offers a modern and progressive presentation of the Buddha's teachings, favoring a more secular approach. Ven. Tarpa is well known for his pragmatic, no-nonsense views, his ability to clarify complex philosophical points for all audiences, and his familiarity with all traditions of Buddhist thought and non-Buddhist traditions as well. For free original Buddhist study material and to learn more about Venerable Tarpa visit his website at: http://SBTonline.org #Buddhism #SecularBuddhism #Meditation

Far from being a type of toxic positivity, the practice of Joy can provide one with a type of inner resilience and strength needed to navigate the storms inherent in the human experience. "To make injustice the only measure of our attention is to praise the devil" Jack Gilbert. Welcome to our spring online meditation retreat offering: Joy. The Ground Of Resilience. Celebrating the joys of life: enjoying the smile of a loved one, the purring of a kitten, the laughter of a friend, is a practice of self compassion. It is the ground of resilience, and a much needed resource in these crazy times. Now, more than ever, we need the resource of Joy. Mudita, often translated as sympathetic joy, or altruistic joy, is one of the four Divine Abodes from the Buddhist traditions. Mudita has the capacity to allow us to see through the illusion of separateness and allow us to come together through our innate capacity for celebration and joy. All sessions of these retreats are live. The meetings are not pre-recorded. During these eight weeks our facilitator Chris Luard will expertly guide us through an exploration in cultivating a Joy generating internally, and which is not dependent upon external factors or circumstances. Using meditation techniques found in the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions as well as practices offered by modern neuroscience and psychology, this retreat will bring its participants to experience a boundless joy to offer to ourselves, loved ones, strangers, challenging people, and to the entire world. There are two sections being offered to cater to different time zones. Each section of our retreat will meet twice a week. Section 1 Monday and Thursday 1-3pm EST. Section 2 Mondays and Thursdays 7pm-9pm. EST. Sessions will include guided meditations, Q n A, optional one to one private sessions with Chris, and interactive discussions with the retreat participants The registration cost for the entire eight week program is $119.00 USD. If you would like to participate, but find these times or cost limiting, please feel free to message Chris here. The online sessions will be recorded and available to participants. This is made available to allow participants to miss sessions, if necessary, while keeping up with the pace of the retreat. Signing up for this special offering in advance is recommended.

"To make injustice the only measure of our attention is to praise the devil" Jack Gilbert. Welcome to our spring online meditation retreat offering: Joy. The Ground Of Resilience. Celebrating the joys of life: enjoying the smile of a loved one, the purring of a kitten, the laughter of a friend, is a practice of self compassion. It is the ground of resilience, and a much needed resource in these crazy times. Now, more than ever, we need the resource of Joy. Mudita, often translated as sympathetic joy, or altruistic joy, is one of the four Divine Abodes from the Buddhist traditions. Mudita has the capacity to allow us to see through the illusion of separateness and allow us to come together through our innate capacity for celebration and joy. All sessions of these retreats are live. The meetings are not pre-recorded. During these eight weeks our facilitator Chris Luard will expertly guide us through an exploration in cultivating a Joy generating internally, and which is not dependent upon external factors or circumstances. Using meditation techniques found in the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions as well as practices offered by modern neuroscience and psychology, this retreat will bring its participants to experience a boundless joy to offer to ourselves, loved ones, strangers, challenging people, and to the entire world. There are two sections being offered to cater to different time zones. Each section of our retreat will meet twice a week. Section 1 Monday and Thursday 1-3pm EST. Section 2 Mondays and Thursdays 7pm-9pm. EST. Sessions will include guided meditations, Q n A, optional one to one private sessions with Chris, and interactive discussions with the retreat participants The registration cost for the entire eight week program is $119.00 USD. If you would like to participate, but find these times or cost limiting, please feel free to message Chris here. The online sessions will be recorded and available to participants. This is made available to allow participants to miss sessions, if necessary, while keeping up with the pace of the retreat. Signing up for this special offering in advance is recommended.

An episode of almost 12 mins on a Saturday rambling dog walk through the fields in West Penwith, Cornwall.Also singing the Heart Sutra, from the Mahayana tradition which has been so beautiful for me recently and also reminds me of when I stayed in a Buddhist Monastery many years ago... ** I'm not a singer - so my voice isn't the best! :) - this podcast is for confidence around voice and all being perfect just as it is xGate gate para gate para sam gate bodhi swaha (Sanskrit: गते गते पार गते पार संगते बोधि स्वाहा) -  Buddhist mantra  found at the end of the Heart Sutra and included in the Prajnaparamita ('Perfection of Wisdom') section of the Mahayana Buddhist canon. It is also known as the Heart Calming Mantra.It can be translated as 'Go, Go, go beyond, go completely beyond the beyond, such awakening, so great! (hallelujah!) ...in going beyond illusion to true reality. In effect staying as that which Is and not being affected by all that is not.Thank you so much for listening x** - please see the donate button on 'Buy me a coffee' as so happy to find out about this! Any contributions towards coffees, poetry books and cat treats... (& of course the podcast/audio recording/editing costs!) gratefully received x...............................................................................................................................................................................Please see more artwork, articles and info at www.rowenascotney.com Music by Chad Crouch www.soundofpicture.com - 'La Di Da'Artwork by Rowena ScotneyEpisode cover - Gulval fields and sky, photographPodcast cover - 'Garden Robin' - feltingSupport the showSupport the show

Rev. Oswin Hollenbeck talks about Nagyaarajuna, a celebrated Indian ancestor in the Zen and wider Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Rev. Oswin reads from Great Master Keizan's commentary from 'The Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of the Light' to illuminate Nagyaarajuna's initial misunderstanding and his eventual conversion to the Buddha's practice. The main lesson for us all from Nagyaarajuna's own story being that training with the Sangha is essential. -Free downloadable PDF of Denkoroku @: https://shastaabbey.org/publications/-YouTube video: https://youtu.be/fXSv9ZHiJ1A-Twitter: @shastaabbey

In connection to the episode on creating a compassionate world (link), where we briefly touched on the philosophy of Buddhism, this spotlight episode explores this topic further. Today our guest host Joachim Stempfle is talking with Maurice Jonquet, a practicing Mahayana Buddhist. Together they discuss how we can apply the spiritual teachings in connection with neuropsychological aspects in our modern world and how it can help us on our journey to a more compassionate leadership. As always please send your feedback to droppingyourarmour@atrain.com Enjoy this episode!Neha

The Heart Sutra is one of the most profound and widely studied texts in the Buddhist canon which is recited at the start of teachings, events & as a blessing. In this podcast Robert A.F. Thurman leads a recitation of The Heart Sutra and gives a teaching on it's connections to the Four Noble Truths and the Buddha's Eight Folk Path of liberation for all audiences. Professor Thurman begins this podcast with an explanation of the Heart Sutra focusing on the the dialog between Shāriputra and Avalokiteśvara in the Buddha's samadhi field, and it's connection to Clear Light, Bliss, Relativity and how one can avoid absolutism when thinking about emptiness. Podcast concludes with Professor Thurman explaining how the practice of reciting The Heart Sutra is the key to understanding it's teaching as a tool for mind transformation and a reading of the the third chapter of "The Flower Ornament Sutra" as translated by Thomas Cleary. “The Transcendent Wisdom Heart Sutra, known as The Heart Sutra in all Mahayana Buddhist countries, and The Heart of Wisdom in Tibet, is a concise expression of the profound vision of reality that is the root of liberation from suffering. Tibetan religious all know this by heart and chant is solemnly at the beginning of every ceremony. In addition to a prescription for enlightenment, they consider it the most powerful exorcism, purifier, and developer of merit as well of wisdom.” Robert A.F. Thurman from Essential Tibetan Buddhism Professor Thurman's translation of the Heart Sutra can be found in his book, Essential Tibetan Buddhism, on page 171, under the chapter heading, “Practicing the Liberating Wisdom.”

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. ​

“Padmapani is my Yidam, two-armed Avalokitesvara… I came from a Pureland Mahayana tradition so I wanted all of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas to be part of my practice, but I gradually narrowed down… Avalokitesvara gave the Heart Sutra and bit by bit it became clear that, ‘Well, it's just a question of how many arms!” When Prasadacarin's school teacher organized a class visit to a Mahayana Buddhist temple in Stockholm, Sweden, he did not imagine his encounter with the Dharma that day would spark off his own spiritual quest, and lead eventually to becoming Chair of  Triratna's Stockholm Buddhist Centre in his early 20s! Listen to this moving account of a spiritual life that started at a very early age, passing through the twists and turns of growing up and the complications of coming out as a gay man in a context that wasn't supportive. Prasadacarin speaks openly and from the heart in this latest Fifty Years, Fifty Voices episode. Extracts from this talk were used for the 50 Years, 50 Voices project - visit the dedicated space on The Buddhist Centre Online for more. 

Great Sage from the Land of Snows Lama Tsongkhapa — an ideal practice. His story, praise, practice, and mantras sung by the amazing Yoko Dharma. In these difficult times, we need practices that generate the healing powers of Compassion, Wisdom and Power. These are usually personified, from a Mahayana Buddhist point-of-view in the Enlightened forms of Chenrezig for Compassion, Manjushri for Wisdom, and Vajrapani for Power. Or, in the profound practice of the Buddha from the Land of Snows, Lama Je Tsongkhapa, who is an emanation of all three. Come along with us now as we celebrate the life and practice of the Great Sage from the Land of Snows, and finish with a visualization and chanting of the Migstema.Before we begin, if you like this presentation, please like, subscribe and turn on notifications. Please consider supporting Buddha Weekly's mission, Spread the Dharma, on Patreon, at Patreon.com slash Buddha Weekly In the land of snows, in the year 1357, a boy who would come to be known as Lama Tsongkhapa was born to a Mongolian father and a Tibetan mother in Amdo, Tibet. He would come to be revered as the Buddha from the Land of Snows, and an incarnation of all three of the Great Bodhisattvas: Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani. His practice, today, embodies the qualities of these great ones: Wisdom, Compassion, and Power. He is equally revered for his vast library of Enlightened teachings in written form. Lama Tsongkhapa's birth was prophesized by both Buddha Shakyamuni and Guru Rinpoche according to texts, including the Manjushri Root Text. Buddha Shakyamuni prophesized, "After I pass away and my pure doctrine is absent, you will appear as an ordinary being, performing the deeds of a Buddha, and establishing the Joyful Land, the great Protector, in the Land of the Snows."In these difficult times, many famous gurus, lamas and teachers suggest this very powerful, yet accessible practice. The practice does not require initiation or empowerment—although the guidance of a teacher and initiation are beneficial. Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche advised: “If one keeps even a drop of the nectar of the name of this holy being Lama Tsongkhapa in a devotional heart, it plants the seed of liberation and one receives the fortune to practice and enjoy happiness from this life up to enlightenment.” Historically, Lama Tsongkhapa is among the greatest of the sages of the Land of Snows. He authored numerous exhaustive and profound texts covering everything from Lamrim to Secret Tantra — all of the key teachings of sutra and tantra combined.Support the show

The Mahayana Buddhist holiday of "Bodhi Day" celebrates the Buddha's enlightenment. Bodhi, meaning awakened or enlightened, is the goal of all Buddhists so they can emulate what the Buddha achieved: cutting through delusion and ignorance, realizing the truth, becoming enlightened (Bodhi), blowing out the three fires of greed, anger, and delusion, which then allows us to reside in our true, peaceful, calm, natural state of Nirvana. Learn how we celebrate this holiday from a Western perspective to including how to repurpose a Christmas tree and lights into a "Bodhi Tree"! Learn more in my article and videos here: https://alanpeto.com/buddhism/bodhi-day/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alanpeto/message

Mahayana Buddhism has a lot in common with earlier forms of Buddhism (like belief in samsara and nirvana, lack of inherently existent self, dukkha, impermanence, etc.). But in this episode I'll explore two of the distinctive philosophical innovations that make Mahayana Buddhist schools like Zen and Pure Land distinctive: emptiness and buddha nature. These two philosophical ideas work together: buddha nature is our true "self," and the small sense of self that we usually grasp at doesn't really exist (i.e., it's empty of true existence). If you missed my earlier video on the origins of the Mahayana schools, you can catch that here: https://youtu.be/R7Gc2rDbgb4 I recorded this video from a live Insight Timer teaching; you can find me there and get notified of future talks: http://insig.ht/clairevillarreal To get the resources associated with this teaching series on types of Buddhism and get notified of upcoming live events, join this mailing list: https://bit.ly/typesBuddh To support my work, you can join my Patreon insiders (https://bit.ly/3Dm14p2) or make a one-time donation (https://bit.ly/CVPayPalMe). May all beings be well. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:33 Connections between Mahayana and Early Buddhism 02:25 Emptiness 07:55 Buddha nature --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/buddhist-wisdom/message

Today's problem affects 100% of people, and it's getting worse every year, and affecting younger and younger as the problem grows. In fact, we have now gotten to a point where the number of people and amount of money available to solve the problem may not be enough. That's why it's so important for all of us to learn how we can help.The problem is stress, and the mental, emotional, and physical toll that it takes on our bodies, lives, and relationships. Just a couple of episodes ago, we talked about self care, and the ways our bodies talk to us when it is in need of TLC. Today's show is about one of the solutions: mindful meditation.My guest this week is Stacey Turknett, a Certified Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher. Stacey has over 20 years of personal practice steeped in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Stacey has been in education for 12 years as a Character Education Coach where she taught social-emotional learning (SEL) and mindfulness before founding Stacey Turknett Meditation and Mindfulness Coaching. She studied Sociology and Criminal Justice at Fort Hays State University where she also earned a certificate in Life Transitions and a certificate in Multiculturism. Stacey is a Certified Meditation & Mindfulness Teacher from The School of Positive Transformation and holds a certificate from Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (foundation 1 certificate) from Mindful Leader Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wednesday, November 10, 2021 This month's session will explore the teachings of the Pure Land Master Nagarjuna whose writings on the Middle Way serve as the foundation for the Mahayana Buddhist path to awakening. Sakyamuni Tathagata, on Mount Lanka,Prophesied to the multitudes that in south IndiaThe mahasattva Nagarjuna would appear in this worldTo crush the […] We welcome you to join us for Zoom services and Dharma discussions! For more information, visit us at https://sanmateobuddhisttemple.org/

We're back! Thank you for joining us for a brand new season. Thomas kicks off the festivities with a close reading of a timeless text from the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. In this episode you can learn to relax your inner control freak (okay, for some of us it's more like an outer control freak) and let go more fully  into the natural  ebb and flow of life.

Annabella Pitkin is an Assistant Professor of Buddhism and East Asian Religions at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and Director of Lehigh Asian Studies Program.  Her dharma talk is about Mahayana traditions and practice.Dr. Pitkin's forthcoming book, Beggar Modern: Renunciation and Longing in the Life of a 20th Century Himalayan Buddhist Saint (April 2022), explores the life of the Himalayan Buddhist teacher Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen.

