Podcasts about shakyamuni buddha

Rev. Daishin Yalon gives an inspiring Dharma talk on the celebration day of Wesak which is the annual festival honoring Shakyamuni Buddha's birth, enlightenment, teaching, and death. YouTube: N/ATwitter/X: @shastaabbey

I have been contemplating being stuck. You know that feeling that something else should be happening. Something more, or different, or better. The sense that whatever is happening is somehow wrong, or bad, or amiss in some way.The sense of being stuck can even manifest as an over-identification with the hope for growth or healing in a particular area of life.I want to share a koan from the mumonkan. It's an old buddhist folktale, that offers some playfulness and insight to this dynamic of being stuck and trying to get unstuck.Mumonkan CASE 42: Stuck in SamadhiCase: Once in the ancient days of the World-Honored One, Manjushri went to the place where Buddhas were assembled and found that all the Buddhas were departing for their original dwelling places. Only a young woman remained, sitting in samadhi close to Shakyamuni Buddha's throne. Manjushri asked the Buddha, “Why can that woman be near the Buddha's throne while I cannot?” The Buddha said, “Just awaken her and raise her up out of samadhi and ask her yourself.”Manjushri walked around the woman three times, snapped his fingers once, took her up to the Brahman heaven, and exerted all his supernatural powers, but he could not bring her out of samadhi.The World-Honored One said, “Even a hundred or a thousand Manjushris would not be able to bring her out of samadhi. Down below, past twelve hundred million lands as innumerable as the sand of the Ganges, is the Bodhisattva Mômyô (Delusive Wisdom). He will be able to arouse her from her samadhi.”Instantly the Bodhisattva Mômyô emerged out of the earth and made a bow to the World-Honored One, who then gave his command. The Bodhisattva went before the woman and snapped his fingers once. At this, the woman came out of samadhi.Mumon's Commentary: Old Shakya plays a country drama on stage, but people of shallow realization cannot appreciate it. Just tell me: Manjushri is the teacher of the Seven Buddhas; why can't he bring the woman out of her samadhi while Mômyô, who is the bodhisattva of delusive wisdom, can? If you can grasp this completely, you will realize that surging delusive consciousness is nothing other than greatest samadhi.Like all koans, there are many ways to read this. And we are often invited to take the perspective of all of the characters in the koan. So, who in the koan actually thinks the woman is stuck? She doesn't seem to. The Buddha doesn't seem to. Manjushri is quite bent out of shape by this woman's samadhi.Now, the point of the koan isn't to analyze who is right and wrong here, or think too much about what it is about. Koans are meant to be brought inside. So one way of working with this is to see all these characters as parts of us.I think we all have a part like Manjushri. A part that is good at finding the problem, of diagnosing, of trying to fix.There might be aspects of your life or spiritual practice that this part is keeping track of. Where it feels you are stuck. If we were to inquire where in your life you are feeling stuck (could be in your relationships, in you career, in your spiritual practice, in your home life, in your experience right now?) We would meet this inner Manjushri.It starts with a seeming commonplace thought—this shouldn't be happening, something is wrong!Manjushri is a wise part, as the koan goes, he is the teacher of the past seven buddhas. This part of us knows a lot of spiritual maneuvers, a lot of tricks to get you unstuck.for example: take deep breaths, practice metta, imagine your body is made of light, see it as a dream, feel the space around the feelingManjushri knows all of the tools in the spiritual toolkit. And, he's operating with that belief— that this shouldn't be happening, you shouldn't be feeling this way.That you need to fix it, get rid of it, change it.This koan is showing us, an experience that we probably all know: that when we are trying to get something that we don't like to go away or change using spiritual practice, it often appears to grow stronger.So the Buddha here, that wise and compassionate aspect of being, says even 100 thousand wise Manjushri's wouldn't be able to get her unstuck.But there is a being, the bodhisattva of delusive wisdom, who lives in the depths of the earth, they will be able to do it.So who is this being, bodhisattva means awakening being, so we have the awakened energy of delusive wisdom.But, what is delusive wisdom?The zen the teachings say you must become like a fool, an idiot.Forget all that accumulated knowledge.Forget even the names for things.Slip below all thoughts and distinctions.To the place before right/wrong, good/bad, success/failurebefore buddha/delusion, wise one / idiot, woman/man.What is this place?Out before ideas of right and wrong there is a field, i'll meet you there—RumiThis is a place of true, fundamental acceptance.Spaciousness.This being isn't outraged that a woman is sitting near the buddha's throne, nor does it have an issue with her being stuck in samadhiDelusive wisdom is meeting her as she is. Momyo doesn't have some big agenda about what is supposed to be happening.Momyo is the aspect of our mind that just is.We sometimes call it the mind ground.Openness.When we meet our stuckness from a place of spacious acceptance, its allowed to change on its own.And so, the woman comes out of samadhi at the snap of delusive wisdoms fingers.It's hard for the thinking mind to believe that it can trust the simplicity of awareness itself, that there is medicine here.The mind thinks if we stop feeding our thoughts, or stop all of our doing—that we'll be stupid or inadequate in someway. There is wisdom in being no one special, in the openness of being itself—which is never stuck.…I'm Amy Kisei. I am a Zen Buddhist Teacher, Spiritual Counselor, Astrologer and Artist. I offer 1:1 Spiritual Counseling sessions using IFS and somatic mindfulness. I also offer astrology readings. Check out my website to learn more. I currently live in Columbus, OH and am a supporting teacher for the Mud Lotus Sangha.Summer Read— The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened WomenJoin me starting on the Summer Solstice, Friday June 20th for a summer read of the Hidden Lamp. I hand selected 15 stories from the book that we will explore over the course of the summer.Weekly Online Meditation EventMonday Night Dharma — 6P PT / 9P ET Join weekly for drop-in meditation and dharma talk. We are currently exploring supportive practice forms for engaging the dharma in life outside of retreat.Feel free to join anytime. Event lasts about 1.5 hours. ZOOM LINKZen Practice opportunities through ZCOGrasses, Trees and the Great Earth Sesshin—August 11 - 17, in-person at Great Vow Zen Monastery (this retreat is held outdoors, camping is encouraged but indoor dorm spaces are available)In-Person in Columbus, Ohio through Mud Lotus SanghaInterdependence Sesshin: A Five Day Residential Retreat Wednesday July 2 - Sunday July 6 in Montrose, WV at Saranam Retreat Center (Mud Lotus is hosting its first Sesshin!)Weekly Meditations on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 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

Greetings Friends,I am returning from a 10-day stay at my former home—Great Vow Zen Monastery. While I was there I had the opportunity to co-lead a sesshin (weeklong silent meditation retreat). The sesshin's theme was The Light of the Ancestors.Yunmen said to the assembly of practitioners, “Everyone has a light. When you look for it, its dark, dark, hidden. What is this light that everyone has?”What is this light that everyone has?I find this to be a wonderful question. One I carry around with me, dropping it into my heart-mind as I walk through the glenn, as I meet seeming strangers at the grocery store or read the news, when I am talking to friends or family members, when I look in the mirror, meet a client or talk to my cat.What is this light that everyone has?Can I “see” it?During the sesshin we practiced opening to the help and support of the Zen + Buddhist ancestors. In the tradition I am a part of we can trace our lineage back generation by generation to the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. To do this awakens a sense of wonder and awe, its about 83 generations over the last 2500 years. We have a name for each generation. At the monastery we would chant this list of names everyday, saying the names of the ancestors in an act of gratitude for their generosity and practice.Having spiritual ancestors reminds me that my life and practice are deeply supported. It also reminds me that people have been doing this for a long time, since before the time of the buddha. We could imagine that perhaps throughout all time people have sat in some form of silent contemplation and awakened to their true nature.They too had support from their ancestors, which included other humans as well as the mountains, great earth, open sky, plants, animals and flowers.This is true for us too. Who supports your life and practice? What lineages of healing and awakening are you a part of? What qualities are you cultivating in your own spiritual journey that your ancestors, mentors, friends and family members, or the natural world embody?Maybe instead of imagining a line going back to our early ancestors, we could imagine trees with deep roots and many branches, or circles of support.Yesterday, my partner Kennyo and I went for a hike in Mohican State Park, a fertile forest of hemlocks in a more hilly part of Northeastern Ohio. Returning to the forest feels like a homecoming, like going to church, each foot step felt like a prayer or a remembering. As we met and greeted many other humans making their way to the waterfall I felt a kinship with them. We may all go to the forest for different reasons but I think on some level we are transformed, we are healed.Our ancestors are part of us, they speak through tree and star, through rushing river and wind. Through the stary sky and the life force that animates us.Our life is a shared life. We too our ancestors to this earth and all who live here and for all the future generations. May we take this responsibility seriously, may we remember that we are not alone.In the audio above I offer a short talk and then a guided practice for opening to the support of the ancestors, asking for their help and opening to their awakened hearts.I'm curious to hear from you:* What is your experience of opening to the help of ancestors and guides?* Have you considered or learned about any of your spiritual ancestors?* What qualities are you cultivating in your dharma practice or in your life?* Why do you go to the forest or into the natural world?Summer Read— The Hidden Lamp: Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened WomenJoin me starting on the Summer Solstice, Friday June 20th for a summer read. Every two weeks we will read one of the koans from the Hidden Lamp as well as the commentary. We will spend two weeks reflecting on the koan and commentary and bringing it into our own lives. I will offer dharma talks during my weekly Monday night practice, and there will be opportunities to share your practice here through the comments section and live on Monday nights.I will publish a reading schedule soon. If you would like to participate, consider purchasing a copy of The Hidden Lamp or checking it out from the Library.…I'm Amy Kisei. I am a Zen Buddhist Teacher, Spiritual Counselor, Astrologer and Artist. I offer 1:1 Spiritual Counseling sessions using IFS and somatic mindfulness. I also offer astrology readings. Check out my website to learn more. I currently live in Columbus, OH and am a supporting teacher for the Mud Lotus Sangha.I currently have a couple of spaces open in my Spiritual Counseling practice for the Summer.And my books are open for June if you would like to book an astrology reading. It's quite an interesting year astrologically and I do natal readings as well as solar return and year ahead readings.Below you can find a list of weekly and monthly online and in-person practice opportunities.Weekly Online Meditation EventMonday Night Dharma — 6P PT / 9P ET Join weekly for drop-in meditation and dharma talk. We are currently exploring Dogen Zenji's Instructions for Zazen.Feel free to join anytime. Event lasts about 1.5 hours. ZOOM LINKZen Practice opportunities through ZCOGrasses, Trees and the Great Earth Sesshin—August 11 - 17, in-person at Great Vow Zen Monastery (this retreat is held outdoors, camping is encouraged but indoor dorm spaces are available)In-Person in Columbus, Ohio through Mud Lotus SanghaInterdependence Sesshin: A Five Day Residential Retreat Wednesday July 2 - Sunday July 6 in Montrose, WV at Saranam Retreat Center (Mud Lotus is hosting its first Sesshin!)Weekly Meditations on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 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

Because Buddha Purnima (the full moon celebrating the birth, death and enlightenment of the Shakyamuni Buddha) is so close to Chinnamastā Jayanti, when we celebrate the self-decapitating form of Mā, this year I decided to combine the two themes into one lecture. Having already explained the symbology of Mā Chinnamastā in last year's talk to some extent, this year I want to focus on the theme of "decapitation" that we often see with forms of Mā. What does it really mean to be "decapitated"? But first, to lead up into our idea of decapitation, we present a few radical and thrilling ideas from the most idealistic, non-dual traditions of India: Vasubandhu's Yogācara Buddhism and Gaudapada's Ajāta Vāda as a kind of nod to the dizzying flights of Buddhist and Advaitic metaphysics! May this be an offering at the lotus feet of the Buddha, the sanest man who ever lived.May this be an offering to Mā Chinnamastā!Support the showLectures 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/U8zKP8yMrM

Send us a textThe full text of this podcast can be found in the transcript of this edition or at the following link:https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/2025/03/swinging-chaotic-flows-to-better-ends.htmlPlease feel free to post any comments you have about this episode there.The Cambridge Unitarian Church's Sunday Service of Mindful Meditation can be found at this link:https://www.cambridgeunitarian.org/morning-service/ Music, "New Heaven", written by Andrew J. Brown and played by Chris Ingham (piano), Paul Higgs (trumpet), Russ Morgan (drums) and Andrew J. Brown (double bass) Thanks for listening. Just to note that the texts of all these podcasts are available on my blog. You'll also find there a brief biography, info about my career as a musician, & some photography. Feel free to drop by & say hello. Email: caute.brown[at]gmail.com

Lama Zopa Rinpoche discusses the extensive offerings that are being made at FPMT centers around the world and explains how to make charity by offering these on behalf of all sentient beings. In this way, every single offering becomes an offering from every single sentient being and they all gain merit. So, this becomes a great puja for the happiness of all sentient beings.Rinpoche says that each offering has ten benefits, but depending on which offering is made, the result is slightly different. He gives the example of incense, which has the particular result of pure morality.Rinpoche highlights that the purpose of offering is for the benefit of all beings. When making offerings to the Guru Puja merit field, the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and all the holy objects of the ten directions, we should meditate that their essence is the root virtuous friend. Even though there are so many deities in the merit field, the essence is the guru, the root virtuous friend. Rinpoche goes into detail about the holy objects of Tibet, including the Shakyamuni Buddha statue in Lhasa, the Hayagriva statue in Sera Monastery, the Maitreya Buddha statue in Drepung Monastery, and the Sangdu Jampel Dorje statue in Reting. He also elaborates on the holy places of Nepal: Swayambhunath and Baudhanath stupas.To conclude the offering, Rinpoche advises us to offer the oceans of nectar food to every hell being, hungry ghost, animal, human being, sura being, asura being, and intermediate stage being. They fully enjoy the offerings, become liberated from all sufferings and its causes, and become enlightened.From April 10 to May 10, 2004, Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave extensive teachings during the Mahamudra Retreat at Buddha House in Australia. While the retreat focused on Mahamudra, Rinpoche also taught on a wide range of Lamrim topics. This retreat marked the beginning of a series of month-long retreats in Australia. Subsequent retreats were held in 2011, 2014, and 2018, hosted by the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo.Find out more about Lama Zopa Rinpoche, his teachings and projects at https://fpmt.org/

In dieser Folge widmen wir uns den vier göttlichen Verweilungen – den Brahmaviharas, die das Herz des Buddhismus erleuchten. Diese uralten Lehren, zurückgehend auf Shakyamuni Buddha, sind ein Weg, das leuchtende Herz in uns zu entfalten. Sie verbinden uns mit unserer tiefsten Menschlichkeit und zeigen, wie wir in Güte, Liebe und Gelassenheit verweilen können. Die vier Verweilungen sind: Liebende Güte, das Strahlen unseres Herzens, das alle berührt. Mitfühlende Liebe, die sich mit dem Leiden aller Wesen verbindet. Selbstlose Freude, frei von Neid und Missgunst. Gelassenes Sein, das frei von Verstrickung und Urteil ist. Gemeinsam erkunden wir, wie wir diesen Zustand erreichen: durch Stille, die Wolken der Gedanken ziehen lässt, und durch innere Ausrichtung, die unsere Sehnsucht nach Einheit und Frieden stärkt. Aus der Mitte unseres Herzens strahlt eine goldene Sonne – frei, grenzenlos und unermesslich wie das Leben selbst. Diese Verweilungen sind keine Technik, sondern eine Haltung. Sie beginnen mit uns selbst: Möge ich frei sein von Leid. Mögen alle Wesen frei sein von Leid. Lass dich von der Güte deines eigenen Herzens berühren und werde zu einem strahlenden Licht für dich und alle um dich herum. Die vier göttlichen Verweilungen sind nicht nur eine Praxis, sondern ein Sein – jetzt, in diesem Moment. Für mehr Infos hierzu, schaue gerne auf MasterMeditation.com - Der neue Kurs: Zuhause in Dir

In Episode 272, I discussed the third chapter of Zen Master Keizan's book The Denkoroku, or the Record of the Transmission of Illumination. In the interest of thoroughness, I figured I'd start back at chapter one, with Shakyamuni Buddha's “I and All Beings.” This text explores the nature of enlightenment and the tension between individuality and non-separation.

Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter at Minobu in the seventh month of the third year of Kōan (1280) to the lay nun Sennichi, who lived on Sado Island. Sennichi was the wife of Abutsu-bō Nittoku, who had passed away the year before. Abutsu-bō had originally been a Nembutsu believer, but soon after encountering the Daishonin, together with his wife, became his sincere follower and helped provide him with food and supplies during his stay on Sado. After the Daishonin was pardoned from his exile and had taken up his residence at Minobu, Abutsu-bō, despite his advanced age, made at least three journeys to see him. He died on the twenty-first day of the third month, 1279, at the age of ninety-one. His son, Tōkurō Moritsuna, visited the Daishonin at Minobu later that year with his father's ashes and laid them to rest there. The lay nun Sennichi was concerned about the privations of the Daishonin's life at Minobu, and in 1280 sent Tōkurō with various offerings for him. Tōkurō arrived at Minobu on the first day of the seventh month, and Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter to the lay nun in acknowledgment of her sincere offerings, entrusting it to her son on his return journey. In the beginning portion, the Daishonin declares that to read even one phrase of the Lotus Sutra is equivalent to reading all the teachings expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha during his lifetime. He assures the lay nun Sennichi that all persons who embrace the Lotus Sutra will attain Buddhahood, and therefore, in the light of the “clear mirror of the Lotus Sutra,” there can be no doubt that her late husband, Abutsu-bō, has attained Buddhahood as well. In the remaining portion of the letter, the Daishonin encourages the lay nun in the face of her loneliness following her husband's death, and also praises the filial devotion of her son, Tōkurō. Especially touched by Tōkurō's two visits to Minobu for his father's sake, the Daishonin concludes his letter by exclaiming, “Surely, there is no treasure greater than a child, no treasure greater than a child!” https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/149

In this podcast interview recorded at Zen Mountain Monastery, Monastic Hokyu Aronson speaks with Vangeline about embodied movement and healing. Along the way, they discuss some of the deep history of butoh and how trauma-informed guidance can help students settle their nervous systems, whether they are pursuing Zen, butoh, or life itself. Although Vangeline emphasizes this approach in her teaching, and speaks widely on the benefits of butoh as a form of creative engagement, she is quick to add that butoh should not be considered a replacement for therapy, and nor should Zen practice. That said, the movement workshops she leads, explore the body as a vehicle for working with challenging emotions, accessing deeper connection, and finding freedom. The Mountains and Rivers Order (MRO) is a Western Zen Buddhist lineage established by the late John Daido Loori Roshi and dedicated to sharing the dharma as it has been passed down, generation to generation, since the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. https://zmm.org/about/about-mountains-and-rivers-order/ This episode is also available on the ZMM podcast: https://zmm.org/podcast/vangeline-butoh/

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi ZMM - 12/08/24 - Having exhausted all the methods that were available at the time, Shakyamuni Buddha turned toward a new path, a simple seclusion and inward turning of mind. He received nourishment from Sujata and courageously defeated Mara on the path of liberation. This inspiring tale is retold by Shugen Roshi on the occasion of the annual Buddha's Enlightenment Vigil.

While sitting under the bodhi tree through the night, Shakyamuni Buddha saw the morning star, was enlightened and said:I, together with the great earth and all sentient beings, simultaneously attain the way.In the Zen tradition today is Bodhi day. The day that we commemorate the Buddha's awakening and celebrate our buddha nature. Last night, locally, people from the Zen Columbus Sangha, Mud Lotus Sangha and Grove City Zen held a meditation vigil and sat into the dark of the night at the Pragmatic Buddhist Center. It was moving to join together across local sanghas here in Columbus, and sit with so many other practitioners across the globe.I've been reflecting on the Buddha's life this week, the story I keep coming back to is when in the midst of exhaustion he has this memory from childhood arise of sitting in contentment and ease under the shade of a rose apple tree watching the plowing of the golden grain.Here's an excerpt from the Pali Cannon.I thought: 'I recall once, when my father the Sakyan was working, and I was sitting in the cool shade of a rose-apple tree, then — quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful mental qualities — I entered & remained in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. Could that be the path to Awakening?' Then, following on that memory, came the realization: 'That is the path to Awakening.' I thought: 'So why am I afraid of that pleasure that has nothing to do with sensuality, nothing to do with unskillful mental qualities?' I thought: 'I am no longer afraid of that pleasure that has nothing to do with sensuality, nothing to do with unskillful mental qualities, but it is not easy to achieve that pleasure with a body so extremely emaciated. Suppose I were to take some solid food: some rice & porridge.' So I took some solid food: some rice & porridge. Now five monks had been attending on me, thinking, 'If Gotama, our contemplative, achieves some higher state, he will tell us.' But when they saw me taking some solid food — some rice & porridge — they were disgusted and left me, thinking, 'Gotama the contemplative is living luxuriously. He has abandoned his exertion and is backsliding into abundance.'I love the reflection, could this be the path to awakening, this is the path to awakening.My teacher used to quote the bible saying, that to enter the kingdom of heaven, one must become like a child.Is it possible, that recovering something basic that we all knew as children is the path to awakening?To reclaim wonderment, to reconnect with innocence, to allow that innate curiosity and joy of just being you, alive together with the world.Today, on Bodhi Day, I wish that for us.…I'm Amy Kisei. I am a Zen Buddhist Teacher, Spiritual Counselor, budding Astrologer and Artist. I currently live in Columbus, Ohio with my partner Patrick Kennyo Dunn, we facilitate an in-person meditation gathering every Wednesday from 7P - 8:30P at ILLIO in Clintonville through Mud Lotus Sangha. If you happen to be in Columbus, feel free to stop by. We have weekly meditation gatherings and monthly Saturday offerings as well.Thanks for reading friends! The recording is from a dharma talk that was given during Monday Night Meditation. You can find out more below. Also, I would love to hear from you, please feel free to like or comment on this post—and share it! Current OfferingsSpiritual Counseling — IFS informed, mindful somatic therapyAstrology— I am starting to offer astrology readings. I have found astrology to be a helpful map for connecting to the more mythic unfolding of life. It can help us honor our gifts, navigate challenges, get perspective and connect with planetary allies. It can also offer guidance on the questions that arise in our lives and aid us in stepping more fully into our wholeness. I am currently offering the following types of readingsNatal Chart ReadingsAstro Counseling PackageTransit ReadingsGreat Work of Your Life ReadingAstrology Gift Card — give the gift of an astrology readingArt Shop — I sell my original paintings and printsMonday Night Meditation + DharmaEvery Monday 6P PT / 9P ETJoin me on zoom for 40 minutes of meditation and a dharma talk. We are currently exploring a text called The Eight Realizations of Great Beings, which gives us an opportunity to practice inquiry and embodying love as we discover our Awakened Nature together.This event is hosted by the Zen Community of Oregon. All are welcome to join. Drop in any time.Zoom Link for Monday NightSky + Rose: An Emergent Online Contemplative Community Braiding Spirit and SoulSunday Jan 510:30A PT - 12:30P PT / 1:30P ET - 3:30P ETWhat is it? An experiment in the impossible task of excluding nothing and loving everything. An alchemy of play, presence and wandering into the shadows, you could say.Sky & Rose is a practice container that will:* Center group parts work practices to explore the fluidity, span and dream of who we are - somebody, nobody, everybody. You will be invited to express yourself vocally and physically, engage your imagination and play outside habituation.* Do interpersonal and group meditation practices of seeing, being and awakening.* Directly explore emotional embodiment & shadow work* Include Beauty, Art & Wonderment as core practice elementsThrough rituals of imagination, meditation technologies and co-created fields of intentional play, we can slip out, for a time, of confining identities defined by our histories, culture and comfort. 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

This is a reading of chapter 2 of Great Master Keizan's 'Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of the Light'. It is the Rev. Hubert Nearman translation. The Denkoroku records the stories of the masters in our lineage starting with Shakyamuni Buddha and going through the generations up to Koun Ejo who was Great Master Dogen's disciple and grand master to Keizan. The stories highlight the thread of faith, practice, and enlightenment that has woven its way down through the ages to this very day. YouTube: N/ATwitter/X: @shastaabbey 

Returning to the twists and turns of the endless, meandering 2024 campaign for POTUS, and looming uncertainty of threatened challenges to the vote promising to bollix up the results, the question arises as to what this may have to do with Zen. The dedicated Zen guy who produces the UnMind podcast suggested that we take up the premise of the “Bodhisattva ideal” in Buddhism, comparing and contrasting behaviors and apparent attitudes of the candidates — and politicians in general — to this lofty ideal and aspiration. Somewhere in the copious Zen literature I came across the proposition that governmental leaders find themselves in positions of power owing to karmic merit accumulated in past lives, apparently whether they know it or not. We can suppose that this quaint notion arose in the context of predominantly Buddhist societies, such as that of Ashoka the Great in India, or in the later empires or principalities in China. It requires quite a stretch of the imagination to interpret our current political situation from that standpoint, though an online meme that one of the candidates is the “chosen of God” is even more ludicrous to contemplate. Looking at the meaning of “Bodhisattva” thorough the eyes of Google, the first hit that comes up is from the University of Washington, Seattle-based home of the Huskies, the first thing that comes up on their homepage. We will defer any consideration of college football as the key branding element of UW, and higher education in general, for a later segment. Their more-or-less traditional definition of the Bodhisattva assumedly comes from their comparative religion department: Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have put off entering paradise in order to help others attain enlightenment. There are many different Bodhisattvas, but the most famous in China is Avalokitesvara, known in Chinese as Guanyin. Bodhisattvas are usually depicted as less austere or inward than the Buddha. — https://depts.washington.edu Parsing this definition, I have a few quibbles. We prefer the use of “enlightening” beings as it indicates a process in which all of us comprise a work in progress, whereas “enlightened” indicates a state of completion. No true bodhisattva would ever claim to be enlightened in that sense. In the sense of enlightened self interest and the best interests of others, yes. Then there is the idea of “entering paradise.” The Buddhist term “Nirvana” is not pointing at another dimension or plane of existence, but the true nature of this world in which we find ourselves — so-called “Samsara.” As Master Dogen reminds us, “actually, the Other Shore (of Nirvana) comes to us”; we do not go to it. As Shohaku Okumura-roshi once mentioned, “Everybody says they want to go to Nirvana. But when you go there, there is nobody there. Only bodhisattvas can go to Nirvana, and they choose to stay here. So our charge is to change Samsara into Nirvana.” This is what Dogen means by saying the other shore comes to us. The reference to “many different Bodhisattvas” and the most famous being Avalokitesvara, Guanyin in China, or Kanzeon in Japan, reinforces the notion that bodhisattvas are a special class of beings, outside the kin or ordinary mortals — much like the icons of other religions, such as canonized prophets, saints and saviors, or demigods. My understanding of the Zen ideal is that we are all bodhisattvas, whether we know it or not. And finally, the reference to their relatively diminished austerity seems somewhat overwrought. My reading of the original teachings attributed to Shakyamuni reveal a profound humility and accessibility, and a remarkable empathy for his audience, that any bodhisattva would aspire to emulate. Awakening of the Bodhi mind is concomitant with the Bodhisattva vow — to help all others before reaching the other shore — according to Dogen, who should know. So how do our current carriers of partisan banners stack up against this image? I would suggest that their motivations have little or nothing to do with entering paradise, for one. So in that, they are like bodhisattvas — but focusing their efforts on the present and immediate future of prosperity in the secular sphere — not the spiritual realm. In American politics, and perhaps that of Western countries in general, there is an underlying implication that behavior in the societal sphere is indicative of one's “values,” which tend to land in the ethical, moral, and spiritual column. This may be a vestigial remnant of the puritan ethic that pervaded the early migrants to these shores, the after- effects of which we witness today, including in the performative permutations of partisan politics. But, quoting myself in an earlier UnMind segment, there are brute behaviors of our fellow-travelers in this particular time and space that cannot be excused as politic: When it comes to indiscriminate bombing of civilians and children, we are no longer in the realm of “politics.” If we are silent, we become complicit. Buddha, I believe, would have spoken out against this betrayal of compassion and wisdom. As did Matsuoka Roshi, concerning the corrupt regime in Vietnam, and other atrocities of his time. We can look to the teachings and meditation practice of Zen Buddhism to find a degree of solace and sanctuary from these insults to humanity, but we cannot run, and we cannot hide from them, ultimately. But we do not have to join the partisan divide, either. In the same episode, we provided some historical context by referring to the foundational documents of the Founding Fathers, including the Declaration of Independence, with particular attention to the second section: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. This begins to sound a lot like the Bodhisattva ideal applied to the salvation of others, at least in the secular realm. If we are all equal, we all have equal potential to wake up in the most comprehensive sense, as did Shakyamuni Buddha. We also innately deserve to be treated with the highest degree of respect from our peers. And each and all have equal claim to life — within the realistic constraints of aging, sickness and death; to liberty — in the sense of true liberation from our own ignorance, and the imposition of that of others upon our lives; and the pursuit of true happiness, which does not derive from materialistic sources. Perhaps our political leaders are doing their level best to secure the rights, at least in their secular manifestation. But compare to the Bodhisattva vows, which address serving, or saving all beings, on another scale altogether; two translations give us a better insight into their broader and deeper meaning: Beings are numberless I vow to free themDelusions are inexhaustible I vow to end themDharma gates are boundless I vow to enter themThe Buddha way is unsurpassable I vow to realize it However innumerable all beings are I vow to free them allHowever inexhaustible my delusions are I vow to extinguish them allHowever immeasurable the dharma teachings are I vow to master them allHowever endless the great way I vow to follow it completely I leave it to you to decide whether or not, and to what degree, your candidate for the highest office in the land, the most powerful secular position on Earth, are in harmony with these compassionate aspirations. But remember that the teachings of Buddhism were never meant to be held up to criticize others, but to reflect back upon yourself and your own behavior. The mirror of Zen reflects all — the good, the bad, and the ugly — without discrimination. You and your behavior are also reflected in that Precious Mirror.