Everyone's self-love journey is different, but with helpful tools, it can be easier. This week we're joined by Marshalla Ramos-Inde—she began her asana practice in 2007 while attending graduate school. In addition to being a certified 200-hour hatha yoga facilitator, she is a Mahayana Buddhist practitioner of 36 years. She is the CEO/Founder of Bubbly Moon Naturals, a natural vegan body and lifestyle product company & consultant to natural product makers, and is an indie children's author. She facilitates asana practice within the spirit of ahimsa non-violence to self through Body Positive Affirmations and movements. Her offerings include affirmation-based yoga for gaining internal strength, acceptance, wisdom, and self-love. We dive into the power of affirmations, self-love, walking in our purpose, and more. Enjoy!

Charles Inouye writes, “I am Japanese but was born and raised in rural central Utah. At first, my parents were afraid that our involvement with the Church would weaken our grounding in Japanese tradition. As it turned out, it only reinforced my interest in animism, Buddhism, and other aspects of Japanese culture. As a scholar of Japanese culture, I have discovered that Latter-day Saint culture and Mahayana Buddhist culture are similar in many ways, and that the paths to the building up of Zion, on the one hand, and to Zen enlightenment, on the other, are one and the same. The genius of both faith traditions lies in how they push the abstract ideas of salvation down into the world of material practice. Raking sand in a Zen garden reminds us that mortality is similarly a “high maintenance” situation, where constant service is required if we are to grasp our purpose here on earth.” Come learn more about Charles' life, work, and what Latter-day Saints can learn from a life of faith, service, and “raking”: the slow and steady daily practices that promotes spirituality and humility. The post MI Podcast #127: ZION EARTH ZEN SKY appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

The Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life is a seminal Mahayana Buddhist text. It includes everything one needs to know to successfully develop on the Buddhist path. In this class, Heather Breault explores and teaches the crucial teachings in the Guide. In this class we study: What is meant by Buddhist Refuge and the Three Jewels. Identifying […]

The Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life is a seminal Mahayana Buddhist text. It includes everything one needs to know to successfully develop on the Buddhist path. In this class, Heather Breault explores and teaches the crucial teachings in the Guide. In this class we study: Five paths of spiritual development. Deepening understandings of Buddhist emptiness. Two […]

The Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life is a seminal Mahayana Buddhist text. It includes everything one needs to know to successfully develop on the Buddhist path. In this class, Heather Breault explores and teaches the crucial teachings in the Guide. In this class: We explore the mind vs brain debate. We meet the […]

Ven. Yong Su Mark Hepper, Mahayana Buddhist practitioner and Teaching Monk at the Grand Rapids Buddhist Temple, previously asked Grand Rapids faith communities: "What does your faith, your religion, do to specifically address your members' suffering?" --- Rishi Singh, Sikh practitioner and interfaith outreach officer for the Sikh Society of West Michigan, responds, and passes a question on to other faith communities in the city: "What is the purpose of your life? How can you live a spiritual life -- how can you attain that which you're sent here for -- if you can't answer that fundamental question, which is 'what is the purpose of your life?'" --- Passing the Mic is a project of Grand Rapids Community Media Center (CMC) that promotes online, community-wide discussion of local issues and topics using the spoken word. Residents are invited to share one to three-minute audio responses to locally-focused questions from fellow neighbors, with questions geared toward all Grand Rapidians or specific communities within the city. Keeping the discussion going, speakers are encouraged to end their responses with their own question related to a local issue or topic -- passing along the opportunity to amplify community voices. Opinions expressed through Passing the Mic are those of the speakers and do not reflect the editorial voice of The Rapidian or CMC. Posted responses are subject to The Rapidian's Terms of Use, which include adherence to inclusiveness, civility, ethical reporting, proper credit, local emphasis, and open identity (no anonymous posting).