The ego, this self-cherishing thought, the ego is much more harmful than all the atomic bombs that are in the world because atomic bomb even if it explodes, if you have bodhichitta it doesn't cause you to be reborn in the hell realm, lower realm. -Lama Zopa Rinpoche Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains how Shakyamuni Buddha … Continue reading Change Your Attitude, Change Your Action →

Saka Dawa, celebrated on the fourth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar, is the most sacred day in Tibetan Buddhism. It marks the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana (death) of Shakyamuni Buddha. This auspicious occasion is a time for Buddhists to focus on merit-making activities, prayer, and reflection on the Buddha's teachings. Venerable Tenzin Tarpa is the founder and director of SBT – The Secular Buddhist Tradition. A fully ordained Buddhist monk and student of The Dalai Lama, Venerable Tarpa is a teacher, author, and philosopher with nearly three decades in Buddhist studies, including a decade in Buddhist monasteries in India. SBT – the Secular Buddhist Tradition, is an international spiritual community dedicated to Secular Buddhism and the timeless wisdom of the Buddha. SBT presents the Buddha's teachings as neither a religion nor exotic belief system, sharing a practical presentation focused on the positive life-affirming message of the Buddha, while emphasizing and prioritizing those aspects that we deem most credible, illuminating, and effective. The aim of SBT is to inform and guide without sharing presumptions of what to believe. Learn more about SBT and Venerable Tarpa at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://SBTonline.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#buddhism⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#secularbuddhism⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#meditation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#mindfulness⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#happiness⁠

Continuing with a consideration of the realities of day-to-day Zen practice in the context of Buddhism's central teaching of dukkha – natural suffering writ large – the second of the “three marks,” or characteristics of existence from a human perspective, is usually named as “sickness” or “illness.” Please note in passing that illness, from the perspective of Chinese medicine – which may be closer to its cultural connotations in ancient India – denotes a lack of centeredness, or balance. Something is out of kilter – the yinyang of it all – when we fall ill. Nowadays, of course, we have much more access to many means of tracing and tracking the origins of our maladies, to environmental and other sources. Quoting from the Tricycle web site again, we find a less personal, less specific definition of the three: ...all phenomena...are marked by three characteristics...: impermanence (anicca), suffering or dissatisfaction (dukkha), and not-self (anatta). These three marks apply to all conditioned things—that is, everything except for nirvana. Sickness is not called out specifically as one of the many causes of suffering or dissatisfaction, possibly for reasons of cultural context and medical acumen 2500 years ago. We will get around to that throwaway line exempting so-called “nirvana.” I can personally testify to the dissatisfactory and suffering nature of sickness, from my experience contracting Covid-19 in 2022 and, more recently, a suddenly bloated GI tract blockage that had me hospitalized overnight, and bed-ridden for over a week. The pandemic occasioned such wide medical suffering and social unrest that Shunei Oniuda, the president of Sotoshu Shumucho, Zen administrative headquarters in Japan, addressed it from the Buddhist perspective in a public message: I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences for those who have lost their precious lives from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and offer a prayer that they may rest in peace. For those who have been affected by this illness, I pray that they will recover as soon as possible, and I would like to offer my deepest sympathy to their families and relatives who have also been affected by this illness. Also, my thoughts are with all those experiencing tremendous difficulties whose lives have been affected by the spread of this epidemic and the need to stay home. Then Mr. Oniuda relates some interesting facts providing context for the present: In the Kamakura Period of Japanese history when Dogen Zenji was teaching, there were times when cool summers caused by climate change often brought poor harvests. There were outbreaks of plague, and, during the Great Kanki Famine (1230-31), it is said that about a third of the population of Japan perished. In times such as these, Dogen Zenji emphasized that these were the very times to not neglect the Buddha Way. Who is to know it the changes in climate at that time were as precipitous and global as those we are seeing today. As an island nation, Japan is likely more subject to extremes in weather because it is surrounded by ocean waters. A caveat – in our fraught divisive times, it may be necessary to point out that this recollection of similar disasters from the history of Zen – though on a much smaller-scale – is surely not intended to support either side of the ideological argument. Instead, it reinforces the premise that Zen is a practice fully prepared to meet, head-on, the vagaries of life, whether of natural, man-made, or a combination of those causes and conditions. Note that he offers condolences to those who died first, rather than to the survivors; which is characteristic of Zen funerals. The sermon is actually directed to the deceased. While emphasizing the need for disseminating accurate information, and recommending that all concerned follow the practical recommendations for exercising due diligence in preventing the spread of infection, President Oniuda refers back to the compassionate teachings of Zen's founders, as they apply to this current, international crisis: It is in such a time that the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, Dogen Zenji, and Keizan Zenji are necessary. Shakyamuni Buddha taught right view, right speech, and right practice in the face of the sufferings of sickness and death. Right view, speech and practice – conduct exhibited in crises – do not follow the mob: Even if people are agitated or anxious in the confusion caused by others who are fearful and buy up or hoard food and other goods, let us act calmly. Let us act in accordance with the spirit of Dogen Zenji's teaching of the intention of first saving others before ourselves and in accordance with the Bodhisattva's Four Embracing Actions. This is to naturally practice the way of benefitting others. Compare to the panic mode triggered by the pandemic in most circles of the population. Then the President's message brings it home, uniting both social and personal spheres: Also, Keizan Zenji taught that we should have compassion and love for all things, that we should sympathize with others' sufferings as if they are our own, and that with the mind of compassion we should be diligent in the practice of zazen. I encourage you to endeavor to practice zazen during this time that we must spend quietly at home.[1] So the prescription for practice in Zen remains the same in good times or bad, whether we find ourselves in truly dire straits, or operating under relatively ordinary pressures of meeting the daily needs of ourselves and the community: Hie thee thither – back to the cushion. His message is directed not just to monastics but to householders as well. And by no means is zazen prescribed as an escape from the wolves howling at the gate, but the most direct and efficacious way to meet them where they are coming from. Matsuoka-roshi would sometimes say, “If you get sick, you just get sick; if you die, you just die. But meanwhile, do what the doctor says.” He frequently made the point that his fellow countrymen and women were usually calm in the face of calamity, whether in the form of personal trauma of getting bad news in a clinical or hospital setting, or even a prognosis of eminent death. This equanimity he attributed to their having been raised in a culture that embraces aging, sickness and death as natural and foreordained, rather than in one that approaches them with fear and loathing. Even young children in Japan are, or used to be, exposed to the teachings of Buddhism, and the practice of zazen, as a regular part of their upbringing. We like to think that Buddha's experience under the Bodhi tree that night so long ago represented the absolute apogee of good health and wellness, in all its dimensions – physical, mental, emotional, and even social. Yet it included the robust embrace of the ineradicable marks of biological, sentient existence: impermanence manifested as aging; suffering manifested as illness, both physiological and psychological; and no-self arising as the specter of death, the fear of non-existence on the personal plane. It seems that our modern obsession with youth and longevity lobbies against any wide acceptance of these natural marks, or transitions, of our existence as human beings. But all sentient beings are subject to their inevitability - no exceptions, theistic beliefs notwithstanding. Perhaps this may be seen as the true source of the neurotic aspects of this age of anxiety. We are confronted with these marks on a progressive basis, as we age and become increasingly infirm, or frail. It is best to engage them on the cushion, when we are young and strong, but better later than never. In the next segment of UnMind, we will take up the meaning of death, in the context of Dharma as the compassionate teachings. Until then, do not hesitate to allow your view of aging, sickness and death, your personal take on mortality, to enter into your zazen. It cannot hurt, and cannot be avoided in the long run.[1] Published on Soto Zen Net (www.sotozen-net.or.jp) on April 3rd, 2020Translated by Soto Zen Buddhism International Center * * *Elliston Roshi is guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and abbot of the Silent Thunder Order. He is also a gallery-represented fine artist expressing his Zen through visual poetry, or “music to the eyes.”UnMind is a production of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the Silent Thunder Order. You can support these teachings by PayPal to donate@STorder.org. Gassho.Producer: Shinjin Larry Little

In the last segment of UnMind, we took up the most social of the Three Treasures: Sangha, or community. In this segment, we will continue with our analysis of the design of Dharma study; and in the next, that of Buddha practice, Zen's unique meditation, or zazen. These three constitute the highest values and manifestations of Buddhism in the real world, and the simplest model for the comprehensive nature of living a Zen life. They are regarded as three legs, without any one of which the stool of Zen is unstable. Design intent is reflected in their modus operandi, message, and method, respectively. Dharma study consists in reviewing and contemplating the “compassionate teachings,” the message transmitted by Shakyamuni and the ancestors down to the present day. While they were all, in effect, “speaking with one voice,” nonetheless Dharma ranks second in importance and emphasis, as an adjunct to meditation, just as Sangha comes in third, in providing the harmonious community and conducive environment for Zen. As referenced in Dogen's Jijuyu Zammai – Self-fulfilling Samadhi: Grass, trees and walls bring forth the teaching for all beingsCommon people as well as sages The “walls” are the infrastructure that was built around personal and communal practice in the form of our sitting space at home, grass hut hermitages, and meditation halls of temples, centers, or monasteries. This is the millennia-old design-build activity of the ancestors attested to by the stupas of India and the monasteries of China, Tibet, Japan, and the Far East, the legacy inherited by modern proponents of Zen in the West. Dharma likewise has been codified, collected, and contained in tangible documents, originally in the form of rice paper scrolls, now in books distributed worldwide in hardbound and paperback format. My own two current volumes in print ‑ “The Original Frontier” and “The Razorblade of Zen” ‑ were actually printed and bound in India, the home country of Buddhism They are also, or will soon be, available in electronic form, as eBooks and audiobooks accessible to virtually anyone, anywhere, anytime. It is as if Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion – s/he of the innumerable eyes and ears needed to see and hear the sights and sounds of dukkha in the world, with innumerable arms and hands bringing the tools necessary to help ‑ has come to be manifested globally, in the form of the worldwide network of mobile media. By means of which her ongoing witness to the suffering of the world is also recorded for posterity. Thus, the potential for Dharma to have an effect on the world at large has expanded exponentially, as in the vow: “I take refuge in Dharma, the compassionate teachings.” Taking refuge in the Dharma means returning ‑ or “fleeing back” ‑ to the original truths or laws of existence, and our place in it. Consider what the first teachings of Buddha really had to say, and what was their intended effect upon the audience. The First Sermon lays out the essential logic of the Middle Way, and its avoidance of extremes of attitudes and approaches to the fundamental problem of existence as a sentient, human being. The design intent of the Dharma as expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha, was, as far as we can determine from the written record, to correct the conventional wisdom of the time, which I take to have been primarily based on beliefs and doctrines of Hinduism. One well-known example is his teaching of anatta or anatman, a refutation of the Hindu belief in a self-existent soul, or atman. Not being a scholar, I am basing this on my scant study of the canon and the opinion of others more learned than I. Considering how the Dharma was first shared gives us an insight more technically oriented to the intent of its design. In the beginning was the spoken word of Siddhartha Gautama, similar to the Bible's creation story. Buddha never committed a single word to paper, or so we are told. It is also said that he “never spoke a word,” a comment I take to mean that while language can point at the truths of Buddhism, it cannot capture them. Buddhist truth is uniquely experiential. It has to go through a kind of translation into language that is beyond language itself, as in the last stanza of Hsinhsinming‑Trust in Mind: Words! The Way is beyond language for in itthere is no yesterday, no tomorrow, no today Later given the honorifics of “Buddha, ‑ fully awakened one” and “Shakyamuni ‑ sage of the Shakya clan,” and others, ten in total, Siddhartha's First Sermon to the five ascetics with whom he had been practicing, begins with: O monks, these two extremes ought not be followed by one going forth from the household life. What are the two?There is devotion to the indulgence of self-gratificationWhich is low, common, the way of ordinary peopleUnworthy and unprofitableThere is devotion to the indulgence of self-mortificationWhich is painful unworthy and unprofitableAvoiding both these extremes the Tathagata has realized the Middle WayIt gives vision it gives knowledge and it leads to calm to insight to awakening to Nirvana The intent of the content was to dissuade these monks from continuing to follow the dictates of their method of asceticism, which Buddha had found to be ineffective, to say the least. And to hold out the hope that if they were able to relinquish their own opinions of the truth they were seeking, and the method for apprehending it, they would be able to accede to the insight that he had experienced directly in meditation, the “middle way.” “Tathagata,” by the way, is also one of the ten honorifics accorded to Buddha later in the course of his teaching career, meaning something like the “thus-come one.” It was most likely appended to this narrative when finally committed to written form, some four centuries after-the-fact. But our point is that the spoken language was the medium in which the teaching was first shared. Buddha was said to have spoken Pali, which is similar to, and perhaps a dialect of, Sanskrit. The theory I have heard explaining why they were not recorded in written form is that they were considered sacred, and writing them down would have made them vulnerable to accidental or intentional change. The oral tradition was more dependable in terms of preserving them with their original intent intact. So the “design intent” of Buddha's use of kind or loving speech was not the usual intent of language in general. It was intended to encourage others to apprehend the “Great Matter” of life-and-death in the most direct way, the only way, possible. Buddha recognized that there was no way of sharing his experience with others in the ordinary sense, so he resorted to parables and analogies, to allow his audience to see themselves in the pictures he painted, and to transcend ordinary understanding in words and phrases, or the pursuit of information, the usual application of language. The later codifying and organization of the original spoken teachings into the Tripitaka or “three baskets” was designed to allow teachers and students to study the voluminous canon in an orderly way, and to prioritize their approach to it in digestible bites. It was most likely understood that the existing literature of the time ‑ which had to be scarce, compared to today's glut of publications – was to be absorbed in concert with practicing the meditation that had led to Buddha's insight to begin with. As Master Dogen reminds: Now all ancestors and all buddhas who uphold buddha-dharma have made it the true path of enlightenment to sit upright practicing in the midst of self-fulfilling samadhiThose who attained enlightenment in India and China followed this wayIt was done so because teachers and disciples personally transmitted this excellent method as the essence of the teaching In the authentic tradition of our teaching it is said that this directly transmitted straightforward buddha- dharma is the unsurpassable of the unsurpassable The design intent of the teachings has been, from the very beginning, the direct transmission of the buddha-dharma, what Matsuoka-roshi referred to as “living Zen.” In the daily lives of monks and nuns, frequent repetition of chanting selected teachings enabled the monastics to deeply assimilate them. Master Dogen was known for connecting each and every regular daily routine with brief recitations, such as the Meal Verse, in order to bridge the gap between the sacred and the profane, the physical and the spiritual. Codification of the koan collections of Rinzai Zen ‑ some 1700 strong according to tradition, later organized into five sets by Hakuin Ekaku Zenji, the 18th Century Rinzai master ‑ represent design efforts to structure the lore and legacy of Zen's anecdotal history of exchanges between masters and students available in progressive levels of difficulty, enabling accessibility of the apparent dichotomies of Dharma. Soto Zen simplifies the approach even further by regarding zazen itself as representing the living koan, requiring nothing further to complement, or complicate, the process of insight. All the various models of buddha-dharma developed by the ancients qualify as efforts in information design ‑ visualizing images and what is called “pattern-thinking” ‑ that allow us to grasp the form of the Dharma beyond what mere words can convey. The Four Noble Truths comprise the first historical example of these descriptive models, including the prescriptive Noble Eightfold Path. Tozan's “Five Ranks” and Rinzai's “Host and Guest” come later, but have the same design intent – to help their students get beyond the limitation of the linear nature of language. My semantic models of the teachings, published in “The Razorblade of Zen,” represent more contemporary cases in point. Nowadays ‑ as testimonial evidence indicates, from one-on-one encounters in online and in-person dharma dialogs with modern students of the Way ‑ people are no longer studying buddha-dharma as they may have throughout history, when documents were rare. More often than not, they are reading more than one book at a time, in a nonlinear process I refer to as “cross-coupling”: simultaneously absorbing commentaries from one author or translator along with others; or perhaps comparing the teachings of more than one ancestor of Zen to those of a different ancestor. This may be an artifact or anomaly of the ubiquitous presence and availability of Zen material in print form, as well as the encyclopedic scope of online resources on offer today. It seems that in every category, and every language, we have at our fingertips a greater textual resource than ever conceivable in history, dwarfing the great libraries of legend. We can “google” virtually anything – no pun - with a few strokes of a keyboard. In addition, Artificial Intelligence threatens to bring together summaries and concoctions of content at the whim of any researcher; documents are readily searchable for those who wish to quantify uses of words and phrases at any point in history, teasing out trends and making judgments as to the hidden patterns in historical evolution of ideas. In this context it is difficult to ascertain the design intent of dharma as articulated today. It is not easy to discern the intent of the publish-or-perish, rush-into-print crowd, or to judge whether a given piece of contemporary writing is worth our effort and time to read. Fortunately, Zen offers a wormhole out of this literary catch-22. Zazen provides recourse to an even greater inventory of databases, built into our immediate sensorium. We can always return to upright sitting, facing the wall. This is where we will find the nonverbal answers we are seeking so feverishly, and somewhat futilely, in “words and letters” as Master Dogen reminds us in his seminal tract on meditation, Fukanzazengi: You should stop pursuing words and lettersand learn to withdraw and turn the light on yourselfwhen you do so your body and mind will naturally fall awayand your original buddha-nature will appear This stanza is sometimes interpreted as a slam on the nature of contemporaneous Rinzai practice predominant in the Japan of Dogen's time. But I think we should take a broader view of the great master's intent. He is merely cluing us in to the fact of the futility of pursuing literal, linear understanding of the Dharma in its manifestation as verbal expression. We are to turn our attention, instead, to the immediate and intimate presence of the self of body-and-mind ‑ beyond, or before, words can interfere. Here is where, and now is when, we will witness the full force of the design intent of the Dharma.* * * Elliston Roshi is guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and abbot of the Silent Thunder Order. He is also a gallery-represented fine artist expressing his Zen through visual poetry, or “music to the eyes.”UnMind is a production of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the Silent Thunder Order. You can support these teachings by PayPal to donate@STorder.org. Gassho.Producer: Shinjin Larry Little

“A peaceful world just does not happen to us. We need to create it. We all have the root of compassion that desires others to be free from suffering—it just needs to be developed.” -Khenpo Sherab Sangpo Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma Lineage (bodhicittasangha.org), offered teachings on his prayer for world peace that he composed in February 2024. He composed this prayer to quell the selfishness, wars, natural disasters, and diseases that are causing widespread suffering throughout our world and to bring a kind mind (bodhicitta), happiness, and well-being to every land. Based on Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings on dependent origination, Khenpo Sherab Sangpo encourages his students see the interconnected nature of our world and to make a heartfelt commitment to take action to benefit all living beings—including human beings, animals, and the environment—to create a more peaceful world together. A PDF of Khenpo Sherab Sangpo's prayer can be found on our website:  https://www.bodhicittasangha.org/world-peace-prayer/

“A peaceful world just does not happen to us. We need to create it. We all have the root of compassion that desires others to be free from suffering—it just needs to be developed.” -Khenpo Sherab Sangpo Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma Lineage (bodhicittasangha.org), offered teachings on his prayer for world peace that he composed in February 2024. He composed this prayer to quell the selfishness, wars, natural disasters, and diseases that are causing widespread suffering throughout our world and to bring a kind mind (bodhicitta), happiness, and well-being to every land. Based on Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings on dependent origination, Khenpo Sherab Sangpo encourages his students see the interconnected nature of our world and to make a heartfelt commitment to take action to benefit all living beings—including human beings, animals, and the environment—to create a more peaceful world together. A PDF of Khenpo Sherab Sangpo's prayer can be found on our website: https://www.bodhicittasangha.org/world-peace-prayer/

“A peaceful world just does not happen to us. We need to create it. We all have the root of compassion that desires others to be free from suffering—it just needs to be developed.” -Khenpo Sherab Sangpo Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma Lineage (bodhicittasangha.org), offered teachings on his prayer for world peace that he composed in February 2024. He composed this prayer to quell the selfishness, wars, natural disasters, and diseases that are causing widespread suffering throughout our world and to bring a kind mind (bodhicitta), happiness, and well-being to every land. Based on Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings on dependent origination, Khenpo Sherab Sangpo encourages his students see the interconnected nature of our world and to make a heartfelt commitment to take action to benefit all living beings—including human beings, animals, and the environment—to create a more peaceful world together. A PDF of Khenpo Sherab Sangpo's prayer can be found on our website:  https://www.bodhicittasangha.org/world-peace-prayer/

“A peaceful world just does not happen to us. We need to create it. We all have the root of compassion that desires others to be free from suffering—it just needs to be developed.” -Khenpo Sherab Sangpo Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma Lineage (bodhicittasangha.org), offered teachings on his prayer for world peace that he composed in February 2024. He composed this prayer to quell the selfishness, wars, natural disasters, and diseases that are causing widespread suffering throughout our world and to bring a kind mind (bodhicitta), happiness, and well-being to every land. Based on Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings on dependent origination, Khenpo Sherab Sangpo encourages his students see the interconnected nature of our world and to make a heartfelt commitment to take action to benefit all living beings—including human beings, animals, and the environment—to create a more peaceful world together. A PDF of Khenpo Sherab Sangpo's prayer can be found on our website:  https://www.bodhicittasangha.org/world-peace-prayer/

The full text of this podcast can be found in the transcript of this edition or at the following link:https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/2024/03/its-always-possible-to-embody-truth.htmlPlease feel to post any comments you have about this episode there.The Cambridge Unitarian Church's Sunday Service of Mindful Meditation can be found at this link:https://www.cambridgeunitarian.org/morning-service/ Music, "New Heaven", written by Andrew J. Brown and played by Chris Ingham (piano), Paul Higgs (trumpet), Russ Morgan (drums) and Andrew J. Brown (double bass) Thanks for listening. Just to note that all the texts of these podcasts are available on my blog. You'll also find there a brief biography, info about my career as a musician, & some photography. Feel free to drop by & say hello. Email: caute.brown[at]gmail.com

The full text of this podcast can be found in the transcript of this edition or at the following link:https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/2024/02/what-apprenticeship-in-tailoring-might.htmlPlease feel to post any comments you have about this episode there.The Cambridge Unitarian Church's Sunday Service of Mindful Meditation can be found at this link:https://www.cambridgeunitarian.org/morning-service/ Music, "New Heaven", written by Andrew J. Brown and played by Chris Ingham (piano), Paul Higgs (trumpet), Russ Morgan (drums) and Andrew J. Brown (double bass) Thanks for listening. Just to note that all the texts of these podcasts are available on my blog. You'll also find there a brief biography, info about my career as a musician, & some photography. Feel free to drop by & say hello. Email: caute.brown[at]gmail.com

In this dharma talk on day 3 of Rohatsu 2023 Sesshin Sensei Kaz covers mindfulness, transformation, and interconnectedness and Shakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment, Mahayana Buddhism's rise, and Shunyata. He emphasizes continuous […]

Bob Thurman, known in the academic circles as Professor Robert A.F. Thurman, is a talented popularizer of the Buddha's teachings and the first Westerner Tibetan Buddhist monk ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.A charismatic speaker and author of many books on Tibet, Buddhism, art, politics and culture, Bob was named by The New York Times the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism, and was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 2020, for his help in recovering India's ancient Buddhist heritage. Time Magazine chose him as one of the 25 most influential Americans in 1997, describing him as a “larger than life scholar-activist destined to convey the Dharma, the precious teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, from Asia to America.”Bob served as the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University for 30 years, until 2020. A very popular professor, students always felt his classes were “life-changing”. Bob is the founder and active president of Tibet House US, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan culture, and of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, a non-profit affiliated with the Center for Buddhist Studies at Columbia University and dedicated to the publication of translations of important artistic and scientific Tibetan treatises.His own search for enlightenment began while he was a university student at Harvard. After an accident in which he lost the use of an eye, Bob left school on a spiritual quest throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He found his way to India, where he first saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1962. After learning Tibetan and studying Buddhism, Bob became a Tibetan Buddhist monk and the first Westerner to be ordained by the Dalai Lama. Some years later, however, he offered up his robes when he realized he could be more effective in the American equivalent of a monastery: the university, returning to Harvard to finish his PhD.As part of his long-term commitment to the Tibetan cause, at the request of H.H. the Dalai Lama, Bob co-founded Tibet House US in 1987 with Tenzin Tethong, Richard Gere, and Philip Glass, a nonprofit organization based in New York City and dedicated to the preservation and renaissance of Tibetan culture.Inspired by his longtime good friend the Dalai Lama, Bob takes us along with him into an expanded vision of the world through the prism of Tibetan Buddhism. He shares with us the sense of refuge in the Dharma, which unfailingly helps us clear away the shrouds of fear and confusion, sustains us with the cheerfulness of an enriched present, and opens a door to a path of realistic hope for a peaceful, kind, and wise future. Learn more:https://bobthurman.com/https://menla.org/https://thus.org/https://wisdomexperience.org/treasury-buddhist-sciences/

This is a reading of chapter 1 of Great Master Keizan's 'Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of the Light'. It is the Rev. Hubert Nearman translation. The Denkoroku records the stories of the masters in our lineage starting with Shakyamuni Buddha and going through the generations up to Koun Ejo who was Great Master Dogen's disciple and grand master to Keizan. The stories highlight the thread of faith, practice, and enlightenment that has woven its way down through the ages to this very day. YouTube: N/ATwitter/X: @shastaabbey 

Hurvitz–Lotus Sutra–part 31. Apparition of the Jeweled Stupa. The Buddha of the 3000 Realms is revealed as the manifestation of the Seven Jeweled Stupa to teach, hold, recite, copy, and cause others to hold as our Vow to Shakyamuni Buddha. E-books - “Buddhism Reference Volume 2” - available at  Threefoldlotus.com/home/Ebooks.htm

Hurvitz–Lotus Sutra–part 27. Teachers of the Dharma. The expectation of experience for Lotus Sutra Bodhisattvas and all sentient beings into the future after Shakyamuni Buddha's extinction. E-books - “Buddhism Reference Volume 2” - available at  Threefoldlotus.com/home/Ebooks.htm

The full text of this podcast can be found in the transcript of this edition or at the following link:https://andrewjbrown.blogspot.com/2023/11/on-freeing-ourselves-from-being-held.htmlPlease feel to post any comments you have about this episode there.The Cambridge Unitarian Church's Sunday Service of Mindful Meditation can be found at this link:https://www.cambridgeunitarian.org/morning-service/ Music, "New Heaven", written by Andrew J. Brown and played by Chris Ingham (piano), Paul Higgs (trumpet), Russ Morgan (drums) and Andrew J. Brown (double bass) Thanks for listening. Just to note that all the texts of these podcasts are available on my blog. You'll also find there a brief biography, info about my career as a musician, & some photography. Feel free to drop by & say hello. Email: caute.brown[at]gmail.com

BDK – Lotus Sutra – part 35. Bodhisattvas Emerging from the Earth. The prediction of Bodhisattvas prepared for propagation in the latter age after the extinction of Shakyamuni Buddha. E-books - “Buddhism Reference” - available at  Threefoldlotus.com/home/Ebooks.htm