Today on the podcast, we're bringing ancient teachings to life as we journey through the Daoist delineation of the human psyche by way of storytelling. In this transformative conversation, Mason and Yin yoga, meditation, and medical Qigong practitioner Stephanie Nosco discuss the Wu Shen, also known as The Five Spirits; A system of spiritual descent, allowing us to live out our Dao through bringing the light of Heaven down to Earth, and alchemising pain into growth. Stephanie's transfer of knowledge and her ability to bring this elusive spiritual system to life through story and metaphor is brilliant. This intrinsic part of the Daoist teachings can't be measured or quantified but is the consciousness behind everything. Descending from the Heavens with Shen and moving through Hun, Yi, Po, and Zhi, Stephanie takes us on a journey, pulling out the light and different expressions of each spirit along the way. In a realm of work she's so passionate about Stephanie expresses that compassion for ourselves is essential on this path of healing. For true transformation, wisdom, and inspiration will arise from our psyche, only when we are willing to go into the murky depths to do the work, and begin to consciously live out our Dao. Tune in for wisdom.   Mason and Stephanie discuss: The Five Spirits. The spirit of the organs. Mingmen and our destiny. The wisdom in storytelling. Bringing Shen into the body. Practices to nourish the Hun. Hun disturbance and depression. Practices to help the Yi spirit. Po disturbance and breathwork. Medical Qigong to nourish the five spirits. Yin yoga as an avenue to explore the spirit dimension.   Who is Stephanie Nosco? Stephanie is a dedicated yin yoga, meditation, and medical qigong practitioner. After over a decade of teaching these modalities and witnessing their transformative power, Stephanie has fostered a deep appreciation for the human spirit and its undervalued potential to heal the physical, mental and emotional body. Stephanie is endorsed by yin yoga founder, Sarah Power's, through the Insight Yoga Institute. She has sat multiple long silent retreats, with senior teachers from both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions. Her most recent interests surround how spirituality, energetics, and psychotherapy intersect, and is currently completing her Masters' in Counselling psychology. Stephanie views Yin Yoga, Meditation, Qigong, and psychotherapy as methods to re-awaken what we already know. She founds her teachings on the principle that this inner knowing is the true guide towards health, healing, and awakening.   CLICK HERE TO LISTEN ON APPLE PODCAST    Resources: Nosco Yoga Stephanie's Instagram Stephanie's Facebook Yin Yoga Teacher Training  Rooted In Spirit Book Sarah Powers Yoga   Q: How Can I Support The SuperFeast Podcast?   A: Tell all your friends and family and share online! We'd also love it if you could subscribe and review this podcast on iTunes. Or  check us out on Stitcher, CastBox, iHeart RADIO:)! Plus  we're on Spotify!   Check Out The Transcript Here:   Mason: (00:00) Steph, thanks so much for coming on the podcast.   Steph Nosco: (00:02) Thank you so much for having me.   Mason: (00:04) Yeah, absolute pleasure. I was very excited to stumble upon your Instagram page. I am learning a lot, I am frothing on it. Is it ... How do you pronounce your last name? Nosco?   Steph Nosco: (00:18) It's Nosco, yeah.   Mason: (00:20) Yeah, Nosco. Nosco Yoga. It's very good. I think I found it through Kimberley.   Steph Nosco: (00:25) Oh, okay. Yeah. She does Qi-Fu therapy.   Mason: (00:30) Qi-Fu therapy, yeah.   Steph Nosco: (00:31) Yeah, nice.   Mason: (00:32) She'll be jumping on the pod as well. We did a live together on Instagram.   Steph Nosco: (00:36) That's great.   Mason: (00:37) Saw you guys. How did you guys connect?   Steph Nosco: (00:40) Just through Instagram, just through the Gramme world. Yeah, and she reached out to me about doing a live. And so, I was like, "Sure, I'd love to chat with you about it."   Mason: (00:48) The Gramme.   Steph Nosco: (00:49) Yeah.   Mason: (00:49) That's how my now wife found me, through Instagram and just sent me a DM.   Steph Nosco: (00:55) Oh, hilarious.   Mason: (00:55) Yeah.   Steph Nosco: (00:56) Yeah, there's definitely pros and cons to media for sure.   Mason: (00:59) Oh yeah. Now, what I liked about your Gramme is you're straight up, you're talking about the spirits of the organs. Do you want to ... Because I just use very general, crass language around that. Do you want to go in and just ... You focus on that, you've got a Yin yoga background as well. And that's what you teach, a lot of Yin yoga, which everyone loves here. [Tarnee 00:01:24], again my wife, runs a company here with me. She's a Yin yoga teacher. And it comes up and everyone's always wanting more. And I thought, "Oh, great. Steph can help kind of satiate everyone's drooling for Yin yoga in their desire."   Steph Nosco: (01:35) Yeah.   Mason: (01:37) But going into the spirits, the [Zhi 00:01:39], everyone's heard about it a little bit from Rhonda Patrick that's been on the podcast, seen that this is a part of Chinese medicine that's been cut out, diminished, and therefore left this vacancy. The storytelling's been cut out, the capacity to get kinetically in touch with the body through Qi and knowledge of Qi. Through healing, through just that general understanding that comes, it's such a huge missing piece. And you're talking about it so well just through looking at what you put into your Instagram posts. So, let's dive in. You want to just start everyone off in understanding what it is?   Steph Nosco: (02:17) Yeah, sure. So, I guess we can think about it like there's two different systems sort of happening, which kind of can get a bit confusing. So, a lot of people are familiar with the five elements, which are called the Wuxing. So, there's five elements, as you know. And they move in a wheel. So, the wheel of the five elements from water to wood, wood to fire, fire to earth, earth to metal. So, it goes in that spiral. But the Wu Shen, Wu means five and Shen means spirit, which we're going to be talking a lot about. And essentially, the Wu Shen is the empty space in that wheel. It's what makes that wheel turn. It's the consciousness behind everything.   Steph Nosco: (02:58) And so, when I first heard about the Wu Shen from actually my shamanic Chinese medicine teacher, I was just so fascinated, I wanted to know more. I was like, "Tell me more about the spirits," you know? Like, I was just ... I wanted to dive into this so badly. I formerly was a Buddhist practitioner and very, very into meditation. And I have a religious studies background. So, I was like, "Give me more of the Wu Shen." And so, I learned a lot from Lorie Eve Dechar who's an acupuncturist. And she just has so much information about the spirits. And I started reading kind of classical texts that were really hard to get, because a lot of these texts are like out of print, you can't even buy them. So, it was like a book less than an inch thin for $200, kind of thing.   Mason: (03:46) Oh nice. I love those ones.   Steph Nosco: (03:49) Yeah. So-   Mason: (03:51) Any in particular? Because I know everyone will start hounding you and me for that little-   Steph Nosco: (03:54) Yeah. So this one, Rooted in Spirit by Claude Larre and Elisabeth Rochat is really great. They have quite a few translations on the Neijing Suwen, which is a lot of where this stuff comes from. So, me being religious studies background and super nerdy into this stuff, I was just so lit up about it. And then, also realising there's a big gap. Like, we're not talking about this. And why aren't we talking about this in yoga out of all places? And Yin yoga is such a perfect avenue to explore the spirit dimension. My teacher is Sarah Powers. So, I learned a tonne. That's kind of how I got interested through this stuff. But she didn't offer a lot of this information because it is quite obscure. So, I was like, "Okay, let's dive into it."   Steph Nosco: (04:41) Yeah, so I guess, what can I say about the Wu Shen? So, again, the Wu Shen is that axis in the centre. And it exists along a vertical plane. Yeah, a vertical plane versus the Wu Shen exists on that horizontal plane in that horizontal axis. So, the Wu Shen kind of moves in a different order than the elements, which can get a little bit confusing. But we can think about it like a map to the spirit that enters through the GB20 at the crown of the head, okay? Through what ... [Shu shu ninati 00:05:11] is what we would call it in yoga or Taiji Pole is what we would call it in Daoism.   Mason: (05:18) It's like, you were talking about the compass. It's like, you can say everyone's like, yes, there's ... And again, we've talked a lot about Yin Yang, Wu Xing as like, well, ultimately, it's the foundation of medicine. And it's like, that is literally, we don't need to go into Western diagnosis. It's literally the healing that arises from the diagnosis and bringing about harmony in the Yin Yang, Wu Xing. Yet you're talking about that, literally being on that nature plane and that physical plane. And then, all of a sudden, boom, we put up the horizontal axis.   Steph Nosco: (05:53) Yes. Yeah.   Mason: (05:54) We've got a compass.   Steph Nosco: (05:55) It's bringing heaven literally down into earth. So, it's bringing ... How spirit comes down into earth through me. That's what it is. And so, what's confusing, I heard your episode on the three treasures. You guys talked a little bit about that.   Mason: (06:09) Yeah.   Steph Nosco: (06:11) Yeah, so it's kind of like, we have the three treasures, which are essentially the different densities of Qi, because everything is Qi. And Shen is the densest form of Qi. But within that Shen, there's also different gradients of density of energies. And so, that's what the Wu Shen are. And so, the five are Shen, which gets confusing because Shen is also all of them. But we can think of also like shining a light through the prism. Everything is Shen, everything is light, everything is spirit. But when you shine that light through a prism, it divides, right? So, we have these different densities. So, we have Shen, Hun, Yi, Po, and Zhi.   Mason: (06:55) What comes ... I've just been listening to a podcast around the nature of animism, and how we are this ... We're this dot of ... You know? The smallest portion of humans have gone completely into the intellect and the analytical way of looking at the world. And literally for all of history, every single human is getting the kinetic ... Like, everything is alive around us. You can feel the living nature of everything. And what I'm just realising in the process I'm going through is looking at Yin Yang, Wu Xing, you know? Even that is a step away from the analytical Chinese medicine that is just purely nuts and bolts and seeing someone as symptoms and disease states, to then go to Yin Yang, Wuxing, but then straight away, when the Zhi and these aspirations of the various organs that can emerge and the aliveness and the spirit that can emerge, the personality almost that can emerge, not only just then did I see that you've got that upward, that horizontal that then gives you a compass.   Mason: (08:08) What I can feel then, then I've got the contrast and the story of the body and the world. And the universe starts colouring ... It's just started colouring in for me a little bit. I can really start feeling the aliveness of everything. And it's just playing in really nicely to my week and listening to this podcast around animism. And I love people like Stephen Harrod, you know, the herbalists who they're bringing this storytelling and this metaphor to herbalism and to the plants. Same as people doing that to the stars, not just studying these things going, you need to feel the aliveness and you need to be able to tell stories. And that's what I'm feeling and I'm excited to go in with you now and hear these stories.   Steph Nosco: (08:51) Yeah, so I guess we can start with the first kind of story, which is maybe more of again metaphors. Metaphors and stories, they just bring these teachings to life. And it has to be that way, right? Because we can't measure, we can't quantify the five spirits. So, Laurie, Lorie Dechar, she's just a brilliant, brilliant woman. But she actually had a download. So, this is not in any texts. But she had this download that the five spirits could be likened to like a mountain. And she uses the [Kumoon 00:09:20] Mountain, which is the mountain, it's like a sacred mountain in China. And what's funny about this is now this mountain, this Kumoon mountain is on the border of Tibet and China. And she heard once, one of her friends recently went there. And they reported, "Oh yeah, it's really deserted now. There's like old tanks there and it's just like there's garbage." And she's like, "You know what? What an amazing metaphor for where we're at now as a species." It's like this Kumoon mountain has been abandoned, you know?   Steph Nosco: (09:57) And so, her job is like ... I asked her, "Can I use the metaphor of the mountain in my work?" And she says, "Use it." She's like, "We need this. We need to bring the spirit down. We need to bring the spirit down the mountain." And that's really what we were kind of chatting before the show is that the Daoism is really a system of descent, of spiritual descent. So, it's not about ascent, it's about bringing the light of heaven down the mountain. And as we move down, we actually alchemize our difficulties into growth and we realise our Dao and we live our Dao, which is really what actually the whole function of the five spirits is to live out our Dao. And for the listeners who don't know what that is, our Dao is our purpose. It's like the Wu Wei, right? When we're living our Dao, we live with naturalness, we live with ease. This effortless effort. And yeah, we don't have to try so hard, our life just kind of flows because we're living in alignment, in spiritual alignment.   Mason: (11:06) Two questions. Can you talk about the significance of a descending model being offered or just being present, you know? Not necessarily as like, this is the way you need to live forever. But as an offering potentially, I'm not sure whether it's balancing out or what, compared to the ascension model that is so prevalent now.   Steph Nosco: (11:29) Yeah. So, the ascension model is kind of like, if you meditate enough and if you're spiritual enough, you're going to kind of get to ... You're going to kind of bypass all of the shit. Or it's like, I'm going to be ... My life is going to be completely neutral and happy when I am up here. So, it's very much ... it's still existing in this good and bad dichotomy, versus embracing the paradox, you know?   Steph Nosco: (11:58) I saw this thing on Instagram. I don't know if you saw my riff the other day on my feed. It was like one of the spiritual accounts I was following. And it was on the emotions and how the positive emotions have this line, right? This line above, below. And it was the positive emotions, like compassion, love, gratitude, all these things. And it's like ascension. And then below was like all the negative emotions. And then at the bottom, it said death. And it was very much like, we want this, and we don't want this, right?   Mason: (12:28) That's the Abraham-Hicks model, I think, no? Don't-   Steph Nosco: (12:31) It could have been. But it was-   Mason: (12:33) And I'm going to retract, I don't know. For anyone that loves the Hick, do not come after me if that is wrong.   Steph Nosco: (12:40) Yeah. Anyway, it was just this kind of meme or this image. And I thought, you know what? This is the problem with the ascension model is, it says anything that isn't good or anything that lives in the shadow, there's something wrong with that, and I need to bypass that somehow or I need to ... What's the word I'm looking for? Jump over it or ascend it or transcend it maybe. But what alchemy says, what this Daoist alchemy says is, that stuff, that lead is actually the gold. That is why we're here. Like, if we weren't meant to go through those difficulties, then we would just still be a spirit in the clouds, you know? It's those things that teach us, it's those things that season us. And so, that's what we're doing is, we're going down the mountain. We're bringing spirit right into those difficulties, right into the grit.   Mason: (13:33) And so, when we go on this, we'll go on this journey down the mountain through the spirits. Although they're the same thing, technically they have different expressions.   Steph Nosco: (13:45) Yes.   Mason: (13:46) I'm imagining, you're going to kind of highlight and ... I don't know why I said the word ... Though the word showcase, it does not seem appropriate. But nonetheless, I'm going to say it.   Steph Nosco: (13:56) Maybe.   Mason: (13:57) Showcase.   Steph Nosco: (13:58) I could get up and do a dance or something.   Mason: (13:59) Yeah.   Steph Nosco: (14:00) Yeah.   Mason: (14:00) And over here we have Po. Po is going to be a beautiful spirit for you to get into the alchemy.   Steph Nosco: (14:06) Yeah.   Mason: (14:08) Are you going to kind of like just highlight for us and bring us into that feeling of how, through embracing these various parts ... And how would you suggest in the beginning for someone new relates to this? Are these various expressions of the spirit of ourselves, of our own organs? Is this a universal expression of a particular type of Chi that we can all relate to? How do you relate to these spirits?   Steph Nosco: (14:35) Yeah, they're universal. They're definitely universal energies. And they're very personal. So, I would say that they're both. You know, everyone experiences Shen differently, everyone experiences Hun differently. And yet, everyone has it. So yeah, it's kind of both, I think. It's both personal and transpersonal.   Mason: (14:53) And finally, can you just give a nice little ... Just bring to awareness for me what you see, again, the medicine being starting to acknowledge this horizontal element of the compass that is this spirit, versus just practising Chinese medicine on that horizontal plane?   Steph Nosco: (15:14) Yeah. So, the way Lorie describes it, and the way my Qigong teacher describes it is, it helps to ground the changes, okay? So, we could go to acupuncture and have a treatment. And then, within three weeks, we're back in that usual pattern. And so, unless we alchemize, what I mean, unless we take the light of our awareness, which is our Shen, and we bring it down into those difficulties and transform them, that pattern is still going to be there, because remember Jing, Qi, and Shen. Shen is the mind and the mind influences everything. If we still have that same pattern in our mind, that same rift in our ... I don't want to say personality, but in our psyche, then that pattern is just going to keep coming. And so, especially things like with co-disturbances, like chronic pain, we got to do this Wu Shen work to ground change.   Steph Nosco: (16:11) So, it's a transformation. It's not just about getting back to where we were before. That's really important. Yeah, it's not like I'm going to be healthy again. It's, I'm going to actually take this symptom and ask, what is my body trying to tell me? What is the wisdom in this? What is the lesson? What is the meaning?   Mason: (16:28) It really starts dipping into like a way of maintaining flow. If you're looking from a Western sense, I always think it seems like it's getting deep into the emotions, it's getting deep into the psychology of who we are, but in a way that's approachable, a way that can be invited into the family, having some language around it, so we can kinetically get an understanding of what's happening for say ourselves, our wives, our husbands, our partners, our children, so that we can ground the healing and the expansive way of living into our home, bringing the medicine into our home, rather than just relying on an external institution to give it to us.   Steph Nosco: (17:16) Yes, it's empowering, because once you start to know what's going on with your spirits, with your psyche, then you can say, "Maybe I can make that change." Or, "Maybe I need support right now." But there's that level of awareness.   Mason: (17:29) So, for me, I can definitely ... I feel like I'm attracted to this and have talked about the fact that I like that this style of living is descending, especially when you've ... Especially I'm someone that's gone through, in the early days, through that new age community that comes with the implications. Perhaps it's good in short doses, I don't know. I definitely learnt a lot through it, you know? You need to aspire. Basically, you need to learn, you need to let go. And then, maybe you'll become pure enough. Maybe if you do all these things right, you can look through the eyes of God and be a good person. But until then, you keep practising , rather than easing back into the completeness and the wholeness in which you are.   Mason: (18:17) So, for me, I'm going to take myself into that mentality of starting at the top of the mountain in my completeness. And then hand it over to you to take us on this journey.   Steph Nosco: (18:28) Yeah, sure. Okay. I did write notes. So, just to keep me on track.   Mason: (18:34) Beautiful. I love it. I just started standup comedy. And I had a phobia about-   Steph Nosco: (18:38) That's awesome.   Mason: (18:39) I was like, "I'm not ever allowed to write notes ever." And then I'm like, "You know what? I think it's not a bad thing to prepare. I think I should write some notes."   Steph Nosco: (18:48) Yeah. I mean, there's just so much. Like, it's just, this information is just so rich. And yeah, I'm just really, really grateful for the elders that came before who mapped this out. It's just incredible. So yeah, definitely honouring those ancestors. Okay, so let's start at the top of the mountain. So, the Shen is the sun. The Shen is the light. So, we think of the Shen relates to the fire element. And this can be seen in the light in someone's eyes, okay?   Steph Nosco: (19:22) So, it's said that the Shen comes in upon conception. And you can start to see it in the light in the baby's eyes or the smile in the baby, right? And so, I like to divide it. It's easier for me to understand the Shen when I divide it into two parts. So, the one Shen, which means, this is who we really are. This is our ultimate nature, awareness. And this is the part of us that's always going to be okay, even if we're not okay. This is the deathless aspect of our mind. And because it exists beyond time and space, it knows the truth at all times. So, that's the one thing about the Shen, it is the truth, the truth of who we are, okay?   Steph Nosco: (20:06) But then we have what's called the Shen Zhi, what you were talking about earlier, which is like the rest of the spirits. So, it's the personality self. And the heart is like the capacity to be aware and to make contact with the truth, both personal truths, like our personality self, and ultimate truth. So, this is our willingness to hold both. And my teacher always says this to me, Sarah Powers, actually. She's like, "We have to have a willingness in our spiritual practise to wake up and grow up," you know? Both. And so, that's the Shen Zhi. That's the working with the Shen Zhi. It's the personality self. And then we have this like ultimate self, okay?   Steph Nosco: (20:51) What else do I want to say about the Shen? So, the Shen gets disturbed when there's any kind of shock or trauma. So, when the heart is shocked with something, like say you just get in a car accident, what happens is, the Shen will actually leave the body, because it belongs to heaven. It takes any chance it gets to just kind of vacate. And so, when our Shen isn't in our body, we don't have access to truth and we can't really make decisions very well.   Steph Nosco: (21:19) So, another example would be falling in love. When you fall in love, that also disturbs the Shen. And the Shen, the mind, the awareness will leave the body. And so, you often don't make the best decisions when you're in love. Or when you're over-excited. So, one of the-   Mason: (21:35) That's probably the key distinction there.   Steph Nosco: (21:37) Yeah. So, anyways. So, Shen disturbances will show up often if somebody is ... Kind of like they use inappropriate laughter. So, we can notice they're saying something really serious, but they're laughing. That can be an indication of a Shen disturbance. So, also this anxiety or being almost over-joyful would be like a Shen disturbance.   Steph Nosco: (22:06) And another metaphor that I like to give is, it's kind of like, when our Shen is healthy, it's like looking into a clear pool of water, it reflects the truth. When we're really busy, when we're really agitated, it's like a wavy river or wavy pool and we can't see clearly. So, it's really important when we're working with the Shen, just giving ourselves basic space, you know? Like, spend time every day being quiet. And I think this is one of the problems in our modern life is that we aren't often quiet. We're constantly stimulated. And there's really not enough space for the Shen to reside. It's often out of our body.   Steph Nosco: (22:51) Even when we close our eyes, the Shen will rest down into the heart. So, when we sleep, the Shen will go into the heart, but similarly when we meditate. So, when we meditate and close our eyes, it gets the Shen to actually drop down into the heart and for our energy to collect. So, something like a silent retreat, I used to lead them before COVID, I fricking love silent retreats. Even just taking an hour to not talk. Like, let things settle down. So, that's really the work of the Shen, because if we don't bring the Shen home, it's really hard to bring awareness into any of the other spirits.   Mason: (23:29) Can I ask you there, with Shen, something I liked about your posts is, you've had the ... I'm always careful not to personify these energies and spirits too much, but also I love it.   Steph Nosco: (23:41) Yeah, so do I. Yeah.   Mason: (23:44) And for you, I mean, for me when I'm relating to the Shen is ... And I appreciate kind of the variation that you're bringing in terms of that personality element of the Shen, which is almost, if we see the Shen as the heart as the emperor and the other organs serving the emperor and feeding in various ways of thinking and being and different ways of virtuous nature and various emotions. We see a personality come and get delivered through the heart or through the Shen, however informed by the other organs and other energies. Is that fair to say?   Steph Nosco: (24:19) Yep, totally, 100%. Yeah. And the heart knows what's going on, right? Through the blood because the blood pumps through. And it's always going through the heart. It's kind of like the heart talking ... It's exactly like you said with the emperor. It's like, "Oh yeah, that's going on there, okay." So, it's kind of ruling the show. So, if the emperor isn't home, there's a problem, right? So, it's about bringing it down. And the Shen is easily scared. So, whenever we're anxious, it's like the Shen isn't in the body. So, doing anything as far as practicality, give yourself space, find time to be quiet. And anything that brings you into your body. Like, even massaging your feet or even putting your hands on your body while you're meditating. Or even if you just need a five minute timeout, you know? That helps bring the Shen home.   Mason: (25:13) How do you relate to, if there is a personification or story around your own Shen, I'm interested how you relate to that and feel that, kinetically feel that story unravelling for yourself with that Zhi?   Steph Nosco: (25:28) Yeah, I often think of the Shen as like a bird that gets scared really easily. And so, I tend to have like, even right now on this podcast, like before this podcast, I was like, "Oh no, my Shen is out of my body. I need to calm down," which of course that internal dialogue made it worse. But yeah, I often think of this little bird that gets scared and it flies away. And then, when I sit down and I calm down and I breathe, it's like that little bird can come back into the best of the heart. And then there's just more awareness.   Mason: (26:03) Naturally, I can feel, although we're going to go nice and deep on this podcast, as we go through all of these various elements of who we are and the major organs, I can see already in you describing that, the interplay between the various Zhi, between the various spirits, and the roles that they play and the way they interact. Could possibly derail us, I'm not going to. But I could just ... You know? You even start to talk, bring that bird storytelling, I'm like, "Oh, wow. And I can see." It's much easier for me to see now how various other spirits would be playing a role in supporting the heart and the Shen now in a story, rather than a theory.   Steph Nosco: (26:45) Yep, 100%. 100%. Okay, can we move on now? Any more-   Mason: (26:50) No. Yeah, of course.   Steph Nosco: (26:52) Yeah, okay. I mean, like each one of these, you can do like ... Like, I did a Yin series on each one. And I was like, "It's not enough time." But it is good to kind of get an overview because they do interact with one another. So, the Hun, for example, is a messenger of the Shen, okay? So, if you think of the Shen like a light, now you're coming down the mountain into the mist and into the clouds at the very top of the mountain. So, now the Shen is starting to take form through dreams and visions. And that is really the role of the Hun as a messenger of the Shen. And these are what's called the upper spirits. They both relate to the blood. And they both inform any kind of messages from heaven, from I guess the [Yan 00:27:41] energy.   Steph Nosco: (27:42) Let me just grab my notes here. So yeah, it's called the cloud soul and it goes up and down in our sleep. So, when we sleep, the Shen moves from the eyes into the heart. And the Hun will also be in the eyes when we're awake, because remember the Hun follows the Shen. So, when we're awake, that's where the Hun is at our eyes, because the Hun really wants to learn. Think about the Hun like wood element, it wants to grow, okay?   Steph Nosco: (28:13) So, the Hun comes down and it learns. It learns, it plans, it formulates our dreams and visions. And it's not all that refined when it first comes into the body. So, for example, a baby can't really plan. Its visions aren't really formulated yet. But as we start to get older, this is the kind of thing that the Hun learns. And sorry, going back to the closing the eyes thing. When we close our eyes or sleep, the Shen will rest in the heart. But the Hun will actually rest in the liver. And that's how it digests our experience through dreaming. So, the Hun is also related to dreams.   Steph Nosco: (28:53) Yeah, and so it's really hard to live out our Dao, right? So, Shen is like, "Okay, now I know what my Dao is, sort of. Or I have some kind of idea." It's this insight, this light. And it's hard to really live that out if we can't make a plan, okay? So, it starts to kind of manifest down at the Hun.   Mason: (29:17) Right, so I mean, I saw you talk about that in terms of the heart, the Shen having ... It's like, "Oh, here's our values." And that was really useful for me as an interpretation.   Steph Nosco: (29:32) Values is a really good word. This is what I value, this is my truth, right? And so, how do we live that? Well, we're going to need some kind of plan because we don't live in heaven, we live on this plane. And so there's this ... I mean the Hun does have density. But it's not very dense. It still comes and goes, it's still fairly fleeting if that makes sense. So, somebody with a Hun disturbance, they often lose hope, you know? Hope is a Hun thing, having hope for the future, seeing possibilities.   Steph Nosco: (30:10) Some people who don't have or have a Hun disturbance can also be like wandering aimlessly through their life, kind of like, "Oh, I'll do this now. Oh, I'll do this now," but they can't really direct it. So, it's, let's have a plan, let's have a vision. Let's take this light and actually start to manifest it. But it's the first point of manifestation, right? And so, this is all about the Hun.   Steph Nosco: (30:34) And then, some ways that we can work with the Hun, obviously dreamwork. Dreamwork is really great. Practising using your imagination. As a former Buddhist, I was like a strict Theravada Buddhist practitioner for many years. And I was like, "I'm not visualising anything." Like, just breathing or Dzogchen, you know? But this idea of practising , like let's go on a little journey here, like a guided visualisation journey. Anything to exercise the imagination is brilliant. And I think that this is one of the things that we've lost in our modern day is like, our imagination has been beaten out of us, you know? By the time we're in high school. So, visioning is really important, exercising your imagination. And then, also letting the sceptical part of you that's like, "Oh, that's not possible." Let that part kind of step back so that you can really let your imagination loose. And that will nourish your Hun as well.   Mason: (31:27) That's a really, really important distinction. Like, I was just transported back to my university days and to my high school days. And I remember my first year of uni, where I could really feel it. Like, the final fatigue in having that imagination, that visioning, dreaming part of myself kind of like beaten out of me, within that context anyway. And it takes a long time to get that back. So, I mean, anything to be able to support that liver, wood energy, when you're going through that system, if you do find yourself dismayed around your lack of ability to be imaginative and dream anymore, that's huge.   Steph Nosco: (32:13) Yeah, it is. And it's a practise. And I think people don't realise that. Like, I have so many students that come and say, "I can't visualise," or, "I can't. I'm not a visual person." Okay, neither was I, but you practise. And it becomes easier over time. And I mean, one of the things, I often relate the Hun, and I know some teachers don't. Some teachers relate compassion and loving kindness to the Shen spirit. But I actually really like it in the Hun. Like, I really feel compassion as a liver energy for me, because it's very active. And it's also like, when you do a loving kindness meditation, you're using your imagination. You're using the faculty of the Hun to imagine, how would I look and how would I be in that person's shoes? You know?   Steph Nosco: (32:58) So, you're using that capacity to kind of take different perspectives. And being able to walk in another person's shoes or imagining what it would be like to be them is a large faculty, I think, of developing compassion and loving kindness. And so, that's also an aspect I feel of the Hun spirit. And that's just coming through my meditations, not necessarily maybe the classical way to describe it. Yeah.   Mason: (33:21) Well, I mean, the classical way as well, I find the trump there is that, thankfully the classical texts have gone and systemized this especially so a Western civilization can interpret it, not that that was their intention.   Steph Nosco: (33:36) Yep.   Mason: (33:36) But if you go back to the nuance of the conversation, the organs are collaborating. There's no rule-   Steph Nosco: (33:45) Totally.   Mason: (33:45) You know? Like, I know you know this. But that was an important one for me to remember as well. Like, okay, hang on, courage. Courage comes from the ... That's right, it comes from the lung. But I also feel courage from the kidney. But that's wrong.   Steph Nosco: (33:56) Courage comes from the ... Yeah, totally.   Mason: (33:58) Like, that's wrong, isn't it? Because ...   Steph Nosco: (34:00) Yeah, and actually, I was having this conversation about trust and faith, because I feel like trust is very much a Yi thing, but then some people think it's a kidney or a Zhi thing. So, it's like, but they're both, right? It's both. And anyway, so you're right. It kind of depends on which way you look at it. And it can be an open conversation, rather than a, this is right and that's wrong.   Mason: (34:21) And again, it's like a village, you know? I know it's like a civilization in the way that it's described a lot of the time, the emperor of the heart and the general of the liver, you know? Like, we don't need to use that language necessarily. It can be a village on more of a small scale. It's always going to be a collaboration. The leader of the tribe isn't solely taking responsibility for feelings of infinite love and generosity for everyone.   Steph Nosco: (34:49) That's right.   Mason: (34:50) That's completely attributed to the whole tribe working together.   Steph Nosco: (34:53) Totally, totally. Yeah. Yeah, so that's kind of the Han. Can I move on? Or do you have any more questions about the Han? Or comments?   Mason: (35:05) Well yeah, I do have comments. I try and shut myself up sometimes.   Steph Nosco: (35:11) No, I'm curious. I would love to be in dialogue. I mean, yeah. I'd love to know.   Mason: (35:14) Just going along, it's interesting ... We talk about ... We talk, have the spirit and this awareness of the spirit of the various organs, so that if the liver wood ... The way you understand it, if our liver wood is flowing and transforming between its expression of Yin Yang Qi, then we see a healthy ... Basically a healthy spirit, a healthy expression, a healthy personality, a healthy function of the Hun. If we see a disturbance of that wood Qi, then we start seeing ... That's where personification or bringing it into more of an animalistic metaphor, we can start seeing that an aggravation can come about and a frustration can come about from the Hun.   Mason: (36:04) If you have this very tactile, spirit based way of approaching it, then you can go, "All right, let's just see in the beginning how I can remedy this first of all." There's certain practises, a Yin Yoga, a Yin Yoga sequence, working with that liver meridian, perhaps some foods or herbs that are friendly. And so, is this the way that you relate to keeping us along? Or how do you relate to that healing element?   Steph Nosco: (36:32) Yeah, definitely. I would say, again, like you were saying before, it's all in conversation, right? Because it's not like, okay, if I'm dealing with liver stuff, I don't just do liver because I know that water nourishes wood. So, if I'm feeling like a wood element thing, where I don't have any dreams and visions, then maybe I actually need to nourish ... Like, I need to be more in that dreamy space of water.   Steph Nosco: (36:55) So, yes and no, I would say. Like, they all work in harmony. But definitely I would use practises like Qigong and Yin to like ... Maybe with more of a focus on liver stuff to work with the Hun. But then also we have to remember, it's like the things that we do every day. Like the little things that we do every day. I'm going to get into the Yi in a moment. But something that my partner does all the time is he just stands up in the kitchen and just eats food. And he's just like not even ... And I'm like, "It's not good for your Yi." Like, it's just little things like that, that can really help us along. Not giving yourself enough time to sleep. Like the ending, like the morning when we're dreaming, because that's when we vent, right? That's when we vent our emotions. Like, giving yourself enough time to sleep, that's going to make a big difference in the Hun spirit.   Steph Nosco: (37:47) Even just enjoying beauty. Not giving yourself enough time to enjoy beauty. Go outside, look at things that are beautiful. The Hun loves beauty. So yeah, and even just especially the colour green. Like, get out in nature, breathe that in. And people don't think of that as a medicine, right? But it is. It's these little things. It's the little things that we do every day, our habits.   Mason: (38:13) Beautiful. All right, Spleen.   Steph Nosco: (38:15) Also one more thing I want to say about the Hun is that it can also show up, like we often think about the liver in anger. But it actually shows up in this context more in depression, which is something that I just kind of was really learning this year was that, again, if we don't have hope, if we can't dream of a future, there's this sense of, "Okay, well then what's the point?" So, that can also be a sign of a Hun disturbance.   Mason: (38:43) I mean, just again, you feel the tactile nature of this alive way of seeing the body, rather than just a cog, you know? Bunch of cogs in a machine. You can see, there's depression, we can look at it as a whole as something that is emerging. We can go and look at the nuance of depression emerging from, it's got this kind of feeling to it, or maybe emerging from this kind of style of stagnation. Like, just different roads, I guess, to Rome, and getting back to the core issue, but not just going, "Bang, depression, that's diagnosed."   Steph Nosco: (39:15) Totally. And I think one more thing I want to say, coming back to your point and our point earlier, we were talking about empowerment, is these things again can't be measured or seen. It's not like you're going to go to one magical Chinese doctor and they're going to be like, "You have depression because of a Hun imbalance." It's more about self-reflection, feeling into your patterns, feeling into your spirit, right? It's very much this kind of inner reflection, learning this information, feeling it in your body, sitting with metaphor and story, working with your dreams. And then, "Maybe something's going on with the Hun." Do you see what I mean? So, it's less of this diagnosis where we're putting ourselves in this box and we're handing our power over to someone else to tell us what's wrong with us.   Mason: (39:57) Decentralised healing.   Steph Nosco: (39:59) Exactly. Yeah. Okay. Shall we continue? Okay. So, we come down from the clouds. And now we're on earth. So, we were on the earth plane. And we are now at the centre, which is the Yi spirit. So, Yi is translated as intention or clear thought. So, this is now where the dreams and visions start to manifest. They start to manifest as what? As our specific intentions to do something. But it's not only the intention, it's the follow through. So, I often like to think, since we're doing story and metaphor, I often like to think of the Yi as a humble farmer, because a lot of the descriptions of the points in the body in the other organs are described as like the palace gate and the 10,000 halls or whatever. But the Yi is described as living in a hut.   Steph Nosco: (40:57) And so, the Yi is like this little farmer who is like, "Okay, now I'm going to take the light of the Shen and the dreams and visions from the liver and I'm going to do something with it." So, this is the part of us that's showing up every day and getting our hands dirty. So, it's the ... And I also like to think of the Yi spirit, not only as intention, but as devotion and constancy. So, let's just give an example of, say you wanted to start a Qigong practise or a yoga practise. And you have this insight that this is my path, I'm going to start. You get these dreams and visions. Okay, I'm going to do it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday at this studio.   Steph Nosco: (41:38) Okay, so you have the dreams and visions. And then the Yi says, "Okay, now I'm going to set my alarm and actually going to go do it. I'm actually going to follow through on it day in and day out."   Mason: (41:50) No wonder my acupuncturist tells me I constantly have a spleen deficiency.   Steph Nosco: (41:55) Yeah. So, one of the things that tends to happen is, the classic disturbance is this rumination of thought. So, it's the thought that goes round and round and round and round without follow through, right? And so, then it's just stuck there. And it causes all kinds of ... Like, the knotting of the Qi and all of the things that ... And there's this feeling of like, I'm stuck, I doubt myself. Is this even good? It's just this sense of being frozen.   Mason: (42:24) Get out of my body, you shaman witch.   Steph Nosco: (42:26) Yeah. So, one of the things I-   Mason: (42:30) I said witch, by the way everybody, with a W.   Steph Nosco: (42:36) Okay, with a W. Yeah. And I think for a lot of people, this is where the work happens. This is where the rubber meets the road, you know? We can have all of these ideas, but unless we're going to actually do them, it just won't happen. And I think part of the problem is, to come back to this Yi metaphor, the Yi relating to the stomach and spleen organ, which is about digestion. So, sometimes we literally bite off more than we can chew. We have this grand idea. Okay, I'm going to do this now. I'm a wood type, so I have a lot of ideas. And then it just stays. All the ideas just stay, but there's no connection to the lower spirits, right?   Steph Nosco: (43:14) And so, one of the things I always suggest to people and my students is, take small bites. So, things like, okay, I want to start this podcast, or I want to lead this yoga retreat, or whatever it is. Maybe you make the phone call to rent the space. You know? Like, one thing. Write it down, do it, check it off a list. And take a moment to feel grateful. So, bask in that. Bask in your accomplishment of doing something. That really helps the Yi, because the Yi is also about nourishment. So, if we're spinning round and round and round and not actually following through on our dreams and aspirations, we don't feel nourished by life. So, even if it's that one little thing that you can check off on your to-do list, it really helps the Yi spirit. If you say you're going to do something and you don't do it, that creates that imbalance. So, it's better just not to say that you're going to do it.   Mason: (44:12) Huge. Yeah. I'm having a really big moment.   Steph Nosco: (44:16) Okay. I can see the gears turning a little bit. Yeah.   Mason: (44:20) Well, I feel, again, I have known this about myself theoretically. I've talked about it in therapy. And of course, bringing the real ... The storytelling and bringing it to live and animating it, it brings me into the reality of feeling actually what's going on. And it's always these moments when rubber does hit the road and distinction becomes something that I can embody as a knowing of myself and start possibly offering respect to that element of myself that can't digest these huge ideas that I just throw down, you know? Down the oesophagus and into the stomach.   Steph Nosco: (45:05) Right. Right.   Mason: (45:06) Yeah, it's a really beautiful ... It's a really transformational and practical way of having actual perception occur of who you are.   Steph Nosco: (45:21) Yeah. Yeah. And I've often, when I teach programmes, it's often like, "Oh, that's me." Or, "I have that one." Or one girl in my last training was like, "I think all of them are out of balance." And she was freaking out. I was like, "Don't worry about it. It's fine." It's like, we start where we are, right? And we just ... Yeah, again, compassion. Compassion for where we are and we just start where we are.   Mason: (45:43) Yeah, it's also nice starting at the place where you don't have to do a lot. And you talk about devotion. And it's nice having devotion for something that isn't aspiring to be given something by some entity, you know? That's going to ... Or given something by some ... I don't know, beam of light or whatever it is that you ... Yeah, it's different ... It's a very different energy.   Steph Nosco: (46:06) Yeah. And I think that some people think of devotion as like singing to a goddess, which it can be. Like, I do. I have a Guan Yin Dharma practise and I love singing to Guan Yin. So, it can be that. And singing is really good for the Yi, like physically singing. The character for the Yi is the symbol for the heart. And then on top, the Chinese character for a music note. So, this idea that we're singing our heart's song. We're singing our life into being. But again, we're not just singing one time, we're singing constantly. It's like in that constant.   Steph Nosco: (46:38) But you don't have to be devoted to a deity. You could be devoted to ... Like, for me, one of my friends, because I was really wanting to get this information out there, and I was struggling. And she's like, "Think of your Instagram posts or your media posts," because of COVID, everything's locked down. Like, I need to teach. She's like, "Think of it like devotion. This is your devotion practise. Like, you post. You don't post for yourself. You post for other people. But it could be anything. It could be your garden. It could be your work or whatever. It doesn't have to be ..." Your relationship, that's also devotion. So yeah.   Mason: (47:10) Beautiful.   Steph Nosco: (47:11) One thing I will say, one more thing about the Yi spirit that's important to mention is it can often show up as an imbalance as excess sympathy. And so, this is when someone isn't quite ready to take responsibility for their own life and starts to help someone else. So, they're taking a bunch of actions for someone else's life, rather than their own. So, an important thing when working with the Yi spirit, taking bite sized chunks of tasks, but then also saying no to other people is really important for the Yi spirit.   Mason: (47:45) I mean, one thing I love and have a soft spot for is the activist community. And there's a part of myself that loves being expressed within activism. I do not choose to be identified completely in that realm. But just that advice that you just gave, whether it's maybe a practitioner, maybe an activist, someone who's just going out and fighting for the earth.   Steph Nosco: (48:12) Right.   Mason: (48:12) I feel like that distinction's just very important.   Steph Nosco: (48:14) Right.   Mason: (48:14) Don't need to go much further down there. But if you want to, go for it. But yeah, just wanted to point that out.   Steph Nosco: (48:19) And I think that if that's somebody's Dao, then it's good, because this is the thing is, we can't say that ... Like, if that is their life, if that's what the heart is saying is true, then it's true. If that's not what your heart is saying is true, then it's not true. And this is something we'll get through when we get to the Zhi, if we ever get there. Is-   Mason: (48:40) Another hour, let's see. Fingers crossed.   Steph Nosco: (48:41) Yeah. But the Zhi, again when we're doing work that's in alignment with our purpose, it actually is energy giving, right? So, it's just kind of something to note. Okay, let's move on.   Mason: (48:54) Let's.   Steph Nosco: (48:55) Okay, so now we're going into the lower spirits. So, the Yi is actually not an upper spirit and it's not a lower spirit, it's at the centre, okay? So, we have upper spirits, Shen and Han. We have the Yi in the centre. And then we have the lower spirits, which are the Po and the Zhi. And these relate to our body. So, we say ... Sorry, not our body, related to the earth. So, they belong to earth. Upper spirits belong to heaven, the lower spirits belong to the earth.   Steph Nosco: (49:19) So, the Po is our animal spirit. So, it's, like I was saying, the Hun learns. The Po doesn't learn, it knows what to do. The baby is born, it takes its first breath. We don't teach a baby how to breathe, it just breathes, okay? So, this is what the Po does for us day in and day out, it keeps us alive. It's our automatic processes. But it does learn through trauma. So, when the body goes through some sort of trauma, the Po spirit will hold onto that as a semantic memory. And so, this is where our demons live, this is where the shadow lives. And this is what happens. So, we have the vision of the Hun and the Shen. And we have our intention. And we're like, "Yeah, I'm going to get up to go to that yoga class." And then the Po spirit comes in.   Steph Nosco: (50:07) Then the lower spirit says, "Oh, but you should just sleep. Oh, but X, Y, Z." And this is often these unconscious forces that get in the way of living out our highest intention. So, this is where we get into the downward descent. It is our job to take the higher spirits and witness. This is why we go to therapy, it's because we have to witness these kinds of patterns that have been inlaid into our soma.   Steph Nosco: (50:41) So, chronic pain is like a classic Po disturbance, having kind of a chronic issue, chronic pain. And then, any kind of rigid thinking, this inability to let go, the inability to change, right? If you think about the Po spirit relating to metal element, relating to the season of fall, it's all about death. It's about letting transformation happen, transformation occurring. And so, people who have this Po disturbance, it's really hard to move forward. There's this big resistance to change.   Mason: (51:12) Quick question.   Steph Nosco: (51:14) Yeah, so this is really ... Like, when I say the Yi is where the rubber hits the road, kind of. But it's actually when we start to interact with the Po, because it takes a lot of intention to bring the light of the Hun and the Shen down to meet the Po. So, the problem, this is where oftentimes our spiritual practise stops because it's all rainbows and butterflies until we meet our shadow. And then we tend to just abandon ourselves. We abandon our anger, we abandon our anxiety, we abandon blah, blah, blah.   Mason: (51:46) Could you clarify soma quickly?   Steph Nosco: (51:48) Yeah, so the soma, the body. So, all sensations, any time you feel something, that's Po spirit. And someone with some kind of extreme Po disturbance might not be able to even feel their hand. They'll have complete dissociation, or opposite, too much pain. So, too much sensation, not enough sensation. And again, it's not like if you get in a car accident and you have a broken leg, yes you're going to feel pain, but that's not really Po disturbance. The Po disturbance I'm talking about is this kind of chronic pain that tends to show up that's unexplainable.   Mason: (52:26) Unexplainable, right. I was going to ask. And is that simply there from the rigidity, due to our lack of ability to go into the shadow, fear, grief.   Steph Nosco: (52:37) Yes.   Mason: (52:38) Fear of death, whatever it is, and actually bring it.   Steph Nosco: (52:41) Yeah, so Lorie talks about it being like it starts to sink. So, the Po spirit starts to drop down and kind of harden. But it's the upper spirits that will kind of elevate it and keep it from that entropy. I guess we could call it entropy.   Mason: (52:57) Huge. No wonder the association of transformation is like all ... I know alchemy and alchemist is kind of always what I think of when I think of that part of myself. It's like a warrior alchemist.   Steph Nosco: (53:07) Yeah. And kind of you have to be. I mean, and a compassionate one too. I keep on saying this word compassion. But it's like, we need it. And that's why we want the Hun and the Po to exist together, right? The Han is going to come down and support the Po. And the Po will inform the Han and all that. But let's not get into that because we got to make our way down the mountain.   Steph Nosco: (53:28) But just really quick, just some ways that we can start working with the Po, breath work. So, this is the thing is that, yes, the lungs give us our demons or provide us with these shadows. But they also provide the exact thing that we need to kind of work through those shadows. So, breath work is incredible, absolutely incredible. Cold therapy, super good. Movement, any kind of somatic psychotherapy. I've been really into internal family systems therapy recently.   Mason: (54:00) Huge, yeah. Great.   Steph Nosco: (54:04) Yeah, so then being with your emotions. Like, just being with them. Like, rather than saying, classic spiritual bypass, "I'm angry, that's not good." We say, "What is my anger here to tell me?" Right? Way different. Right.   Mason: (54:23) I guess the metal there. I mean, we talked about that descending, packing in, getting hard. I think about a calcification, I think about all of a sudden a metal element that's not pliable at all, that just becomes like super rigid as this shield.   Steph Nosco: (54:37) Yes, inflexibility. And Lorie even says, things like unexplained lumps and bumps, like benin tumours and stuff, that's all Po stuff. Yeah, it's interesting.   Mason: (54:50) Yeah.   Steph Nosco: (54:51) Okay. Any questions on the Po?   Mason: (54:55) So many. Let's move on.   Steph Nosco: (54:57) Okay. So many. Maybe another time. Okay, then we get to the Zhi. So, the Zhi is at the bottom of the mountain. We are now below, deep into the caves. And the Zhi relates to the water elements. And it's all about our power. So, this is where our energy comes from. And it's about our aligned will or our willpower. Zhi means will. Now there's a difference between having the ego's will and working with the aligned will. So, ego's will would be like, "I want to make a million bucks just because." Okay? So, that's going to take a lot of energy because again, we're going against the stream. Maybe not, if our purpose in life is to make a million dollars, then maybe. But if we're going against the stream of our purpose, which is called ... Well, I'll just go into this now because I find it super interesting. Have you ever heard of a [Ming Man 00:55:56]?   Mason: (55:57) Yeah.   Steph Nosco: (55:57) Yeah, so the Ming Man, it's said that our destiny, which is like our soul's purpose, comes into the body and it's stored in the Ming Man, which is the space just right in between the kidneys on GV4.   Mason: (56:10) The gate of life, right?   Steph Nosco: (56:12) Yeah. Yeah. And so, it's said that there is this knowledge of why we're really here. But it's completely unconscious. Remember, lower spirits are the subconscious mind. So, when we start to work down the mountain, there's this deep listening that happens when we work through the Po spirit, when we bring the light of heaven down, there's this deep listening that starts to happen. And we start to actually touch this lower light, which is like why we're really here.   Steph Nosco: (56:44) And once we align ourselves with why we're really here, it's effortless. We're in that Wu Wei, we're in that flow of our life. And it's like, we don't ... And this is really important, we don't have a choice. It's not like I decide what I'm going to do. It's like, "No, no, no. I'm listening. What is the earth telling me to do?" This is a very different thing, because in our Western analytical mind, we want to control and joystick our way through life. But it's not like that.   Steph Nosco: (57:17) One of the things with Po is that we start to surrender to the mystery. And when we surrender to the mystery, we have this deep listening. And then it's like, that's what I need to do and there's no choice. It will take so much energy not to do that thing once you hear that call. And then there's this wellspring of energy and longevity that starts to arise from these kind of deeper waters.   Steph Nosco: (57:41) So, again, what's interesting is again that paradox is, yes there's the light from heaven, but there's also this light from below. But we can't access that light from below unless we're willing to go down. Yeah.   Mason: (57:52) Beautiful.   Steph Nosco: (57:59) Yeah, so I guess that's all I have to say about the Zhi, other than if we have an imbalance, there's this forgetfulness, lack of will, wanting to cut corners in our life, kind of like a con artist would be like a Zhi disturbance. And then there's tumidity and addictions, sex addiction, being addicted to things like that. And yeah. Made it.   Mason: (58:22) That external ... Like, that ... There's something beautiful, just bringing up that ... And again, the Zhi describing the spirit of all of the organs, while also Zhi being used as the name for the spirit, the will expressed for the kidneys, a little distinction there, just in case, I remember [crosstalk 00:58:41].   Steph Nosco: (58:40) Yeah, I know, it's confusing because you've got the Shen Zhi, and then the Zhi itself, which is like the Zhi. I know. It's really ... It's really confusing. One more thing I want to say about the Zhi is, that's where wisdom is. So again, this is kind of the problem I find with these ascension traditions. If we aren't willing to go into the mud and to do our work and to go through that fire of transformation, wisdom and knowledge are two very different things. Wisdom arises, right? True creativity, true inspiration, our true work arises from the light of that deep listening.   Mason: (59:22) Thank you very much for taking us down the mountain.   Steph Nosco: (59:24) Yeah, you're welcome.   Mason: (59:25) That was really beautiful.   Steph Nosco: (59:26) It was a long journey.   Mason: (59:28) Not really, put so succinctly. And I mean, delivered with ... Again, the storytelling is something I feel Western thinking and science has been trying to belittle and just rub on the top of the head of animism and these stories and scrub, "Oh, how naïve," you know? "Oh, off you pop."   Steph Nosco: (59:51) Yeah, "Oh, that's cute."   Mason: (59:52) "That's very cute of you. Off you go. Leave it to the big boys and girls though to actually do the real healing." Whereas, going just very simply telling the story and taking us through that journey like that, all of a sudden, it gives me this invisible access once again of accessibility, decentralised, non-theoretical. It gives me an ease that I don't have all this stuff to remember. And if I don't remember, I'm bad and naughty. It's just a terrain in order to explore. I really appreciate the way you did it.   Steph Nosco: (01:00:26) Yeah. Well, thank you for listening. It's such a pleasure to talk about quite an obscure topic that does take time to explain. So yeah, I really appreciate having the platform to share.   Mason: (01:00:40) Just quickly, through bringing this in, you know? Like, we love Sarah Power. Again, Tahnee's studied with her. I've had her. I think I was a Yin yoga teacher in another life before I started SuperFeast. And had her books. But through the Yin yoga, through bringing it into the teaching, what have you seen as being ... And maybe not obvious ones, but major benefits to yourself, students, maybe just people in their everyday life who are turning into your Instagram? Like, what has been the main benefit of engaging with this way, this medicine?   Steph Nosco: (01:01:21) Yeah. That's a really great question. One of the biggest things I've seen, and this happens to me a lot is people will change, often, not always. But there's many people who change the entire course of their life, because again, when we work our way down the mountain, any kind of life misalignments that are highlighted are brought to the surface. And so, I just had a girl the other day saying, "Hey, I'm leaving my job to go to acupuncture school." Or, "I've signed up ..." This often happens, "I've signed up for X, Y, Z course. I'm now ..." Or, "I've divorced my partner." That's happened to me too.   Steph Nosco: (01:01:56) So, it's like these things where it's like, okay, I see it, and I can't not see it. And I have to take action. And then, after that change happens, this girl's like, "Oh, my frozen shoulder is gone. That's weird." Or, "My irritable bowel syndrome is gone. That's weird." So, it's that, as we start to make those life alignments or those life changes, as we start to live out our Dao, it just flows, health flows, right?   Steph Nosco: (01:02:24) And so, yeah, that's one of those things, if people come to by Yin yoga teacher training, they're like, "Oh, I'm going to be a great Yin teacher." And sometimes they are. But sometimes they change the whole course of their direction of where they're going in their life. And that's what matters, right? I mean, I want people to be good teachers. But really, we're practising Yin yoga as a tool to be better people.   Mason: (01:02:45) That's really beautiful, especially the way you're teaching it. You can't just go and live this on the surface. This needs to be embodied if you're going to be an effective teacher or human.   Steph Nosco: (01:03:01) Yeah. And I mean, my Yin classes, I tell stories. Like, I tell tonnes of stories, like very intricate stories, metaphor. And so, what I do is, I get people to come to my class and then I give them a practise. Okay, so this week, you're working on X, Y, Z. Like, I don't teach drop-in classes anymore, just registered programmes and series because I want this information to land and then actually be integrated. And so, that's kind of where I'm going right now in my work