BDK – Lotus Sutra – part 32. Ease in Practice. A reality check for those commiting to the Bodhisattva practice in the age after the extinction of Shakyamuni Buddha. E-books - “Buddhism Reference” - available at  Threefoldlotus.com/home/Ebooks.htm

“Non-Buddhist Terms”, are shoe-horned rhetoric from cultural traditions and religions that destroy the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. These erroneous terms must be removed from Buddhist scholarship. E-books available on threefoldlotus.com http://threefoldlotus.com/home/ebooks.htm

In the last several series of the UnMind podcast, we have been exploring some ways of intentionally bringing Zen practice to bear on various situations and circumstances of daily life in America. By extension these might apply anywhere on the globe today, where revolutionary changes in technology and exploding population growth have taken hold. Again, as Matsuoka Roshi would often say, “Civilization conquers us.” In navigating the deeper waters of Buddhism, this world — including so-called “civilization” — is sometimes referred to as the “Ocean of Samsara.” Samsara is likewise referred to as the “Saha world of Patience,” in that it tries our patience — unrelentingly, and on a daily basis. Just when things seem to be going swimmingly, “Someone is always coming along to take the joy out of life,” as Grandma Nelly would often say. “Saha” is defined on Wikipedia as: It is the place where both good and evil manifests and where beings must exercise patience and endurance (kṣānti). Buddha likened his Dharma teachings to a raft, one that we ride — read: “cling to for dear life!” — sailing across the ocean of Samsara to the “other shore,” Nirvana. There are various turning points in the process of navigating the roiling waters — some positive, some negative — as with everything else in life. Whether they appear as positive or negative is largely a matter of interpretation, of course. The famous Ox-Herding Pictures illustrate various turning points on the Path, generalized to fit most anyone's journey into what I call “The Original Frontier,” the title of my first book on Zen. By the original frontier I mean to point to the frontier of mind, itself. This is the frontier that Shakyamuni Buddha discovered, and entered, some 2500 years ago. It beckons to us still, today. Perhaps the first turning-point in the process of spiritual awakening precedes discovering the hoof-prints of the ox, the first of the ten illustrations. These marks are sometimes interpreted as indicating one's first inkling of the existence of the teaching, or buddha-dharma. The hoofprints resemble brush strokes, the obvious analogy being to the written record, which consisted of scrolls of painted calligraphy in ink in those times. Translation into today's printed book format comprises the medium by which most of us first stumble across buddha-dharma. However, something else — a prior turning-point— has to precede this event. In order to begin the quest for enlightenment, one has to feel that something is missing in their life. Otherwise, why would you even be looking? Master Dogen touches on this in his tract called Genjokoan (“actualizing the fundamental point”): When you first seek dharma you imagine that you are far away from its environsBut dharma is already correctly transmitted you are immediately your original self We are blithely skipping along with our everyday life, fat and happy, when one day it occurs to us: Is that all there is? “What's it all about, Alfie?” However normal our circumstances may seem at the time, and however rich and full our life may appear, there seems to be something that is not quite right, something missing. Matsuoka Roshi emphasized this as the source of our anxiety, uncertainty, and the very unsatisfactoriness of Buddhism's definition of dukkha, or suffering. Everyone feels this dis-ease, and some eventually come to Zen, to find what is missing. Other turning points in life can precipitate a crisis of confidence, one which drives us to Zen in the first place, or makes us question whether Zen is really right for us. Or whether it works at all, for anyone. Let's take a brief look at a few of the more obvious turning-points that come up with some frequency in life. These are FAQs brought up in private interview (J. dokusan) or practice discussion, from time to time. Perhaps you may see yourself in one of these pictures. Changing JobsOne of the most stressful turning-points that many people face today, and with ever-increasing frequency, is the need to change jobs. This may come about through a personal decision, or one made by one's employer. Or one's partner may receive an offer they cannot refuse, but it requires moving to another part of the world. In any case, the resultant demand for engaging in a job search, interviewing, and starting the new job, can be fraught and disruptive. Some worry that they can not afford to continue their Zen practice during the transition, either from considerations of availability of time, or from a financial perspective, or both, as a supporting member of the Zen community. These judgments may not be true, or fully thought through, but the pressure feels very real at the time. Zen practice — at home, or in a community — should not really be considered as necessitating an expense of either time or money, certainly not an expensive proposition. Zen is about the middle way between extremes, all about finding and maintaining balance in all things. In this sense, Zen is free. And portable. When going through a job change, or any other stressful turning-point, you may need Zen meditation more than ever. It will help you to make the right choices and decisions, if you allow it. When you get back on your feet, and find yourself in a more stable position — financially and otherwise — there will be plenty of time and wherewithal to support your sangha, and your teacher. You really cannot afford not to continue practicing Zen, and even more so when you are in dire straits. “Zen will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no Zen.” (With apologies to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.) DivorceDivorce, along with its true antecedents — unrequited love, unfaithfulness, or irreconcilable differences — is an even bigger bugaboo in today's society than losing your job. Though you might not think so, based on the treatment of divorce in pop media. It is often the theme of comedy; the butt of alimony jokes; a target of shadenfreude; and, in some recently publicized cases, even celebrated — with ceremonies akin to a wedding. Divorce often accompanies, or triggers, a change in employment and residential status as well. They say “bad things come in threes.” It is tempting to suggest that, if you are against divorce, just don't get married in the first place. This may sound less crass, and may make more sense, in the context of the life of monastics. But we do not pretend to be Zen monks or nuns. They surely have their critical turning-points as well. Householders may just have a lot more of them on a daily basis, especially given the complex society of today. I have been divorced once in my short life, and it is no fun. But the situation that led to the divorce was no bed of roses, either. Whatever the circumstances, divorce is definitely a turning-point. Whether it is “for better or worse” (a resonance on the wedding vows), it is, again, your call. If both sides are better off afterwards — as Buddha is said to have said about a “just war” — it may be considered a just divorce. Of course, there are always more than two sides to the dispute. Children often end up as pawns in the game, suffering even more short-term pain and long-term consequences than their parents do. Zen meditation is not a panacea, but can help to adjust to the new reality, even in these dire straits. Empty NestersSpeaking of parenting, there comes a time-of-life phase called “empty-nester,” at which point the rugrats are finally, and permanently (or so we hope) kicked out of the nest. Sometimes divorce follows on the heels of this exodus, and not coincidentally. The parents may keep the failed marriage together long past its shelf life, “for the sake of the children.” They may have decided to have children to “save the marriage” in the first place. In the context of professional market research, based on sociology, I suppose, there are various such “time-of-life” categories, tracing the normal flow of maturation, through biological and culturally-determined changes, from womb to tomb. Like most other models from the soft sciences, these are employed mainly to structure the marketing of goods and services. In the next episode of UnMind we will continue looking at turning points in our life, and how our practice of Zen meditation may help ease the transitions, and mitigate the sense of loss, as we move through the inevitable phases of “time-of-life.” As we witness the evolution of our own life, the evidence of the centrality of the teachings of Buddhism and Zen becomes ever more apparent, and not at all as pessimistic as they may have first appeared to us. The inevitability of aging, sickness and death, interpreted as negative developments in life, is accompanied by an increasing appreciation of their meaning and significance, and the importance of what we do with the opportunity. The good fortune of having been exposed to the Dharma and thereby being enabled to practice Zen and zazen in the context of the passing of time, is the real treasure of the Three Treasures. Please continue in your pursuit of Zen, no matter what stage of life you may be in.

Continuing with our exploration of how to actualize a thoroughgoing Zen practice in the midst of life in the 21stCentury, we will take a closer look at one of the situations in which many of us find ourselves: the daily commute. Which would have been the furthest thing from the mind of Shakyamuni Buddha, or his descendants in India, China, and Japan — though the denizens of those areas of the globe are now fully immersed in the consequences of overpopulation and modern transportation, just as we are in America. This segment of UnMind was originally part of an early effort to launch a podcast called Drive-Time Zen, designed for drive-time on the expressway during the daily commute, or while traveling on highways and byways. Commuting to and from work too often results in stressful times spent in gridlock, especially in major metro areas such as Atlanta. Even driving to your favorite vacation spot can become an arduous chore. This phenomenon is a uniquely modern-day manifestation of suffering, not shared by the Founder and Ancestors of Zen. But it also presents a learning moment, an opportunity to remember and embrace the compassionate teachings of Buddhism. Zen's unique style of meditation, zazen, is central to success in this effort. Of course, driving in today's high-speed conditions should not be considered an opportunity for meditation for obvious reasons, as intense meditation can alter perception. Altering perception at 60 or 80 miles per hour is not necessarily a good idea. But the cardinal aspects of Zen's meditation — upright posture; deep, abdominal breathing; and above all, exercising your full, undivided attention — can be helpful while in the driver's seat. The conflation of stress, choice, and Zen outlines the three dimensions of the situation: the emotions that we feel; the source, and potential relief, of the stress; and the attitudes from Zen we bring to bear on the particular case of the commute. I ask you to consider a major contributor to the frustration and stress level we frequently feel while on the commute: we feel we have no choice in the matter. From what we might call the liberated viewpoint of Zen — liberated from convention — the reality is that, ultimately, we indeed have no determinative choice in certain matters, such as aging, sickness, and dying. But that we have no choice concerning more trivial daily affairs — such as submitting to the commute — is largely a delusion. In all such instances, the truth is that we do have other choices. The real reason we do not entertain the possibility of doing something different, is our fear of the consequences, known or unintended, that may follow from our actions. This goes to the concept of karma, from a root Sanskrit word kr, meaning “to do or make”; in other words, to take action. If we take action, any kind of action, karmic consequences are sure to follow. The theory is a bit like the more familiar formulation, “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction” from Newton's Laws of Motion. However, there is not necessarily anything equal, nor exactly opposite, about the consequences that follow from actions we take in daily life. This is what makes the theory of karma so slippery. It is not a simplistic concept of linear cause and effect. Other consequences in life — such as having a good marriage, a good job, an easy commute to work, and so on — are certainly better than the alternative, and may be conducive to spiritual awakening, as well. But they are not central to our basic happiness. We consider such attributes of life as peripheral, if not mere circumstance, though the daily grind can come to dominate our lives. But for those who follow the Zen way, the issue of awakening to our innate buddha-nature is paramount, a central concern, even in the midst of busy modern life. And the fact that most of us do not experience this kind of spiritual insight is regarded as the true source of our suffering and misery. Traffic congestion only exacerbates it. Thus, the complex of circumstances that finds you driving in traffic while listening to my podcast on your daily commute, is just that: circumstantial. It can not be central to your happiness, though you may blame your frustration and distress on the circumstances. Naturally, when we are unhappy, or angry, we look to hold something, or someone — other than ourselves — accountable. We can imagine that if only we did not have to drive to work every day, we would be happy. We complain that the powers-that-be should do something to fix this bumper-to-bumper mess. Or if only our company — the management, our boss — would simply allow us to use flex-time, or work from home to avoid the commute, then we would be happy. But when we take an unvarnished look in the rearview mirror, on the many experiences of our lifetime, we will likely see that, indeed, the circumstances of our life have constantly changed, and frequently. Such stabilizing aspects of life as our career; place of employment; and friends and family connections; have often changed quite radically. And yet, we may not have been any happier for it, once we had settled into our new set of circumstances. Once the change becomes our “new normal,” we have the time to find other reasons to be dissatisfied, within the circumstances of our new situation. If we are honest with ourselves, over time we come to see this disparity clearly, and its insidious effects. Things that we feel are “wrong” with daily life are easy to point out. But when those things change, we are all too ready, even eager, to put something else in their place. Or the fact that something changed that we did not want to change, becomes the updated version of what is wrong with the world. If not with the world, then what is wrong in my little world, that keeps me from being happy. And thus prevents my enjoying a completely wholesome lifestyle, and finding a fulfilling existence. As a generic placeholder, we tend to relate all of these issues to income; or primarily, our relative lack of income. If only we won the lottery. If only we had inherited wealth. If only we somehow got lucky and struck it rich. Then, we could be happy. Because then, we wouldn't have to commute to work. We wouldn't have to do anything that we didn't really want to do. While there is some truth to this, and it is understandable that everyone is looking to get their “go-to-hell-money,” as it is called in business circles, retiring to a lifetime of ease, luxury, travel, godawful golfing; the ideal circumstances of the “lifestyles of the rich and famous” that many admire and aspire to. We would have achieved what is generally consider “doing well,” or “success.” As a relevant aside, Taoism asks, with its usual, incisive subtlety: “Which is more destructive: success or failure?” When we look at the actual lifestyles of the rich and famous, we begin to see a few cracks in the façade. This is not simply schadenfreude, or class envy. But from a Zen perspective, once we have all the money we need, other aggravations will dependably insert themselves into the niche formerly occupied by our pressing need to pay the bills. All the circumstances of life, including driving in traffic congestion on the expressway — when subsumed into the larger context of fundamental causes and conditions of existence — can be seen as rather trivial, not so bad after all. If we find ourselves stuck in a traffic jam, whether commuting to and from work or not, this is, for the present moment, our koan. A koan is an illogical riddle — a conundrum — one that we are facing in the present moment, and attempting to penetrate the deeper meaning of it. In fact, no one actually needs to commute to work, in any absolute sense. No one needs to be driving in the ever-increasing traffic nightmare on our expressways. But not many people are willing to face the consequences of refusing to do so. Without going into all of the other obvious options that you may have in your life (you know them better than anyone else), just consider the consequences. What would be the worst-case scenario, if you decided, tomorrow, that you were not going to do this anymore? Or what if you decided — right now — to quit? Pull off at the next exit, and go back home, text the boss or “call in well”? Tell your boss that you will not be coming in today, because you no longer need to. You are okay now. You have awakened from the nightmare. And then, consider the range of consequences to follow. It would not be the end of the world. It might be the end of your world, as you know it now. But it would not be the end of the world. The main point here is that when you tell yourself that you have no choice, you are lying to yourself. Zen recognizes that we always have a choice. We have the choice to do the right thing in the circumstance; we have the choice to do the wrong thing in the circumstance; and we have the choice to do what may turn out to be neither right nor wrong, but simply a necessary change. Which of necessity entails taking a risk. It should offer some comfort, or relief, to realize, and accept, that you are caught in this present, unpleasant circumstance of the traffic jam because of choices you have made, and choices that you continue to make. What you may not realize is that you are absolutely free to do something completely different. That is, as long as you are willing to watch all those dominoes fall. If you are able to let go of all of the attachments that you have to the things that would change, in ways intended and unintended, owing to your change of choice, then you can do whatever you damn well please, as my dad often said of my mother. Recalling Johnny Paycheck's hit, “Take this job and shove it!” For the moment, however, you can postpone this fundamental decision, the liberating but terrifying recognition of the reality of choice, in the face of stress. There is no hurry. This decision will still be waiting there for you, when you return to it. As my grandma would say, “Don't worry about finishing that work; it will still be there when you come back to it.” You can rest comfortably in your car for now. So please breathe deeply, sit up straight, and pay full attention. Some of the benefits of meditative practice can hitchhike along with you, driving to and from work or whatever other destinations to which the road takes you. Hopefully, this discussion will have given you a broader context in which you can clearly see that this consequence — this koan in which you are sitting behind the wheel — is really of your own making, part and parcel of your life. It is a temporary consequence of a cascade of decisions you and others have made. It is not an accident. When you have an opportunity, download the next UnMind, tune in next time. It is a choice you are making. Meanwhile, gassho, name of the Buddhist bow in Japanese. I am bowing to you, wishing you the best. May you be well, on or off the road.