Muneeba Khan, Islamic practitioner and member of At-Tawheed Islamic Center, previously asked Grand Rapids faith communities: "Has there been any aspect of your faith that you've changed your perspective on over this pandemic time?" --- Rev. Yong Su Mark Hepper, Mahayana Buddhist practitioner and Dharma Teacher at the Grand Rapids Buddhist Temple, responds, and passes a question on to other faith communities in the city: "What does your faith, your religion, do to specifically address your members' suffering?" --- Passing the Mic is a project of Grand Rapids Community Media Center (CMC) that promotes online, community-wide discussion of local issues and topics using the spoken word. Residents are invited to share one to three-minute audio responses to locally-focused questions from fellow neighbors, with questions geared toward all Grand Rapidians or specific communities within the city. Keeping the discussion going, speakers are encouraged to end their responses with their own question related to a local issue or topic -- passing along the opportunity to amplify community voices. Opinions expressed through Passing the Mic are those of the speakers and do not reflect the editorial voice of The Rapidian or CMC. Posted responses are subject to The Rapidian's Terms of Use, which include adherence to inclusiveness, civility, ethical reporting, proper credit, local emphasis, and open identity (no anonymous posting).

The Buddha may be the single most influential figure in human history, and also the most misunderstood, or misinterpreted. When he attained "Buddhahood," the course of history changed forever, but what did it mean when he announced to the world, "I Am Awake?" The legacy he left in his wake is one of the major religions of the world, know today as "Buddhism" but he did not teach a belief system, nor a philosophy, and not exactly a science.  What he taught was how to deliver one's self and others from suffering through education, reflection, and meditation. Let's take a look at this magnanimous artist formerly known as Siddhartha, and what is means to be a Buddha. In part 2 we'll answer this question from the Mahayana Buddhist perspective.

In this powerful meditation from the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, we work with the power of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. We call upon this energy through a lush visualization meant to bring the power and profundity of your own Inner Teacher into your heart-space so you can access the guidance and wisdom of your Higher Self whenever you need. Finally, you will receive a popular but potentized 5th CE mantra from the Karandavyuha Sutra to anchor you to the Fullness of Your Being, Your Ever-New Buddha Nature. Find a seat, close the eyes, follow the breath and let this meditation take you wherever your soul intends to go! Enjoy these discussions on Mantra, Meditation and Mahayana Buddhism. Happy New Year! 

Bodhicitta is a sandskrit word which refers to the quality of awakening-mind. This quality is steeped in heartfelt compassion. In the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, Bodhicitta the inspiration for for the journey of undertaking a spiritual path. If you find these podcasts helpful please consider making a donation: paypal.me/suchsweetthunder May All Benefit.

The Heart Sutra(བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་མ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པའི་སྙིང་པོ) is the most widely known sutra of the Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is part of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, which is a collection of about 40 sutras composed between 100 BCE and 500 CE. The Heart Sutra is a presentation of profound wisdom on the nature of emptiness. The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (śūnyatā), emptiness is form." It is a condensed exposé on the Buddhist Mahayana teaching of the Two Truths doctrine, which says that ultimately all phenomena are sunyata, empty of an unchanging essence. This emptiness is a 'characteristic' of all phenomena, and not a transcendent reality, but also "empty" of essence of its own. Specifically, it is a response to Sarvastivada's teachings that "phenomena" or its constituents are real. It has been called "the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition." The text has been translated into English dozens of times from Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan as well as other source languages. Khenpo Karma Tseten is a scholar and a dharma teacher based in Rumtek Shedra, Sikkim

The Heart Sutra(བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་མ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པའི་སྙིང་པོ) is the most widely known sutra of the Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is part of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, which is a collection of about 40 sutras composed between 100 BCE and 500 CE. The Heart Sutra is a presentation of profound wisdom on the nature of emptiness. The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (śūnyatā), emptiness is form." It is a condensed exposé on the Buddhist Mahayana teaching of the Two Truths doctrine, which says that ultimately all phenomena are sunyata, empty of an unchanging essence. This emptiness is a 'characteristic' of all phenomena, and not a transcendent reality, but also "empty" of essence of its own. Specifically, it is a response to Sarvastivada's teachings that "phenomena" or its constituents are real. It has been called "the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition." The text has been translated into English dozens of times from Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan as well as other source languages. Khenpo Karma Tseten is a scholar and a dharma teacher based in Rumtek Shedra, Sikkim

The Heart Sutra(བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་མ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པའི་སྙིང་པོ) is the most widely known sutra of the Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is part of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, which is a collection of about 40 sutras composed between 100 BCE and 500 CE. The Heart Sutra is a presentation of profound wisdom on the nature of emptiness. The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (śūnyatā), emptiness is form." It is a condensed exposé on the Buddhist Mahayana teaching of the Two Truths doctrine, which says that ultimately all phenomena are sunyata, empty of an unchanging essence. This emptiness is a 'characteristic' of all phenomena, and not a transcendent reality, but also "empty" of essence of its own. Specifically, it is a response to Sarvastivada's teachings that "phenomena" or its constituents are real. It has been called "the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition." The text has been translated into English dozens of times from Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan as well as other source languages. Khenpo Karma Tseten is a scholar and a dharma teacher based in Rumtek Shedra, Sikkim

The Heart Sutra(བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་མ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པའི་སྙིང་པོ) is the most widely known sutra of the Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is part of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, which is a collection of about 40 sutras composed between 100 BCE and 500 CE. The Heart Sutra is a presentation of profound wisdom on the nature of emptiness. The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (śūnyatā), emptiness is form." It is a condensed exposé on the Buddhist Mahayana teaching of the Two Truths doctrine, which says that ultimately all phenomena are sunyata, empty of an unchanging essence. This emptiness is a 'characteristic' of all phenomena, and not a transcendent reality, but also "empty" of essence of its own. Specifically, it is a response to Sarvastivada's teachings that "phenomena" or its constituents are real. It has been called "the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition." The text has been translated into English dozens of times from Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan as well as other source languages. Khenpo Karma Tseten is a scholar and a dharma teacher based in Rumtek Shedra, Sikkim

The Heart Sutra(བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་མ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པའི་སྙིང་པོ) is the most widely known sutra of the Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is part of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, which is a collection of about 40 sutras composed between 100 BCE and 500 CE. The Heart Sutra is a presentation of profound wisdom on the nature of emptiness. The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (śūnyatā), emptiness is form." It is a condensed exposé on the Buddhist Mahayana teaching of the Two Truths doctrine, which says that ultimately all phenomena are sunyata, empty of an unchanging essence. This emptiness is a 'characteristic' of all phenomena, and not a transcendent reality, but also "empty" of essence of its own. Specifically, it is a response to Sarvastivada's teachings that "phenomena" or its constituents are real. It has been called "the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition." The text has been translated into English dozens of times from Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan as well as other source languages. Khenpo Karma Tseten is a scholar and a dharma teacher based in Rumtek Shedra, Sikkim

The Heart Sutra(བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་མ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པའི་སྙིང་པོ) is the most widely known sutra of the Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is part of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, which is a collection of about 40 sutras composed between 100 BCE and 500 CE. The Heart Sutra is a presentation of profound wisdom on the nature of emptiness. The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (śūnyatā), emptiness is form." It is a condensed exposé on the Buddhist Mahayana teaching of the Two Truths doctrine, which says that ultimately all phenomena are sunyata, empty of an unchanging essence. This emptiness is a 'characteristic' of all phenomena, and not a transcendent reality, but also "empty" of essence of its own. Specifically, it is a response to Sarvastivada's teachings that "phenomena" or its constituents are real. It has been called "the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition." The text has been translated into English dozens of times from Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan as well as other source languages. Khenpo Karma Tseten is a scholar and a dharma teacher based in Rumtek Shedra, Sikkim

The Heart Sutra(བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་མ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པའི་སྙིང་པོ) is the most widely known sutra of the Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is part of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, which is a collection of about 40 sutras composed between 100 BCE and 500 CE. The Heart Sutra is a presentation of profound wisdom on the nature of emptiness. The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (śūnyatā), emptiness is form." It is a condensed exposé on the Buddhist Mahayana teaching of the Two Truths doctrine, which says that ultimately all phenomena are sunyata, empty of an unchanging essence. This emptiness is a 'characteristic' of all phenomena, and not a transcendent reality, but also "empty" of essence of its own. Specifically, it is a response to Sarvastivada's teachings that "phenomena" or its constituents are real. It has been called "the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition." The text has been translated into English dozens of times from Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan as well as other source languages. Khenpo Karma Tseten is a scholar and a dharma teacher based in Rumtek Shedra, Sikkim

The Parable of the Burning House is one of five main parables of the Lotus Sutra, a classic Mahayana Buddhist text. I go through the parable paragraph by paragraph, stopping to reflect on each part of the story along the way and encouraging you to imagine yourself within the story as if it were a dream. I finish up by discussing the relevance of this teaching for our everyday lives and practice.

How would you describe a thunderous silence? According to The Vimalakirti Sutra, a Mahayana Buddhist sutra, a thunderous silence is a silence of enlightenment. In this episode, we take a look at the concept of nonduality and how its mastery can lead to one's enlightenment. Source: The Vimalakirti Sutra Intro Music: On the Verge by Joseph McDade

Patty Marcotte, a student of Lama Yeshe Jinpa, speaks about confidence from the Mahayana Buddhist perspective.

“To cover all the earth with sheets of leather. Where could such amounts of leather be found? But simply wrap some leather around your feet and it is as if the whole earth had been covered!   Likewise we can never take and turn aside the outer course of things, but only seize and discipline the mind itself and what is there remaining to be curbed? “  Today, we reflect on old Buddhist wisdom: remain like a log. Yes, perhaps the man is behaving like an idiot, and what he said is exaggeration, if not an all-out lie. Perhaps he is behaving like a weak-willed and cowardly, disloyal cheat.  So will I publicly point out the obvious evidence to conclude the man is behaving like an idiot? Or will I decide to remain like a log? She asks:  “does this make me look fat?”.  She asks you to listen, when you want to offer advice.  What to do? Remain like a log. What is the greater wisdom? What is the greater act of strength? Often, we know how to act because we know when and how to refrain from acting, not because we are afraid to act – because we somehow repress what we are unable to say or to do – but rather because we are wise and strong enough not to act. Do you have the steady strength of mind to remain like a log? The advice is that of the eighth century Indian Buddhist monk Shantideva. He is credited as author of the Bodhisattvacharyavatara, “The Way of the Bodhisattva”. Shantideva was born a prince in a kingdom of present day Gujarat in India. Moved by the Buddha's teachings, and inspired by the bodhisattva of wisdom Manjushri, he renounced his royal life and become a monk at the famous Nalanda Buddhist university, located in the state of Bihar near sites where the Buddha taught. Shantideva was believed to be lazy.  His fellow monks thought he was good for nothing but eating, sleeping and shitting.  So, they decided to try to shame him into leaving the university.  Every week at Nalanda, a public teaching was given, usually by a senior monk.  The monks decided to ask Shantideva to give the teaching.  He denied several requests, but one day – to their surprise – he agreed, and, at the appointed time, he sat in the teaching seat and asked those who were gathered:  would they like to hear a well-known teaching or to hear something new?  They asked to hear something new, and so Shantideva began to teach what has become among the most influential texts in Mahayana Buddhist tradition. I was asked to answer the questions: how to work with guilt, anger and aggression? One way is to have sufficient self-awareness and mental strength to prevent the next thing we will feel badly about from happening:  know when and how to remain like a log. Yes, perhaps the man is behaving like an idiot, both rude and ridiculous. What to do? As offered in the translation by the Padmakara Translation Group, Shantideva says:   “When the urge arises in the mind to feelings of desire or wrathful hate, do not act! Be silent, do not speak! And like a log you should remain.   When the mind is wild with mockery and filled with pride and haughty arrogance, and when you want to show the hidden faults of others, to bring up old dissensions or to act deceitfully,   And when you want to fish for praise, or criticize and spoil another's name, or use harsh language, sparring for a fight, it's then that like a log you should remain.   And when you want to do another down, and cultivate advantage for yourself, and when the wish to gossip comes to you it’s then like a log you should remain.   Impatience, indolence, faint-heartedness and likewise prideful speech and insolence, attachment to your side - when these arise, it is then that like a log you should remain.   Examine thus yourself from every side. Note harmful thoughts and every futile striving. Thus it is that heroes in the spiritual path Apply the remedies to keep a steady mind.   With perfect and unyielding faith, with steadfastness, respect, and courtesy, with modesty and conscientiousness, work calmly for the happiness of others.   Thus with a free and untrammeled mind, put on an ever-smiling countenance. Rid yourself of scowling, wrathful frowns. And be a true and honest friend to all.”   The man is behaving like an idiot.  Will I tell him this? Will I remain like a log…which, strictly speaking, is probably the best way to show him he is behaving like an idiot…because he will see it in the contrast. He is rude. Will I also be rude? He is aggressive. Will I also be aggressive? She is disrespectful. Will I also be disrespectful? She is demeaning. Will I also be demeaning? Do I know how to remain like a log? Can I choose when to act, and when not to act, what to say and how to say it? Not repressing, nor keeping silent, because I have been silenced, but do I have the strength and steadiness of mind to choose? Action and reaction are two ends of a same stick. If he jabs me, must I jab him back with that stick? Do we have the steadiness of mind to let go and relax. Can we be still and silent, not because we are weak, but because we are strong? If I were to cover the whole world in leather, where could that much leather be found? But wrap leather around my feet, and it is as if the whole earth is covered. Try to manage all of the outside things - the hurts and the shamings, the pride, and the pettiness, the bitterness -  it is as if we were to try to cover the whole earth in leather. Learn how to be calm and steady of mind – practice the mental discipline of training the mind to be able to be still - it will be as if we covered the whole earth in leather, because we will have wrapped leather around our own feet.   “To keep a guard again and yet again upon the state of actions of our thoughts and deeds -. This and only this defines the nature and the sense of mental awareness.   But all this must be acted on in truth, for what is to be gained by mouthing syllables? What invalid was ever helped, by merely reading in the doctor's treatises?”   Yes, demonstrably the man is behaving like an idiot. Do I need to do the same? Do I have the patience, mental strength, kindness and disciplined awareness of my actions and thoughts to make choices that I can live with, without regret? Know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away and when to run.  Know when and how to remain like a log. The quality of the relationship that you have with the outside world directly relates to the quality of relationship you have with yourself.  Come see us at “justbreatheyouareenough.com” and join the JBYAE community. I'm Adela, and you've been listening to Just Breathe....You Are Enough™.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. If you haven't yet, please subscribe, rate and review this podcast. Join us next time, and thank you for listening.   Copyright © 2019, Adela Sandness    