Nichiren advises us on elements of debate useful for teaching those unaware of the ultimate teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. Karma versus Environment http://threefoldlotus.com/study/Self-Environment-min2.pdf

All 69,384 characters of the Lotus Sutra represent the entire teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. All these teachings are within the single characters of Myo and Kyo, and expressed through Ho, Ren and Ge. Nichiren on Karma http://threefoldlotus.com/home/ebooks.htm

Over 26 centuries and myriad cultures, countries, and regions, the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha's lifetime have been variously learned and taken as cultural traditions of each separate group of people in their own time and capacity to record and to practice. Ultimately however, there is only One Buddhism in the midst of these many Traditions. Nichiren on Karma http://threefoldlotus.com/home/ebooks.htm

    Happy Wesak! Wesak is the national Buddhist celebration of Shakyamuni Buddha's Birth, Enlightenment, and Death. Rev. Master Meian Elbert, Abbess of Shasta Abbey, gives some teaching about how as Buddhists it is important to consider all aspects of 'life' as this includes death. Some people might consider it strange that Buddhists would celebrate the death of an honored teacher, but as Rev. Master Meian reminds us, you can not have life without death. And through our practice we can find that place which 'does not die'; as an old zen master once said, "not death because not life".Twitter: @shastaabbeyYouTube: https://youtu.be/Yv3DovMWIn4  