The Seventh of “7 Ways to Take a Deep Breath”: You Are Enough Have you ever felt like there wasn't room for you in your life?  Let's take a deep breath and look at the seventh of seven ways..... Oh (inhale...exhale....), that feels better.....  Thank you for joining us for the seventh of “7 Ways to Take a Deep Breath”. We'll take a step back:  You are Enough. There is an idea in the wisdom traditions of India. It is found in Mahayana Buddhist philosophy.   It was taught by the historic Gautama Buddha himself. It is part of the Vedic tradition, and the Rig-Veda, that early Sanskrit text I work on from 1500 BCE.  It goes back into Indo-Iranian tradition, of about 5000 BCE, and probably back to the domestication of horses in about 10,000 BCE among what we call the peoples of Indo-European tradition.  I expect that it comes into this old wisdom tradition from ancient times when people understood that we, as humans, are part of a natural world.  The idea:  You Are Enough.    You are enough in the way that any sunrise is a perfect sunrise, and any plant is a perfect plant.  We don't look at a mountain and say, “Our east coast Canadian mountains, they're old:  they are rounder in their shoulders. They are not like the mountains on the west coast of Canada:  they are young, and tall and spikey”. A mountain is a mountain.  The mountain does not apologize for being a mountain.   It does not try to hide or make itself smaller so that other people, or other mountains, will feel more comfortable.   Every sunrise is a perfect sunrise. The sound that a pebble makes when it drops in the stream is the perfect sound of a pebble as it drops in the stream. It is inherently enough. A Tibetan expression that names this would be rendered in English as "primordial purity".  You Are Enough.  You are good, in a way that is so far beyond any kind of a distinction between good or bad, and this since the time before time. In the way that oxygen is good, in the way that gravity is fundamentally good:  You Are Enough. In our suggestions of seven ways to take a deep breath, what is the seventh suggestion? Let's step back, and take a deep breath. What we have here is a menu of suggestions of ways that we can begin to deepen and strengthen the connection that we have with ourselves, and the connection that we have with others, in order that we will grow to find more meaningful ways to better contribute to our world. It's about deeply nourishing ourselves and one another, so that we are better able to give as part of the whole. Let's look at the menu. Is there something here which feels like it might be helpful for you?  Then, let's just take another step back.  I bet there's something that's not on the menu which really is what is better for you. Take a deep breath. Maybe you want to have a keyboard, a pencil or pen in hand. Let's just take a pause. What do you most need to increase the sense of relaxation and space in your life?  Are you finding yourself in an intimate personal, or some other kind of relationship, which isn't what you need in your life?  Do you need to think about re-defining, or re-negotiating, or just simply stepping out of that relationship? How about your housing situation? Is that working well for you?  Do you have a circle of friends that are behaving in a way which is helping you to discover the best part of yourself?  Are the friends that you're spending time with drawing out qualities and aspects of yourself that leave you feeling - well? -  you can do better?  What do you actually need in order to increase the space that you offer yourself to more deeply discover the selves that we are constantly in the process of becoming?   Let's name that.  If you need to reach out and find some resources in order to be able to identify and then act on that, please check out the Resources page of justbreathyouareenough.com.   There are also other ways that you could reach out and find the resources that you need; if you listen to yourself, you know what they are.  First, do that.  Then, when that has been given the space it needs, maybe you will find it useful to come back and look at our menu. For students who are working with me on campus, when we have about three months together, my warm suggestion is:  why not pick something off the menu and try that?  Once you've done what you most need to do first, then pick something off the menu, and try that for a month. See how that goes. If that's useful and helpful for you, you might wish to continue that while you are trying something else off the menu that you think might be helpful or useful for you. By the time our semester together is finished, you might have tried three of these things.   You can check in with yourself and ask:  is this increasing my delight in being alive and my ability to discover who I am as a person?  If yes, please consider continuing. For people who are with me for two semesters in a same year – over a period of six months - well, they'd be able to go through six items off our menu.  Try it. See if it's useful for you. Then, if it's useful, please do that. It may be helpful for you to put in place supports to help to sustain you through this experience of deepening your relationship with yourself.  You could set reminders in your phone.  You could book appointments with yourself even right now.... What were those items on our menu?  First, we could figure out what we most need and then do that.  If we're ready, the menu items that we saw in items one through six of seven ways to take a deep breath were as follows.   First, meet with yourself.  Second,  track your finances, and explore the possibility that discipline brings joy. Third,  find a professional mind or body care person, like a massage therapist, or some other professional who will support you in the process of coming home to yourself.  Work with someone who is a good fit for you, who can witness your journey and help you to increase the alignment that you experience between mind and heart, body and spirit.  Fourth, relax with yourself in a spirit of play. What kind of activity can you bring into your life, just because it is fun! Is it yoga? Is it tai chi? Is it playing a musical instrument?  It is “playing” inside competitive sport?  One day, I really will take those kayaking lessons.  What can you do to increase your ability to listen to your body's own inner wisdom by giving it space inside a spirit of play? Fifth: gratitude practice. Heighten our awareness of what we already have, and grow in our appreciation of that, as part of our process of being able to receive and also to give. Finally, sixth: enjoy food with a friend. The space that you need is there for you all the time.  To remember what that feels like, take a deep breath. The quality of the relationship that you have with the outside world directly relates to the quality of relationship you have with yourself.  For a free list of the full menu of “7 Ways to Take a Deep Breath”, come see us at “justbreatheyouareenough.com”.  I'm Adela, and you've been listening to Just Breathe....You Are Enough™.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. If you haven't yet, please subscribe, rate and review this podcast. Join us next time, and thank you for listening. Copyright © 2018, Adela Sandness    

The Buddha is said to have given 84,000 distinct teachings to groups, individuals and super beings such as gods, demons and the spirits of those lost between the bardos of life, death and dreaming during his 45 years of teaching  In this week’s podcast Robert A.F. Thurman leads a close translation of The Jewel Rosary (Ratnāvalī aka Precious Garland) and in his trademark style makes the 3rd Century B.C.E. advice to the Indian King Udayibhadra come alive for today’s interconnected, global village. Opening this two part podcast with stories about Tibet’s Geshe Ben Gungyal, Professor Thurman gives short introductions to the ethics of Buddhism, the history of mindfulness skills training and the sources of bias found in the understanding and presentation of Mahayana Buddhist teachings. The second half of this week’s podcast Robert A.F. Thurman defines the five mental aggregates or body mind processes during a guided meditation and leads an exploration of non-dualism and it’s relationship to the Buddha’s teachings on ethics, emptiness, compassion and his discovery of the blissful nature of reality. Podcast concludes with a discussion of the transcendent virtues, especially upāya (Skillful Means or Liberative Art), the seventh, as presented in the Mahayana sūtras and in the writings of Nāgārjuna. This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was thanks to Omega Institute & brought to you in part through the support of the Tibet House US Membership Community. Buddhist Advice for Kings, Rulers + Oligarchs is an excerpt from the Force For Good Class “Buddhist Ethics and the World Crisis: Counsel for Kings (Ratnavali) The Ethics of Cool Revolution” held at Tibet House US in New York City Ap

The Buddha is said to have given 84,000 distinct teachings to groups, individuals and super beings such as gods, demons and the spirits of those lost between the bardos of life, death and dreaming during his 45 years of teaching  In this week’s podcast Robert A.F. Thurman leads a close translation of The Jewel Rosary (Ratnāvalī aka Precious Garland) and in his trademark style makes the 3rd Century B.C.E. advice to the Indian King Udayibhadra come alive for today’s interconnected, global village. Opening this two part podcast with stories about Tibet’s Geshe Ben Gungyal, Professor Thurman gives short introductions to the ethics of Buddhism, the history of mindfulness skills training and the sources of bias found in the understanding and presentation of Mahayana Buddhist teachings. The second half of this week’s podcast Robert A.F. Thurman defines the five mental aggregates or body mind processes during a guided meditation and leads an exploration of non-dualism and it’s relationship to the Buddha’s teachings on ethics, emptiness, compassion and his discovery of the blissful nature of reality. Podcast concludes with a discussion of the transcendent virtues, especially upāya (Skillful Means or Liberative Art), the seventh, as presented in the Mahayana sūtras and in the writings of Nāgārjuna. This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was thanks to Omega Institute & brought to you in part through the support of the Tibet House US Membership Community. Buddhist Advice for Kings, Rulers + Oligarchs is an excerpt from the Force For Good Class “Buddhist Ethics and the World Crisis: Counsel for Kings (Ratnavali) The Ethics of Cool Revolution” held at Tibet House US in New York City April 2018. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert AF Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member- to learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. Full access begins at $2 a month. To watch the full video archive of this teaching or to learn about the next Force For Good Class series please visit: www.tibethouse.us. Buddhist Advice for Kings, Rulers + Oligarchs Chess Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Unsplash The songs ‘Dancing Ling’ and ‘Trance Tibet” by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

Venerable Shih Jingang, or Sifu is a Buddhist Priest who was first ordained as a monk at 6 years of age. He was trained by his Heart Guru Venerable Lama Senge Tashi.In this podcast we find out about Sifu’s three year solitary retreat, his training and practice of over 45 years particuluary from the Mahayana Buddhist lineage.Sifu regularly holds classes, retreats, and is asked to speak at public and private events. He is known for his calmness, gentle compassion and good humoured teaching style which you will here.He shares much wisdom and insight in this podcast particularly around how we create suffering for ourselves with our thoughts.I could have quoted almost all of his answers – particularly “wisdom teaches us that we don’t have control over others. The best we can do is try and learn more about ourselves and to try and be the vest version we can be.”He also dives in to the suffering our ego can create: “Identifying with thoughts, and identifying with the feelings created by those thoughts can reate a lot of suffering So “I am..” can lead to all soughts of suffering.”Sifu also generously leads two guided meditations for you to use to help cultivate your own practice for personal and spiritual growth.The first: is a silent awareness meditation, designed to help us relate in a wiser way to our thoughts and the second is a loving-kindness or metta practice. The metta practice is one he uses with cancer patients and it can be useful if you are experiencing a difficulty in your life at the moment.There are also some extremely insightful questions that he asks to help us with our own self-awareness, such as “that person pushes my buttons”, but actually maybe the question we should ask ourselves is “who created those buttons?”I feel honoured to be presenting with him at our Weekend Retreat “The Awakened Heart” in Stanley Tasmania on March 17th and 18th.This event is now waitlist only but if you’d like to add yourself to this list please email hello@cominghometoyourbodyretreats.comIf you are interested in attending a retreat to get started with learning to meditate please visit cominghometoyourbodyretreats.com and click on the retreats tab. The oceans mind-set retreat will cover learning to relate to our thoughts and feelings with greater awareness and wisdom.So ladies and gentlemen, without any further ado I bring you Venerable Shih Jingang.

In this podcast Robert AF Thurman discusses the history of Nālandā & why the Dalai Lama of Tibet identifies Tibetan Buddhism as well as himself as heirs to the university whose ruins are located in modern-day Bihar, India. Founded under the patronage of the Gupta King Chandragupta II Vikramāditya in the 5th Century then Destroyed in 1203 by Turkish Muslim invaders, Professor Thurman illustrates how Nālandā University brought together the greatest minds of India, Persia, Indonesia, China & Tibet finding it’s highest expression in the seventeen greatest Pandits of Nālandā Monastery, whom the Dalai Lama celebrates in his famous eulogy. Podcast includes an overview of the most influential of the “Great Seventeen” Mahayana Buddhist yogi scientist sages (Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Buddhapalita, Bhavaviveka, Chandrakirti, Shantideva, Shantarakshita, Kamalashila, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Dignaga, Dharmakirti, Arya Vimuktisena, Haribhadra, Gunaprabha, Shakyaprabha & Atisha) known for their middle-way centrist perspective & the popular Stages of the Path (lam-rim) teachings. “I am the longest guest of government of India for the last 58 years and am now paying back for that gesture by becoming the messenger of Indian culture. In fact, I consider myself a son of India. A few years ago, some Chinese reporters asked me why I identified myself as India’s son. I told them that my mind and each part of my brain are filled with the knowledge and thought of Nalanda. Besides, in last 50 years this body survived on Indian dal, chapati and rice. That is why both physically and spiritually, I am a son of India. Buddha himself stated my followers should not accept my teaching out of faith or out of devotion, but rather thorough investigation and experiment, the scientific way of approach. So all the Nalanda masters like Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Asanga, Chandrakirti, all these great masters of Nalanda, even Buddha’s own words, they carry investigation whether Buddha’s statement is acceptable or not. So they are always based on logic and experiment so, therefore, I follow that pattern, tradition.” HH Dalai Lama from www.huffingtonpost.in. This podcast is an excerpt from “Why does the Dalai Lama say he is “Son of Nālandā”? a talk given in October 2017. Photo by Abhishek Sundaram via www.flickr.com. To listen to more recordings from past programs with Robert AF Thurman at Tibet House US in New York City + Menla in Phoenicia, New York in the Catskills please consider becoming a Tibet House US Member. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by

Watch an animal move. The rhythmic lope of a wolf and the way its body becomes the motion. A horse in a field—tossing its mane, pounding its hooves, running for sheer pleasure. The dolphin as it leaps high in the air above the water, twisting its powerful body then disappears beneath the waves to emerge a minute later in another joyous leap. For many years, I wondered why most of us after childhood no longer experience this kind of rhythmical freedom, joy and vitality. Why, so often do we often feel only half alive? Why have we been tutored to think of our body as separate from ourselves—something to be criticised, judged, or pushed and shoved into shape, rather than celebrating its power and feeling the enthusiasm that comes with the natural movement that is our birthright? For many the primary experience of life is one of deadness. And since nobody can live long in deadness.We start to seek out artificial stimulants—drugs, alcohol, compulsive work or sex—in the hope that these things might, at least, bring back our sense of aliveness. The trouble is, none of the artificial practices work. Where do you find the real guide to joy and freedom? Listen to our animal friends be they domesticated or wild. Your whole life will change for the better. It stunned me when I became aware of this I then decided to see what I could learn from animals in my personal life. The experience of becoming fully awake and alive lies in the body of an animal itself. The same applies to us humans. It has to do with muscle. It's not our mind but our muscle that creates life-energy for us to think, move and feel. The power of the horse, the rhythmical gait of the wolf, the wild playfulness of the dolphin come from strong, fluid muscles. The more fluid the muscles in any living body, the more does it feel fully alive. Animal bodies have two fundamental components. So do we. They consist of lean body mass and fat. Like our own body organs like the heart, liver, spleen and pancreas, as well as their bones and skin must have a good supply of oxygen. They also need top quality nutrients from pesticide-free foods—proteins, fruits and vegetables. Both animals and humans thrive on foods grown in healthy soils. This is essential for us to think, feel, move, and grow so we can stay healthy naturally. The bodies of wild animals, as well as domestic ones—whose owners know enough not to feed their pets on the kibbled pet food junk sold everywhere—remain lean, sleek and beautiful lifelong. This brings power, ease of movement, stamina and beauty. Then they quite naturally express the exuberance essential to their nature that so inspires us when we are in their presence. Too often, we humans treat our bodies as if they were machines. Your body is nothing like a machine. Use a machine, and it wears out. Move your body, which is designed to be active, and you can delight in watching yourself becoming stronger, more fluid and more alive— no matter what your age or condition right now. Here are some more truths animals can share with us: Animals trust their instincts. If something smells bad, they don't question they just get away from it. Animals are in touch with their innate rhythms and the rhythms of the earth. This creates a life-sustaining harmony. Animals are powerful killers when they need to be. They are infinitely soulful as well and open to forming deep bonds both with us humans and with other animals. An animal eats when it's hungry if food is available. When it is not, it fasts. Animals love to play. Animals respect their elders and embrace the social order. Animals are unabashedly honest and loyal. An animal's patience and discipline when stalking or hunting is phenomenal. Animals form deep bonds with other animals even if they don't belong to the same species. A cat with an owl, a cheetah with a dog, a wild polar bear with a husky, a dolphin with a child, a duck with a rabbit. In Buddhist cosmology, there are beings known as "Bodhisattvas." These are believed to be perfected souls who, out of compassion for the struggles of all of us, choose to forsake enlightenment in order to dedicate themselves to helping liberate all beings. It is said that a Bodhisattva can appear in many forms—as a teacher, a helper, a lover—even an animal. According to Mahayana Buddhist teachings, the Buddha himself spent many lifetimes before experiencing his own liberation beneath the Bodhi tree. In many of these lives, he came to earth as an animal with the intention of bringing wisdom, healing and comfort to all beings. The eighth-century Indian saint Shantideva describes every Bodhisattva's intention: For as long as space endures And for as long as living beings remain. Until then may I too abide To dispel the misery of the world. I believe the gifts of a Bodhisattva are beautifully given us through the generosity of our animal friends. I have intimately known three animals that I sense carried the wisdom, healing power and compassion of a Bodhisattva. There was a cat named Carciofo (Artichoke in Italian), Alba, a hundred and forty pounds of pure white Arctic Wolf, whom Aaron and I shared a room with for five nights in Canada, and Tuffy, a gigantic Collie, who went everywhere with me from the time I was six years old. I have learned so very much from them. They showed me how important it is to watch and listen to animals I meet everywhere. I have always been so grateful for their wisdom. Try spending more and more time with animals, be they wild or domestic. Ask them to teach you how to make your own life richer, healthier and more wonderful. Listen in silence to what they show you. You can be quite sure that they won't let you down.

Watch an animal move. The rhythmic lope of a wolf and the way its body becomes the motion. A horse in a field—tossing its mane, pounding its hooves, running for sheer pleasure. The dolphin as it leaps high in the air above the water, twisting its powerful body then disappears beneath the waves to emerge a minute later in another joyous leap. For many years, I wondered why most of us after childhood no longer experience this kind of rhythmical freedom, joy and vitality. Why, so often do we often feel only half alive? Why have we been tutored to think of our body as separate from ourselves—something to be criticised, judged, or pushed and shoved into shape, rather than celebrating its power and feeling the enthusiasm that comes with the natural movement that is our birthright? For many the primary experience of life is one of deadness. And since nobody can live long in deadness.We start to seek out artificial stimulants—drugs, alcohol, compulsive work or sex—in the hope that these things might, at least, bring back our sense of aliveness. The trouble is, none of the artificial practices work. Where do you find the real guide to joy and freedom? Listen to our animal friends be they domesticated or wild. Your whole life will change for the better. It stunned me when I became aware of this I then decided to see what I could learn from animals in my personal life. The experience of becoming fully awake and alive lies in the body of an animal itself. The same applies to us humans. It has to do with muscle. It's not our mind but our muscle that creates life-energy for us to think, move and feel. The power of the horse, the rhythmical gait of the wolf, the wild playfulness of the dolphin come from strong, fluid muscles. The more fluid the muscles in any living body, the more does it feel fully alive. Animal bodies have two fundamental components. So do we. They consist of lean body mass and fat. Like our own body organs like the heart, liver, spleen and pancreas, as well as their bones and skin must have a good supply of oxygen. They also need top quality nutrients from pesticide-free foods—proteins, fruits and vegetables. Both animals and humans thrive on foods grown in healthy soils. This is essential for us to think, feel, move, and grow so we can stay healthy naturally. The bodies of wild animals, as well as domestic ones—whose owners know enough not to feed their pets on the kibbled pet food junk sold everywhere—remain lean, sleek and beautiful lifelong. This brings power, ease of movement, stamina and beauty. Then they quite naturally express the exuberance essential to their nature that so inspires us when we are in their presence. Too often, we humans treat our bodies as if they were machines. Your body is nothing like a machine. Use a machine, and it wears out. Move your body, which is designed to be active, and you can delight in watching yourself becoming stronger, more fluid and more alive— no matter what your age or condition right now. Here are some more truths animals can share with us: Animals trust their instincts. If something smells bad, they don't question they just get away from it. Animals are in touch with their innate rhythms and the rhythms of the earth. This creates a life-sustaining harmony. Animals are powerful killers when they need to be. They are infinitely soulful as well and open to forming deep bonds both with us humans and with other animals. An animal eats when it's hungry if food is available. When it is not, it fasts. Animals love to play. Animals respect their elders and embrace the social order. Animals are unabashedly honest and loyal. An animal's patience and discipline when stalking or hunting is phenomenal. Animals form deep bonds with other animals even if they don't belong to the same species. A cat with an owl, a cheetah with a dog, a wild polar bear with a husky, a dolphin with a child, a duck with a rabbit. In Buddhist cosmology, there are beings known as "Bodhisattvas." These are believed to be perfected souls who, out of compassion for the struggles of all of us, choose to forsake enlightenment in order to dedicate themselves to helping liberate all beings. It is said that a Bodhisattva can appear in many forms—as a teacher, a helper, a lover—even an animal. According to Mahayana Buddhist teachings, the Buddha himself spent many lifetimes before experiencing his own liberation beneath the Bodhi tree. In many of these lives, he came to earth as an animal with the intention of bringing wisdom, healing and comfort to all beings. The eighth-century Indian saint Shantideva describes every Bodhisattva's intention: For as long as space endures And for as long as living beings remain. Until then may I too abide To dispel the misery of the world. I believe the gifts of a Bodhisattva are beautifully given us through the generosity of our animal friends. I have intimately known three animals that I sense carried the wisdom, healing power and compassion of a Bodhisattva. There was a cat named Carciofo (Artichoke in Italian), Alba, a hundred and forty pounds of pure white Arctic Wolf, whom Aaron and I shared a room with for five nights in Canada, and Tuffy, a gigantic Collie, who went everywhere with me from the time I was six years old. I have learned so very much from them. They showed me how important it is to watch and listen to animals I meet everywhere. I have always been so grateful for their wisdom. Try spending more and more time with animals, be they wild or domestic. Ask them to teach you how to make your own life richer, healthier and more wonderful. Listen in silence to what they show you. You can be quite sure that they won't let you down.

Life's Issues with Lauren Jawno and her special guest Colleen Hierath and James Connor: Colleen Hierath - How I recovered from severe brain injury by using a wholistic and neuroplasty approach to changing my belief systems, health, wellness and ultimately DNA and life path through habits and routines I set up in visualizations, mediation, prayer, positive thinking, exercise, energy releasing activities, nutrition, repetitive practice, focus, and recovery. James Connor’s debut novel THE SUPERYOGI SCENARIO is being praised by Kirkus as carving out “a new subgenre” and Midwest Book Review as “a standout” in a world replete with novels. James graduated from the University of Virginia where he received awards as the top student in two departments. He also received a Raven Society award in support of his creative writing. James is the founder of GoBeyond.org, a nonprofit that teaches people how to meditate from authentic scriptural sources in the Mahayana Buddhist and Yoga lineages. After twelve years of detailed scriptural study and giving up a career as the CEO of a successful NYC advertising agency, he recently completed a three-year meditation retreat.  

Noah Levine, author of Dharma Punx and Against The Stream, is a Buddhist teacher, author and counselor. He is trained to teach by Jack Kornfield of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA, holds a masters degree in counseling psychology from CIIS, and has studied with many prominent teachers in both the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions. In this talk from the 2014 Buddhist Geeks Conference, Noah describes the benefits of a Buddhist oriented addiction recovery path. Telling the story of his personal experience with addiction recovery, he relates how The Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path filled in the gaps he experienced in the twelve step system. Noah then shares how he has helped others with a Buddhist oriented recovery path, and encourages the audience to make themselves and their sanghas places of refuge for those in addiction recovery. Episode Links: www.RefugeRecovery.org Refuge Recovery: A Buddhist Path to Recovering from Addiction ( http://amzn.to/1t6lcAo ) Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society ( http://www.againstthestream.org )

Buddhism's Heart Sutra is recited at the start of teachings, events & as a blessing. In this podcast Robert AF Thurman leads a recitation of The Heart Sutra and gives an introduction to it's history. Podcast concludes with Professor Thurman explaining how the practice of reciting The Heart Sutra is the key to understanding it's teaching as a tool for mind transformation. "The Transcendent Wisdom Heart Sutra, known as The Heart Sutra in all Mahayana Buddhist countries, and The Heart of Wisdom in Tibet, is a concise expression of the profound vision of reality that is the root of liberation from suffering. Tibetan religious all know this by heart and chant is solemnly at the beginning of every ceremony. In addition to a prescription for enlightenment, they consider it the most powerful exorcism, purifier, and developer of merit as well of wisdom." Robert A.F. Thurman from Essential Tibetan Buddhism Professor Thurman's translation of the Heart Sutra can be found in his book, Essential Tibetan Buddhism, on page 171, under the chapter heading, "Practicing the Liberating Wisdom." Buddhism 101: Reciting the Heart Sutra - Episode Twelve of the Bob Thurman Podcast Heart Sutra Puzzle Photo by Yu-Chan Chen via www.flickr.com. This podcast is apart of the ‘Buddhism 101' Series using classic teachings from Robert Thurman to elucidate basic concepts of the tradition. This episode is an extract from a lecture that Professor Thurman gave at Tibet House US on April 15th, 2015, as part of a lecture series there titled, Essential Tibetan Buddhism, And its Context in Tibet and the World. To watch + listen to more recordings of past events with Robert AF Thurman please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. Learn about joining the Tibet House US Membership Community with a monthly tax-deductible donation by visiting: www.tibethouse.us. Full Access starts at $2 a month. The song ‘Dancing Ling' by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist's permission, all rights reserved.

Our Treeleaf Sangha is about to begin dancing - and living - the 100 Koans of the treasured “BOOK OF EQUANIMITY”. So, it’s a good time to look at some all too common MISUNDERSTANDINGS, NARROW VIEWS, BIASES, SECTARIAN DOGMAS, “MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY-isms”, PARTIAL TRUTHS and PREJUDICES that plague discussion of Koan Practice in the modern Zen world. In doing so, my purpose is not to impose my own sectarian dogma and “my way or the highway-ism” in place of others. In fact, my central point is that there are MANY excellent Paths of Koan Practice, that the Koans belong to all of us. There are MANY good paths up and down the mountainless-mountain. Discussion of these topics can be surprisingly sensitive to many Zen folks, a bit like challenging any religious talisman, such as Christians discussing “the one true way to believe in Jesus”. (Zen folks can get fired up too when faced with challenges to their own religious sacred cows, although usually in an understated Buddhist way). In fact, there are many right ways to believe in Jesus suited to different believers, just as there are several right ways to practice Koans suited to different practitioners. Thus, most of the following misunderstandings arise from the belief that there is only one right way to enter the Koans, when in fact there has always been more than one way to skin “Nanzan’s cat”. A few of the common misunderstandings and biases still prevalent arise from the fact that some of the earliest and most popular books on Zen first published in the West, such as the writings by D.T. Suzuki, the “Three Pillars of Zen” and others (including even many current authors), present a certain view and personal approach to the Koans and Koan Practice which (while surely rich and fruitful for such practitioners) seem to characterize various other approaches as less authentic. Those writings often leave the false impression that the views expressed by the authors correctly have represented the one traditional path to Practice with Koans … or even the oldest, most mainstream, or necessarily most fruitful and powerful use of Koans as encountered throughout Zen Buddhist history and for all practitioners. It simply was not so. Better said, there have been several ancient, traditional Paths of Koan Practice, each fruitful and boundlessly powerful to those on that Path. Before beginning discussion, let me underline again that I am not and never will be critical of the ways of Koan Practice expressed by those authors or other Koan practioners, Teachers and Students, undertaking the Koans in personal ways they find powerful, fruitful Practice for their own needs. Wonderful! I support each and all to find and express the Path suitable for their own walking. My point is merely to challenge various wide spread suppositions, narrow sectarian views and a common lack of awareness of Zen Buddhist history regarding the development of Koan Practice that lead to “my way or the highway-ism”. Throughout our history, there have been several enlightening ways of dancing the Koans, and my 'finger wagging' is directed only at those folks who would assert that they stand as guardian of the one and exclusive truly authentic, traditional, most powerful, original, legitimate enlightening way of Koan Practice. Hockey pucks! So, what are some of the common misunderstandings, biases, prejudices etc. about Koan Practice? I will discuss these in my talk today, including: I - The first misunderstanding, believed by many, is that the one truly enlightening, and most ancient or original, way to Practice with Koans is through what is sometimes called “Koan Introspection Zazen”, including the “Kanhua” or “Wa’to” methods of Koan introspection. Although a wondrous way for its practitioners beyond any question of when it developed in history, it is not the only or oldest way. (Likewise, neither is Dogen’s way the “oldest way”, nor the way for all practitioners). II - Another misunderstanding is the assertion that Dogen (and the Japanese Soto Tradtion overall) did/do not treasure Koans and, what’s more, did/do not cherish “Enlightenment,” including but not limited to so-called 'KENSHO' momentless-moments of Seeing One's Nature. In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. Whether Dogen treasured “Koan Introspection Zazen” practice for his students is another matter, and the historical record appears to indicate probably not. However, even here, nobody "owns" Dogen any more than anyone "owns" Jesus, and people are free to believe as their religious heart guides them. III - It is also possibly a misunderstanding that the only or most vital way to express one’s penetration of a Koan is necessarily through a verbal or non-verbal exchange in the dokusan/sanzen room consisting of behavior such as throwing down one’s stick on the ground, drawing a circle in the air, blowing out a candle, MUUUUing, or quoting a line from a classic poem. There is a time for such and, in fact, Dogen could throw down his stick with the best of ‘em. However, many teachers will tell you (not only Soto Zen teachers, but of all stripes) that … while perhaps a good way for many practitioners … such is not the only, or perhaps even the most vital way to express understanding of the Koans, For example, for perhaps the majority of modern Zen teachers today, Koans are truly realized (meaning, to make real and bring to life) in and though actual life, such that it is not so much what one says or does not say in a room … but how one lives, embodying the Teachings and Perspectives contained in the Koans in all one’s life. IV - The next misunderstanding (actually professed in many books on Zen, but certainly a minority view among Zen Teachers modern or old) is that the Koans must be completely divorced from core Mahayana Buddhist perspectives and Teachings of the Sutras and Commentaries, and are beyond all intellectually graspable logic and ideas of Buddhist philosophy. In such views, the only legitimate way to approach a Koan is not to think about what the Koan means, but rather, to simply throw oneself into the Koan, or even a single phrase or word of the Koan, completely abandoning intellectual reflection and thinking about what particular Buddhist teaching or philosophical perspective is being presented in the Koan. While certainly a good way for many practioners, others may find it divorced from reality in more ways than one! V - Another partial misunderstanding of the Koans is that, the stranger the behavior or more mysterious the language used, and thus the harder to understand … the more profound the Koan must be as Koans were never meant to be understood in ordinary fashion. In fact, the Koans were generally much much clearer to Buddhist hearers hundreds of years ago, persons familiar with the now forgotten inside jokes, poetic references, Chinese slang and dialect that fills the Koans. The Koans are often rendered unclear simply due to cultural and language differences, the separation of the centuries, and our wilful refusal to think about and study the traditional Buddhist Teachings the Koan is seeking to express. The Koans were not as impenetrable to the monks and educated Buddhists of the past who were very familiar with the philosophy and perspectives of Mahayana Buddhism they stood for. The logic of the Koans often seems strange because the perspectives of Mahayana Buddhism are “strange” to the unaccustomed reader (not strange at all to the initiated). Of course, in that sense ... yes, the Koans are "not understood in our normal reasoning fashion" and transcend many normal ways of experiencing things. VI – Another misunderstanding is that the Koans must be responded to instantaneously and spontaneously or the response is not valuable. While perhaps true for some, others may believe that sometimes in life we are spontaneous, and sometimes we let things sink slowly into the bones. VII – Another misunderstanding is that the stories actually happened to real historical figures. In fact, most may have been written centuries after the events depicted, are the product of authors trying to present highly idealized and paradigmatic imagined examples of Zen Master behavior, exist in various conflicting versions of the story, or are only partially traceable to the people and times they descibe. (This misunderstanding is perhaps the least important for, as with any work of fiction, the story is “real” if real and precious to the reader). Today’s talk is a little longer than usual (35 minutes), and pardon my voice due to a head cold. Please visit the forum thread here!

Third in a series of five talks by Nagapriya on Visions of Mahayana Buddhism. June 2009 The post Mahayana Buddhist Scriptures appeared first on Manchester Buddhist Centre.