This episode we talk about the first recorded instance of Buddhism--or at least the worship of the Buddha--in Japan, and we look at some of the politics and issues surrounding its adoption, as well as some of the problems in the story we have from the Chronicles.  We also look at what legend says happened to the oldest Buddhist image and where you can find it, today.  Hint: It is in a place that once hosted the Winter Olympics! For more check out our podcast website:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-85 Rough Transcript:   Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 85: The Buddha Comes to Japan. Last couple episodes we've talked about Buddhism.  We talked about its origins in the Indian subcontinent, with the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, aka Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, and how those teachings spread out from India to Gandhara, and then followed the trade routes across the harsh deserts of the Tarim Basin, through the Gansu corridor, and into the Yellow and Yangzi River Valleys.  From there the teachings made it all the way to the Korean peninsula, and to the country of Baekje, Yamato's chief ally on the peninsula. This episode we'll look at how Buddhism came to the archipelago and its initial reception there.  For some of this we may need to span several reigns, as we'll be looking at events from early to late 6th century.  This is also about more than just religion, and so we may need to dive back into some of the politics we've covered up to this point as well.  Hopefully we can bring it all together in the end, but if it is a bit of a bumpy ride, just hang with me for a bit. So let's start with the official account in the Nihon Shoki, which we already mentioned two episodes ago: the first mention of Buddhism in the Chronicles.  The year was 552, or the 13th year in the reign of Ame Kunioshi, aka Kimmei Tennou.  That winter, during the 10th month—which was probably closer to December or January on a modern calendar—King Seongmyeong of Baekje had a special gift for his counterpart, the sovereign of Yamato.  By this time there are numerous accounts of gifts to Yamato, generally in conjunction with the Baekje-Yamato alliance and Baekje's requests for military support in their endeavors on the peninsula, generally framed in the Yamato sources as centering on the situation of the country of Nimna. In this case, the gift was a gilt-bronze image of Shakyamuni Buddha, several flags and umbrellas, and a number of volumes of Buddhist sutras.  King Seongmyeong sent a memorial explaining his intent:  “This doctrine” (aka Buddhism) “is amongst all doctrines the most excellent.  But it is hard to explain, and hard to comprehend.  Even the Duke of Zhou and Confucius had not attained to a knowledge of it.  This doctrine can create religious merit and retribution with appreciation of the highest wisdom.  Imagine a man in possession of treasures to his heart's content, so that he might satisfy all his wishes in proportion as he used them.  Thus it is with the treasure of this wonderful doctrine.  Every prayer is fulfilled and naught is wanting.  Moreover, from distant India it has extended hither to the three Han, where there are none who do not receive it with reverence as it is preached to them. “Thy servant, therefore, Myeong, King of Baekje, has humbly dispatched his retainer, Nuri Sacchi, to transmit it to the Imperial Country, and to diffuse it abroad throughout the home provinces, so as to fulfil the recorded saying of Buddha: ‘My law shall spread to the East.' “ Upon receiving all of these things and hearing the memorial, we are told that the sovereign, Ame Kunioshi, literally leapt for joy.  He thanked the envoys, but then put the question to his ministers as to how they should proceed.  Soga no Iname no Sukune, holding the position of Oho-omi, recommended that they should worship the statue of the Buddha.  After all, if all of the “Western Frontier lands” were worshipping it, then should Yamato really be left out? On the other side of the argument were Mononobe no Okoshi as well as Nakatomi no Kamako.  They argued against stopping the traditional worship of the 180 kami of Heaven and Earth and replacing it with worship of some foreign religion. With this split decision, Ame Kunioshi decided to have Soga no Iname experiment, first.  He told him to go ahead and worship the image and see what happens. And so Soga set it up at his house in Oharida, purified it, and, per Buddhist tradition, retired from the world.  He had another house, in nearby Mukuhara, purified and made into a temple.  Here he began to worship the Buddha. Around that same time, there was a pestilence—a disease—that was in the land.  People were getting sick and some were dying.  This was likely not unprecedented.  Healthcare was not exactly up to our modern standards, and while many good things traveled the trade routes, infection and disease likely used them as pathways as well.  So diseases would pop up, on occasion.  In this instance, though, Mononobe no Okoshi and Nakatomi no Kamako seized on it as their opportunity.  They went to Ame Kunioshi and they blamed Soga no Iname and his worship of the Buddha for the plague. Accordingly, the court removed the statue of the Buddha and tossed it into the canal at Naniwa, and then they burned down Soga no Iname's temple—which, as you may recall, was basically his house.  As soon as they did that, though, Ame Kunioshi's own Great Hall burst into flames, seemingly out of nowhere, as it was otherwise a clear day. Little more is said about these events, but that summer there were reports from Kawachi of Buddhist chants booming out of the sea of Chinu near the area of Idzumi.  Unate no Atahe was sent to investigate and found an entire log of camphorwood that was quote-unquote “Shining Brightly”.  So he gave it to the court, where we are told they used it to have two Buddha images made, which later were installed in a temple in Yoshino; presumably at a much later date. And then the Chronicles go quiet for the next couple decades, at least on the subject of Buddhism, but this is the first official account of it coming over, and there is quite a bit to unpack.  For one thing, the memorials and speeches once again seem like something that the Chroniclers added because it fit with their understanding of the narrative, including their insistence that Yamato was a fully fledged imperial state, and there is some fairly good evidence that King Seongmyeong's memorial is clearly anachronistic.  But there are a few other things, and conflicting records on things such as dates and similar. So first off, let's acknowledge that there are too many things in the main narrative in the Chronicles that are just questionable, such as the sovereign “leaping with joy” at the chance to hear about Buddhism, and the fact that King Seongmyeong's memorial apparently quotes a part of the sutra of the Sovereign Kings of Golden Light, known in Japanese as the Konkoumyou-saishou-ou-kyou, but that translation wasn't done until 703, during the Tang dynasty, by the monk Yijing in the city of Chang'an.  While it would have been known to knowledgable monks like Doji, who may have been helping put the narrative together in 720, it is unlikely that it was in use during the 6th century, when the memorial is said to have been written. In addition, there is question about the date that all of this supposedly happened.  The Nihon Shoki has this event taking place in 552, well into the reign of Ame Kunioshi.  However, there are at least two 8th century sources, roughly contemporary with the writing of the Nihon Shoki, the Gangoji Garan Engi and the Jouguuki, and both of these put the date at 538, a good fourteen years earlier, and in the era of Ame Kunioshi's predecessor, Takewo Hiro Kunioshi, aka Senka Tenno.  The first of these, the Gangoji Garan Engi, is a record of the founding of the first permanent temple in Japan, Gangoji, aka Hokoji or, informally, Asukadera, which was founded by Soga no Iname's heir, Soga no Umako.  More on the temple itself, later, but for now we want to focus on the historical aspects of this account, which mostly corroborate the story, talking about Soga no Iname's role in receiving the image and enshrining it, as well as the early conflict between the Soga clan and their rivals.  The other source, the Joguki, focuses on the life of Shotoku Taishi, aka Prince Umayado, who will become a major subject of our narrative at the end of the 6th and early 7th centuries.  Not only is he considered the father of Japanese Buddhism, but he had strong connections to the Soga family.  Today, most scholars accept the 538 date over the 552 date when talking about Buddhism's initial arrival into the islands   If the Chroniclers did move the event from 538 to 552, one has to wonder why.  This isn't a simple matter of being off by 60 years, and thus attributable to a mistake in the calendrical sexagenary zodiac cycle of stems and branches, so there must have been something else.  One suggestion is that the date conflicted with the chronology that had already been set for the sovereigns.  538 is during the reign of Takewo no Ohokimi, aka Senka Tenno, but what if succession was not quite as cut and dried as all that?  What if Ame Kunioshi no Ohokimi had his own court and was in some way ruling at the same time as his half-brothers, Magari no Ohine and Takewo no Ohokimi? They were from different mothers, and thus different factions at court.  Ame Kunioshi was young, so it was possible that there were rival lineages attempting to rule, or even some kind of co-ruler deal hearkening back to more ancient precedent.  Some even theorize that Magari no Ohine and Takewo Hiro Kunioshi were simply fictional inserts to help span the period between Wohodo and Ame Kunioshi. Whatever the reason, this theory suggests that it would not have happened in the 13th year of Ame Kunioshi's reign, but that his reign started in 526, rather than 540.  An intriguing hypothesis, but one that begs the question of whether everything in the reign would then need to be shifted to account for that.  Given that there are a few attributable events noted that fit with outside sources as well, that doesn't seem quite as plausible without some very conscious efforts to change the timeline. Another thought is that the compilers weren't sure exactly when this event happened, but given Ame Kunioshi's reputation and long reign, they chose his reign to place it in because it just fit.  I suspect that this happened more than once, with people more likely attributing past events to well-remembered sovereigns.  If this is the case, then when searching for a date they may have just chosen one that seemed auspicious.  In this case, 552 CE was, in some reckonings, an important year in Buddhist history, as there were those who say it as the beginning of the age of “mappou”, the “End of the Law” or perhaps the “Latter days of the Law”. This definitely is an intriguing theory, and resonates strongly.  For most of Japanese history, the idea that we are in this period of “mappo” has had a strong influence, and to a certain extent it is kind of an apocalyptic view of things.  The idea of mappo is that while the Buddha was alive, his teachings were fresh and available to all living things.  However, after his death, his teachings had to be remembered and passed on.  Even with the advent of writing, the meaning and understanding of his teachings, and thus an understanding of dharma, would also atrophy.  Different translations, changes in meaning, and just bits and pieces lost to time would mean that for the first 500 to 1,000 years, the Buddha's disciples would keep things well and the meaning would be protected, but in the next 500 to 1,000 years things would decline, but still be pretty close to the truth.  Then – and this is when the period of “mappo” starts - things would really start to decline, until finally, about 5,000 to 10,000 years later—or about 1,000 to 12,000 years after the time of the historical Buddha—things would break down, factions would be fighting one another, and eventually everyone would have forgotten the dharma entirely.  It was only then that there would come a new Buddha, Miroku or Maitreya, who would once again teach about the dharma and how to escape suffering, and the whole cycle would start again. The year 552 would have coincided, according to some estimates, with 1,000 years since the time of Siddhartha Gautama, and so it would have had particular significance to the people of that time, particularly if you counted each of the first two Ages as 500 years each, meaning that the word of the Buddha, that his teachings would spread to the East, would have been completed just as we entered the latter days of the Law. Regardless of the time—and, as I said earlier, 538 is the more accepted date—the general events described – the statue, the offer of Soga to experiment, and the resulting events - are usually agreed to, although even here we must pause, slightly and ask a few questions. First off, was this truly the first time that Buddhism had ever shown up in Japan?  The answer to that is probably not.  There had been many waves of immigrants that had come over to Japan from the peninsula, and even if only a small handful of them had adopted the new religion before coming over it is likely that there were pockets of worshippers.  Later, we will see that there are people in Japan who are said to have had prior experience as a monk, or who had their own Buddhist images.  These images were probably used by people in their homes—there is no evidence of any particular temples that had been built, privately or otherwise, and so there is no evidence that we have any active monks or nuns in the archipelago, but who knows what was going on in communities outside of the elite core?  There were plenty of things that were never commented on if it wasn't directly relevant to the court. Furthermore, with all of the envoys that had been to Baekje, surely some of them had experience with Buddhism.  And then there were the envoys *from* Baekje, who no doubt brought Buddhist practices with them.  So there was likely some kind of familiarity with the religion's existence, even if it wasn't necessarily fully understood. The second point that many people bring up is the role of the sovereign, Ame Kunioshi, or whomever was in charge at the time that the first image came over.  While the Nihon Shoki attempts to portray a strong central government with the sovereign at its head, we've already seen how different households had arisen and taken some measure of power for themselves.  At the end of the 5th and into the early 6th century, the Ohotomo and Mononobe houses were preeminent, with Ohotomo Kanamura taking on actions such as negotiating dealings with the continent and even manuevering around the Crown Prince.  The Mononobe wielded considerable authority through their military resources, and now, the Soga appeared to ascendant.  It is quite possible that the idea of the sovereign giving any sort of permission or order to worship Buddhism is simply a political fig leaf added by the Chroniclers.  The Soga may have been much more independent in their views and dealings.  To better understand this, let's take a look at the uji family system and the Soga family in particular. Now the Nihon Shoki paints a picture as though these noble uji families were organic, and simply part of the landscape, descending from the kami in the legendary age, with lineages leading down to the present day, although there is some acknowledgment that the earliest ancestors did not necessarily use the family names until a later date.  For much of Japanese history, the concept that these family, or uji, were one of the core building blocks of ancient Japanese political and cultural spheres is taken as a matter of course.  However, in more modern studies, this view has been questioned, and now the prevailing view is that these families are somewhat different.  In fact, the uji are likely just as much an artificial construct as the corporate -Be family labor groups. According to this theory, early on people were associated with local groups and places.  Outside of the immediate family, groups were likely held together by their regional ties as much as anything else.  Names appear to be locatives, with ancient titles indicating the -hiko or -hime of this or that area. Some time in the 5th century, Yamato—and possibly elsewhere in the peninsula—began to adopt the concept of -Be corporate groups from Baekje.  We talked about this back in Episode 63, using the Hata as a prime example of how these groups were brought together.  More importantly, though, was that each of these -Be groups reported to someone in the court, sometimes with a different surname.  These were the uji, created along with the -Be to help administer the labor and work of running the state.  They were essentially arms of the state itself, in many ways.  The kabane system of titles emphasizes this, with different families having different ranks depending on what they did, whether locally, regionally, or at the central court.  Some of these titles, like -Omi and -Kimi, were likely once actual jobs, but eventually it came to represent something more akin to a social ranking. There have been some questions and emails asking for a bit more in depth on this, and I'd really like to, but I'm afraid that would be too much for now.  At the moment I want to focus more on the uji, particularly on those at the top - the uji with the kabane of either Omi or Muraji, as these are the ones most likely to be helping to directly run the government.  They even had their own geographical areas within the Nara basin, and elsewhere, that were uji strongholds.  The Hata had areas near modern Kyoto, the Mononobe clearly had claims to land around Isonokami, in modern Tenri, and the Soga clan had their holdings in the area of modern Asuka and Kashihara city.  At the very least, that is where Soga no Iname's house was—in Mukuhara and Oharida, both located in the modern area of Asuka, which will become important in the future. It wasn't just the landholdings that were important, though.  Each uji had some part to play in the functioning of the government.  In many cases it was the production or control of a particular service, such as the Hata and silk weaving, or the Mononobe and their affinity with all things military.  For the Soga, they appear to have had a rather interesting portfolio. Traditionally, the Soga family is said to trace its lineage back to Takechi no Sukune, the first Oho-omi back in the time of Okinaga no Tarashi Hime and Homuda Wake no Ohokimi—see episode 46 for more on him.  That lineage is likely fabricated, however, and the earliest actual evidence for the family may be from the Kogoshui, where we are told that Soga no Machi was put in charge of the Three Treasuries.  These were the Imikura, or sacred treasury; the Uchikura, or royal household treasury; and the Ohokura, the government treasury.  This seems like quite the position of responsibility, and it would fit with some of what we see later as the Soga are involved in helping set up Miyake, the various royal storehouses across the land that acted as Yamato court administrative centers for the purposes of collecting goods and funneling them to the court, as well as keeping an eye on the local regions.  Although here I feel I would be remiss if I didn't also note that the “Three Treasuries”, or “Sanzou” is one way to translate the Tripitaka, and given the Soga's role, I don't think I can entirely ignore that point. So the Soga family had experience with administration, and specifically they were dealing with a variety of different goods produced in different regions.  If that is the case, then their authority did not necessarily derive from the standard uji-be constructed familial connections, but rather they were deriving positional authority from the central government itself.  This may seem like common sense to us, but in the world of ancient Yamato, where family connections were everything, this may have been something new and innovative—and very in keeping with various continental models of administration.  It is quite likely that the Soga were dealing with some of the latest innovations in government and political authority, which would also have opened them up to the possibility of new ideas. In addition, their position meant they likely had wide-ranging contacts across the archipelago and even onto the peninsula.  The Soga themselves have connections to the peninsula in the names of some of their members, such as Soga no Karako, where “Karako” can be translated as a “Son of Kara” or a “Son of Gaya”, possibly referring to their origins, and Soga no Kouma, where “Kouma” is a general term for Goguryeo, and so quite possibly indicates a connection with them as well.  On top of that, there is a now-out-of-favor theory that once suggested that Soga no Machi might be the same as Moku Machi, an important Baekje official in the late 5th century.  While that has been largely discredited, the fact that “Machi” is possibly of Baekje origin cannot be entirely overlooked. Then there are a series of notes in the Nihon Shoki, particularly surrounding the area of Shirai, in the land of Kibi.  These start in 553, just one year after Soga no Iname's failed attempt to launch a Buddhist temple, at least according to the Nihon Shoki's record of events.  It is a relatively simple note, but it mentions how Soga no Iname made a man by the name of Wang Jinnie the “Funa no Fubito”, or “Recorder of Ships”, and put him in charge of the shipping tax—all at the behest of the sovereign, of course. Later, in 555, Soga no Iname went with Hozumi no Iwayumi no Omi to Kibi, where they consolidated five districts, or agata, under the administration of a single administrative Miyake in Shirawi.  Later, in 556, he would go back to Kibi and establish a Miyake in Kojima, putting in place Katsuraki no Yamada as the Tazukai, or “rural rice field governor”.  That same year he and others went to the Takachi district in Yamato and established the Miyake of Ohomusa, or “Great Musa”, for immigrants from Baekje and then Womusa, or “Small Musa”, for immigrants from Goguryeo. In 569, the person that Soga no Iname had put in charge of recording the ships, Wang Jinnie, had a nephew, Itsu—or possibly Danchin, depending on how you read it—go out to Shirawi to take a census.  This is the same Shirawi that Soga no Iname had helped establish in 555.  Itsu becomes the Shirawi no Obito, and in 574 we see Soga no Umako, Iname's heir, heading out to Shirawi with an updated register for Itsu. So, in short, the Soga family clearly is doing a lot of government administration, and particularly of the Miyake, which is the extension of the court authority into the rest of the archipelago.  On top of that, look at how often the names that are coming up in conjunction with what they are doing are referencing immigrant groups.  Even the Hozumi family are known at this point for their work on the peninsula, and we see the Soga heavily involved with the Wang family and their fortunes, not to mention Greater and Lesser Musa and the Baekje and Goguryeo individuals there.  Wang Jinnie will have even more of a part to play, but we'll hold onto that for later. Given everything we can see about how they are operating, is it any surprise that the Soga would advocate in favor of Buddhism?  I'd also note that, while other clans have clear connections to heavenly ancestors and kami whom they worshipped, it is unclear to me if the Soga had anything similar.  There is mention in the 7th century of the creation of a shrine to their titular ancestors, Takeuchi no Sukune and Ishikawa no Sukune, and today there is a shrine that is dedicated to Soga tsu Hiko and Soga tsu Hime—Basically just lord and lady Soga.  But there isn't anything like the spirit of Futsunushi or Ohomononushi, let alone an Amaterasu or Susano'o. Why is that important?  Well, prior to the 6th century, a lot of clans claimed authority from the ritual power they were perceived to wield, often related to the prestige of their kami.  One of the ways that Yamato influence had spread was through the extension of the Miwa cult across the archipelago, and there were even members of the Himatsuribe and the Hioki-be, basically groups of ritualists focused on sun worship, which upheld the royal house.  The Mononobe controlled Isonokami shrine, where they worshipped their Ujigami, Futsu-mitama, the spirit of the sound of the sword.  And then there were the Nakatomi, who haven't had much to do in the narrative so far, but we know that they were court ritualists, responsible for ensuring that proper rituals were carried out by the court for the kami to help keep balance in the land. The dispute between the Soga and the Mononobe and Nakatomi is presented as a struggle between a foreign religion and the native kami of Japan—leaving aside any discussion, for now, about just how “native” said kami actually were.  This is, in fact, the primary story that gets told again and again, that the Mononobe and Nakatomi were simply standing up for their beliefs, sincerely believing that if too many people started worshipping foreign gods then it would supplant the worship already present in the islands. And that may have been a genuine fear at the time, but I would suggest that it was only a small one.  What seems more apparent is that we are really looking at just an old fashioned power struggle.  Because what all of the information we have about the Soga distills down to is: they were the new kid on the block.  The Soga were the up and coming nobility.  They had connections with the continent and various immigrant groups.  That gave them access to new ideas and new forms of resources.  The Mononobe were built on a more traditionalist line.  They had been around, ever since at least Wakatake no Ohokimi, playing a significant role in things, alongside the Ohotomo.  The Mononobe were at their apex, claiming descent through their own Heavenly Grandson, and having held sway at court through numerous reigns at this point.   They represent, in many ways, the old guard. Worship of a fancy new religious icon—effectively a new kami—threatened to give the Soga even more power and sway.  They already had control of the three treasuries, if the Kogoshui is to be believed, and likely had a rather impressive administrative apparatus.  Soga no Iname had also ended up successfully marrying off two of his daughters to Ame Kunioshi, making him father-in-law to the current sovereign.  If he added to that a spiritual focus that people came to believe in, that would only enhance the Soga's power and place in the hierarchy. And what better way to taint all of that, and neutralize these upstarts, than to blame this new god for the plague and pestilence that was killing people.  We see it all too often, even today—when people are scared and when there are problems, the easiest people to scapegoat are the foreigners and the outsiders.  Those whom we do not see as “us”.  It was probably easy to turn the court against Buddhism, at least initially.  They threw the image in the canal and burned down the temple, and no doubt they were pleased with themselves. But that was merely the opening salvo, and as we'll see in the coming years, the Soga family were hardly done with Buddhism.  One can argue whether they were truly devout or if this was merely for political gain, but the Soga family tied themselves to this new foreign religion, for good or for ill, and they wouldn't be pushed around forever. When next we touch base on this topic we'll look at Soga no Iname's heir, Soga no Umako, and his attempts to start up where his father left off.  He would again clash with the Mononobe, and the outcome of that conflict would set the path for the next half a century.  It would also see Buddhism become firmly enmeshed with the apparatus of the state.  As this happens , we'll also see the character of Buddhist worship in the archipelago change.  Initially, the Buddha was treated little differently from any other kami, and based on the way it is described, probably worshiped in a very similar manner.  However, as more sutras came to light and as more people studied and learned about the religion—and as more immigrants were brought in to help explain how things were supposed to work—Buddhism grew in the islands to be its own distinct entity.  In fact the growth of Buddhism would even see the eventual definition of “Shinto”, the “Way of the Gods”, a term that was never really needed until there was another concept for native practices to be compared against. Before we leave off, there is one other story I'd like to mention.  It is tangential to our immediate discussion of Buddhism and the Soga, but I think you may find it of interest, nonetheless.  This is the story of just what happened—supposedly—to that first Buddhist icon that was tossed into the Naniwa canal. Because you see, according to tradition, that gilt-bronze icon did not stay stuck in the mud and muck of the canal, nor did it just disappear.  Instead there is a tradition that it was found almost a century later.  The person who retrieved it was named Honda no Yoshimitsu, and from Naniwa he traveled all the way to Shinano, to the area of modern Nagano, and there he would found a temple in 642.  Another reading of his name, Yoshimitsu, is Zenko, and so the temple is named Zenkoji, and you can still go and visit it today.  In fact, the main hall of Zenkoji is considered a national treasure, and it was featured prominently during the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.  It is a popular attraction for tourist both in Japan and from abroad, and if you get a chance I highly recommend going to see it.  On the street leading up to the temple entrance are many traditional shops that still sell various foods and traditional arts and crafts, and there are many intriguring features.  For example, there is a narrow walkway underneath the main temple that is completely dark, where you are meant to feel along the wall to try to find the key to enlightenment, a kind of physical metaphor of Buddhist teaching. And of course there is the icon that Honda Yoshimitsu is said to have fished out of the canal. According to the temple, the icon still exists, and many worshippers believe it to be the oldest extant Buddhist icon in Japan, even older than the icons at Horyuji.  However, there is one catch—nobody is allowed to see it.  Shortly after it was installed in the temple, the statue was hidden in a special container, or zushi, and it became what is known as a hidden Buddha.  This is a tradition particularly prevalent in Japan, where some Buddhas are hidden away and only brought out on very special occasions.  Some cynics might note that those occasions are often when the temple needs to raise funds.  As for this hidden Buddha, however, it has not been seen more than a handful of times since it was locked away in the 7th century. Despite that, we know what it looks like—or at least what it is supposed to look like.  The image is said to be a triad, and though the Nihon Shoki claims it was an image of Shakyamuni, the central figure of the Zenkoji triad is actually the figure of Amida, aka Amithabha, as in the Pure Land sect of Buddhism.  Amida Nyorai is flanked by two attendants.  We know all of this because a copy of the Zenkoji image was made in the Kamakura period, and that image, said to be a faithful recreation of the original is also kept at Zenkoji.  While the original is kept hidden in the back, the replica, which is thought to have all of the miraculous powers of the original, sits in front, and is therefore called the Maedachi Honzon, basically the image standing in front, vice the original, the Gohonzon, the main image. Except it gets even better, because the replica is *also* kept hidden away most of the time, and only revealed on special occasions, known as Gokaicho, or “opening of the curtain”, which occurs once every seven years. The Zenkoji triad became extremely important in later centuries, and copies were made and installed in sub-temples throughout Japan.  Even today you may find a Zenkoji-style triad here or there, each one considered to have a spiritual tie back to the original, and some of them even have inscriptions confirming that they are, indeed, Zenkoji style triads Of course, the big question remains: does the original image actually still exist, and is there any chance that it actually is as old as it claims to be?  There really is no good way of knowing.  Zenkoji is not offering to open up the zushi any time soon.  We do know a few things, however.  We know that the temple has burned down at least 11 times over the years, and the Gohonzon was rescued each time, or so they say.  There are some who claim that it still exists, but perhaps it is damaged.  If that is the case, how did they make the replica, though? There was an inspection during the Edo period.  There was a rumor that it had been stolen, and so an Edo official was sent to check on the status.  They reported that it was still there, but crucially they never described actually laying eyes on the statue.  In one account where a monk did open the box it is said that their was a blinding light—kind of like the Ark of the Covenant in Indiana Jones but just overwhelming; no faces were melted, at least none that were reported. The monks of Zenkoji, when asked how they know the image is still there, will point to the weight of the container, which, when lifted, is apparently considerable.  They say that is how they know it is still there.  Of course, a melted lump of metal might be the same weight as it was when it was full statue, as long as it didn't lose any actual mass, so it is hard to tell if it is still in good condition. Even with all of that, there is the question about the veracity of the original objects lineage to begin with.  Did Honda Yoshimitsu really just find *the* original statue?  And even if he did, how would he have known what it was?  Was there an inscription:  To Yamato, from Baekje, hugs and kisses? I've yet to see anyone directly compare the purported replica with other statues, but I suspect that would be the route to at least check the age, but nobody seems to be saying that the style of the replica is blatantly wrong for a 6th or 7th century icon from the peninsula or by peninsular craftsmen.  Then again, there were plenty of local immigrants in the Naniwa area who could have potentially crafted an image.  Indeed, the area around modern Nagano even has traces of Goguryeo style burial cairns, possibly from immigrants settled out there to help with early horse cultivation, and so there is even the possibility that there were locals with the connections and skills to craft something. If you really want to know more, there is an entire work by Donald McCallum, titled “Zenkoji and Its Icon”, on not just the icon but the entire worship that sprang up around it and caused copies to spread throughout the archipelago. And that's where we will leave off for this episode.  In the next couple of episodes I want to finish up some of the secular history of this reign, and look a little bit outside of Yamato and the evidence in the Chronicles as well. 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.  And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  

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

In celebration of Shakyamuni Buddha's awakening, Valerie takes up the Head Chapter of the Denkoroku or Transmission of Light. “I and the great earth and all beings simultaneously attain the

10/30/2022, Kokyo Henkel, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Different types compassion as taught by Shakyamuni Buddha, Vasubandhu, Maitreya, Chandrakirti, and Zen Ancestors Yunyan and Daowu

In this episode Robert Thurman re-tells Shakyamuni Buddha's life story and gives an in-depth teaching on the nature of enlightenment for those of all backgrounds, faiths and traditions. "Robert Thurman's Basic Buddhism is a collective series of five lectures he has given on Buddhism. In these lectures, Thurman patiently takes apart each jewel of Buddhism: the Buddha as the teacher of enlightenment, the Dharma as the teaching, or enlightenment itself, and the Sangha as the historical and current community of learners seeking to become Buddhas." -Text From Better Listen Basic Buddhism This episode is an excerpt from the Better Listen "Basic Buddhism" Audio Course. To learn more and to enjoy the full recording, please visit: www.betterlisten.com.

Mark Epstein is the author of The Trauma of Everyday Life. He is an American author and psychotherapist who integrates Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings with Sigmund Freud's approaches to trauma. He often writes about the interface of Buddhism and psychotherapy. More information about the guest can be found at markepsteinmd.com

All are on the Path,Though many do not know it.This Path is no path.* * *The focus of this segment, the intersection of the Social Sphere and the Path to Cessation, sounds dangerously close to “sociopath,” a term that is becoming more and more familiar in the era of extreme divisiveness in the cultural and political landscape, not only in the USA but around the globe. What more appropriate designation for the president living in luxury in Russia, who finds it desirable to be constantly bombing and shelling civilians, women and children, in Ukraine? But then, what name is most fitting for a president who tries to steal an election? “Narcissist” doesn't quite cut it.When we return from our meditation to our family, or sally forth into the public fray — crossing the boundary between the Personal and Social spheres as shown in the graphic model — we enter the Original Frontier™ that Buddha must have encountered the night of his profound enlightenment some 2500 years ago. Perhaps the more accurate term would be “reenter,” as the Social sphere into which he had been born and raised had not changed — he had changed. In the 1960s, the “reentry problem” became a ubiquitous trope, designating that segue back into so-called normality, following a psychedelic-induced “trip” to what appeared to be another world. One of my design students at U of I, Chicago Circle campus, described it as “dumping out all of the drawers in the house in one big pile, and next day, having to put all that stuff back where it belongs.” A psychotropic, rather than alcoholic, hangover.Of course, we never completely leave the Social realm, even when intently focusing on the Personal, in meditation. The influences of our particular social milieu are ever-present, even in the deep isolation of meditation. The Four Spheres are not only outside of us, they are also inside. The body's biology and inherited DNA are obvious examples of the Natural. Subtle movements of chemistry and the neurological verge on the microcosmic Universal. As do such subtle phenomena as circadian rhythms, subliminal responses to sunlight, and the tidal pull of the moon.Not that we are conscious of these influences. The inner Social sphere includes such unconscious elements as self-identity, i.e. association with family ancestry, including persuasions such as identifying with the political party that our parents favored. In receiving the Zen Buddhist lay precepts, we embrace interpretations of others regarding the avoidance of killing, stealing, lying, and so forth, on a conscious level. But we harbor built-in precepts inherited from parents and peers, all unbeknownst to ourselves. Zen's Precepts often belabor the obvious. But they bear repetition.Considering the intersection of the Social sphere with the Path, we call to mind its eight dimensions. Not capitalized here, in order to embrace them as Universal and Natural, as well as Social and Personal, rather than as holy writ. Right view and thought, or understanding, which together comprise right wisdom; right speech, action and livelihood, or right conduct; and right effort, mindfulness and meditation, taken together as right discipline. With our usual caveat that the term “right,” as used here, is more of a verb than an adjective. It indicates taking right action to correct our worldview and understanding, bringing them more into alignment with the worldview of Buddhism, or Buddha himself.One could argue that effort, mindfulness and meditation live entirely within the Personal sphere of action, as exemplified by Bodhidharma, alone in his cave in ancient China. But we point to the halo- or ripple-effect of our personal discipline upon others around us, once we do leave the cushion and reenter the Social realm. Master Dogen is attributed with encouraging us to do one thing, and to do it well enough that we can even do it in front of other people. I have not been able to locate this saying in the written record, but in his famous Genjokoan [Actualizing the Fundamental Point] he declares that “Doing one practice is practicing completely.” This is analogous to the current Zen trope that asks, If you want to drill for water, would you drill a lot of shallow wells, or one deep well? This applies broadly.In the fields of performing arts and athletics, connections of the discipline of Personal effort to Social performance becomes obvious, through repetition of rehearsal and practicing routines. As does the recommendation that “practice makes perfect,” notwithstanding the Buddhist tenet of fundamental imperfection. But the training, while clearly physical, is not only physical. Highly trained athletes are often guilty of making “mental errors.” Gymnasts, musicians, dancers and pole vaulters who persevere and break records, or move audiences to laughter or tears, are examples of this principle. They realize the non-separation of the Personal and Social, following the Path of process and progress through which we integrate inner discipline and outer conduct. In Zen as well as the arts, we arrive at a convergence in which wisdom emerges, on physical as well as mental and emotional planes.Let's take a brief look at each of the eight dimensions and its connection to the Social sphere, beginning where our practice begins, with right meditation. Sometimes rendered traditionally as contemplation or concentration, that there is right meditation suggests that there could be wrong meditation. Again, the usage is not exactly right versus wrong here on the Personal level of meditation practice, but we can agree that there may be wrong attitudes or usages of meditation in the Social context. For example, if we make a divisive or wedge issue of our zazen practice within the dynamics of our household, allowing it to affect our relationships to our family — spouse, children, parents, even in-laws — that might be an example of wrong meditation. An old saying holds that if your spouse and children are happy, your meditation is working. Adding an hour of meditation to our daily routine should not be a cause celebre, but can be inserted at an hour and in a place that does not disrupt or disturb anyone. In fact, practicing zazen should add to the harmony of the household, just as it does to the Zen community, or Sangha.Right mindfulness in the Social realm would suggest extending this Personal caution and humility to the workspace, whether in the office or in the field. Making a display of wearing a wrist mala, for example, calls upon our fellow workers, managers and team members to respond, with questions or comments. While Zen practice has definite benefits in terms of our relationship to colleagues under the stressful conditions of productivity demands, making an issue of it with people who have little or no familiarity with Zen is not advisable. It introduces an irrelevant and even irritating element into a situation already fraught with potential for friction and conflict, e.g. along political or ideological lines. Not that we should be evasive about it, or try to hide the fact that we engage in a practice — meditation — that has its detractors, and does not yet enjoy the kind of mainstream acceptability that it is gaining.A similarly inappropriate, and more common, phenomenon, is the tendency of some to insert their religious views into the business environment, when the business itself has little or nothing to do with religion. I have worked for a relatively large corporation where one of the partners held regular prayer meetings. He was also involved in an illicit affair with one of the employees. Along with being mindful of our practice, we practice mindfulness of context.Right effort plays into the Social context as well, witnessed as our tendency to overdo and overthink all of these relationships, sometimes to the detriment of the relationship. In a comment I came across recently, a mother cogently summed up one example of this syndrome, suggesting that we would be a whole lot less worried about what other people thought of us if we realized how seldom they do. We have all been there, done that, when a colleague or boss makes a comment and we spend the next all-too-long period of time ruminating over it, fretting about what the person really meant, and insulted that they do not appreciate us for the contribution we make to the corporate cause.There are innumerable books published about this, one I heard reviewed on television titled “Neanderthals at Work” by Albert J. Bernstein. He suggests that in the modern office setting you have three distinct types of coping strategies or views of the situation, one he called something like the politician, another the believer, and the third the genius. The “politician,” an example of the bad boss syndrome, schmoozes the people above them, while largely ignoring those lower on the ladder, or worse, criticizing them as a way of improving his position. The “believer” thinks the politician is immoral, feeling that as long as they come to work and do their job, they should not have to play politics. The “genius” comes out of the computer room to solve the problem du jour, but is often culpable in creating the problem. The politician looks down on the other two as naive, simply not understanding how things work in the modern office. Focusing on the boss is the natural approach to the reporting structure. The problem is not that these tendencies exist, but that their adherents do not understand each other, which exacerbates the friction between them.Which brings us to another four-pointed model, my take on the traditional Zen jargon term, “Samadhi,” usually capitalized to stress the high regard in which it is held. I reduce it to the more prosaic “balance.” This concept is simple enough to grasp that no illustration is required. The first of the four is physical samadhi, the centered and balanced form of the zazen posture, leaning neither to the right or left, or front or back, as Master Dogen explains what it is not. From it, or along with it, comes the second samadhi, emotional balance: more calm, less anxiety. Thirdly we begin to experience mental samadhi: more clarity, less confusion. And finally, after some time, social samadhi: more harmony, less friction in our relationships to others. These four comprehend the inner-Personal and outer-Social benefits, or side-effects of Zen meditation practice.Most people want to leap to the Social aspect right away, to handle interpersonal transactions with greater patience and compassion. But Zen goes deeper, of course. When the upright posture becomes more natural and comfortable, the heart-mind (J. shin) becomes calmer and clearer naturally. When one becomes more patient with the monkey mind, and more comfortable in one's own skin through zazen, it becomes easier to have patience with others. But we have to be patient with the time that it takes to get over ourselves, and to divest ourselves of a lot of excess baggage we carry around. This is why Zen takes so long to penetrate to the deeper levels of Samadhi, as a transformational experience, sometimes regarded as the precursor to the fabled spiritual insight (J. satori) of Zen.Summing up so far, we have looked briefly at the Universal Existence of Dukkha, change or suffering, that we are to fully understand; its Natural Origin, or craving, which we are to fully abandon — and which is built-into birth as a human being — which is considered the necessary condition for Buddhist awakening; and the Social Path recommended by Shakyamuni Buddha, which we are to follow to its ultimate conclusion in the Cessation of suffering. A caveat is in order as to this last claim. In the Heart Sutra we chant: “Given Emptiness, no suffering, no end of suffering.” This is not a contradiction, but indicates that the kind of suffering that can come to an end is that self- and mutually-inflicted suffering, intentionally and unintentionally, that we visit upon ourselves and others. The Natural suffering of aging, sickness and death, which come with the territory of sentient existence, do not, cannot, come to an end. But embracing that fact as reality, and perfectly natural, mitigates the suffering as a human meme.Continuing, we will next take up the remaining pair of the combinations of the Four Spheres and the Four Noble Truths, the Personal and the Cessation of suffering, which necessarily involves the Eightfold Path to cessation. Personal Cessation is the only kind there is. Stay tuned one more time.* * *Elliston Roshi is guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and abbot of the Silent Thunder Order. He is also a gallery-represented fine artist expressing his Zen through visual poetry, or “music to the eyes.”UnMind is a production of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the Silent Thunder Order. You can support these teachings by PayPal to donate@STorder.org. Gassho.Producer: Kyōsaku Jon Mitchell

In this message celebrating the full moon day of celebration of the birth, enlightenment and passing of the historical Buddha, Professor Thurman gives an extended teaching on how Saka Dawa is celebrated by Tibetans across the world. Saka Dawa, named for the star, Vishakha, prominent during the fourth month in the Tibetan lunar calendar, is almost the same as the Theravadin observance of Vesak. It is considered the most sacred month for remembering the great achievement of Shakyamuni Buddha in the 6th BCE century (earlier in the Tibetan calendar). H. H. the Dalai Lama and all Tibetan Buddhist monks and laity celebrate this holiday. In this podcast Thurman gives an overview of the Buddhist holiday, a detailed accounting of the Buddha's Enlightenment as revealed by Indian Buddhist Sanskrit literature and Tibet's yogic tradition, and an explanation of the global impact of his wise compassionate teachings across history in modern culture.

“To devote ourselves to everything we encounter and throw our life force into doing just that is quite different from simply exhausting our energies playing with toys.” —Kōshō Uchiyama Rōshi   In celebration of the Shakyamuni Buddha's birthday, the NYZC sangha gathered on April 10th, whether in person or virtually, to chant, bathe the baby […] The post Happily Putting Down Our Habits | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“… the awakening of Shakyamuni Buddha and the simultaneous awakening of all existence, past, present and future …” Description: To explore the origin point of practice in this second talk

Senior Dharma Teacher Eijun Cutts shares and reflects on teachings from Shakyamuni Buddha, Bodhidharma, Dōgen Zenji, and Suzuki Roshi that the key to practice is "no gaining idea." 03/20/2022, Eijun Linda Cutts, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm.