Podcasts about suchness

practice emptiness two truths buddha nature dukkha suchness

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2023 36:15

Everyday life gives us countless opportunities for "awakening work." I discuss ways to practice each and every moment in order to awaken to the truth of Dukkha and the ending of Dukkha, and to the truth Emptiness. In Part 3 I will talk about how we can similarly work on a direct, personal experiences of Suchness, Buddha-Nature, and the Two Truths (absolute and relative) in the midst of our daily lives.

Navigating Meaning and Magic: A Spellbinding Discussion with Ben Holden

Dr. John Vervaeke

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2023 67:23

Dr. John Vervaeke is joined by multi-talented Ben Holden for a dialogue that delves deep into the esoteric yet compelling domains of naming magic, perception, and the cosmos. From the intriguing nature of ancient myths and folklore to the complexities of modern fantasy literature, the conversation covers a broad spectrum. It explores the tension between the "moreness" and "suchness" of objects, the Buddhist notion of unique essence, and the mysterious realms of naming and representation. The duo also ventures into the practical world, contemplating the psychological underpinnings of our contemporary struggles with meaning, vision, and anxiety. All of this is punctuated by Holden's colorful anecdotes from his work and an earnest exploration of the implications of a sentient cosmos. Don't miss this intellectual feast that promises to stretch your mind and tug at your curiosity. Resources: John Vervaeke: Website | Patreon | Facebook | X | YouTube Ben Holden: Website | Patreon | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube The Vervaeke Foundation Related YouTube Episodes Speculative fiction, post-tragic romanticism and awakening from the meaning crisis w/ Ben Holden - Voice with Vervaeke John Vervaeke - Tradition as a Living Force - Fantasy Creates Reality Books Tokyo Yokai - Ben Holden Tales from Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin The God of the Left Hemisphere: Blake, Bolte Taylor and the Myth of Creation - Roderick Tweedy Time Codes 00:00:00 — Dr. John Vervaeke welcomes Ben Holden for their third conversation on the show. 00:00:28 — Ben Holden discusses the balance between audience engagement and addiction. 00:01:29 — Holden introduces his voice-acted short story "Tokyo Yokai." 00:03:13 — Holden suggests exploring ideas for his longer piece of work. 00:06:06 — Explanation of the concept of naming magic. 00:08:19 — Vervaeke delves into the Buddhist notion of 'suchness.' 00:11:00 — A shift in the conversation toward the importance of naming. 00:17:49 — Ben discusses conflicting ideologies in magic. 00:20:20 — Aristotle's notion of form and matter is introduced. 00:24:51 — Holden introduces meteor shower-linked technology. 00:28:20 — Exploration of a dynamic, living cosmos. 00:31:10 — Vervaeke's take on enriching the fantasy genre with new visions. 00:33:20 — Upanishads' perspective on sight is discussed. 00:37:48 — The conversation turns to disruptions in our perceived notions of order. 00:42:32 — Holden talks about living a soulful life in a capitalist world. 00:47:45 — The concept of 'bleeding into each other' is introduced. 00:51:00 — The role of conflict in storytelling is discussed. 00:56:07 — Holden queries Vervaeke on the idea of a sentient cosmos. 00:58:00 — Vervaeke speaks on Neoplatonic magicians during the scientific revolution.

Suchness ~ Mazu Daoyi ~ Zen Buddhism (Chan)

Wisdom of the Masters

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2023 14:30

Mazu Daoyi (709–88) is one of the most eminent of the ancient Chinese Zen masters. Two of the traditionally acknowledged major schools of Zen trace their lineage through this renowned Zen ancient. He was an influential abbot of Chan Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. The earliest recorded use of the term "Chan school" is from his Extensive Records. Master Ma's teaching style of "strange words and extraordinary actions" became paradigmatic Zen lore. In the Transmission of the Lamp, compiled in 1004, Mazu is described as follows: "His appearance was remarkable. He strode along like a bull and glared about him like a tiger. If he stretched out his tongue, it reached up over his nose; on the soles of his feet were imprinted two circular marks."

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Buddhism Reference - Suchness

The buddhahood Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2023 18:51

“Suchness”, the true state of all phenomena, impermanent, empty and constantly changing in the momentum of instantiations. E-books available on threefoldlotus.com http://threefoldlotus.com/home/ebooks.htm

buddhism suchness

Longchenpa ~ Gone to Suchness ~ Dzogchen

Wisdom of the Masters

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2023 59:00

These profound teachings from Longchenpa have been formatted for guided meditation purposes. Excerpts taken from the text "A Treasure Trove of Scriptural Transmission." Translated by Richard Barron. Longchen Rabjam (1308-1363), is a great luminary of Tibetan Buddhism. He was highly skilled in all aspects of scholarship from an early age and excelled throughout his life in the practice and accomplishment of the Dharma. Regarded as a great Dzogchen master, Longchenpa had many pure visions where he was given direct instructions from Guru Padmasambhava and is recognised as an emanation of Vimalamitra. Longchenpa's prolific writings have made him one of Tibet's most renowned and precious teachers.

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Being, Nothingness & Suchness with Jivana Heyman

Finding Harmony Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2023 71:51

What a beautiful podcast to kick off Pride month! This is an important month to celebrate our common humanity, diversity, and unconditional love and acceptance of one another. Jivana coined the phrase, “Accessible Yoga,” over ten years ago, and it has now become the standard appellation for a large cross section of the immense yoga world. He brought the Accessible Yoga community together for the first time in 2015 for the Accessible Yoga Conference, which has gone on to become a focal point for this movement. Russell's tendency of over-relating to our guests has been noted. And this episode is no exception. It might seem he's attempting to “out gay the gays,” so to speak. But it opens this conversation into an incredibly intimate and deep portrait of a young man stepping into a cultural identity during a particularly traumatic time in our collective history, the HIV/AIDS crisis. Jivana talks about his anger as an activist and how it informed his beliefs. It gave insight to some very important decisions around how he could best serve, offering a unique way to practice yoga within a community of practitioners of varying identities, capacities, or abilities. You see, this world is not a one way mirror. We are all reflections of one another. When we are angry, we project and see anger in the other, and that's who we become. Jivana has specialized in teaching yoga to people with disabilities with an emphasis on community building and social engagement. Out of this work, the nonprofit Accessible Yoga Association was created to support education, training, and advocacy with the mission of shifting the public perception of yoga. Accessible Yoga offers Conferences, Community Forums, a Podcast, and a popular Ambassador program He's the author of Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body (Shambhala Publications), and Yoga Revolution: Building a Practice of Courage & Compassion (Shambhala Publications, Nov. 2021). FOLLOW JIVANA HEYMAN: INSTAGRAM I WEBSITE JOIN ME IN JUNE! JUNE 7 - 12, 2023 - All-Inclusive Turkey Retreat!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ GET DETAILS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ harmonyslater.com/yoga-retreat-turkey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ JUNE 16 - 18, 2023 - WORKSHOP in Munich, Germany - ⁠⁠⁠GET DETAILS⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠- harmonyslater.com/events⁠⁠⁠ DONATE $5 and doTERRA will MATCH the funds so it becomes $10! All money goes to YOGA GIVES BACK ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Girls Scholarship for Higher Education with Digital Access in India⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠yogagivesback.info/givetogirls⁠⁠⁠ A big heart of thanks to our friends, family, and students from around the world, who've generously supported this podcast through your comments, sharing, and financial donations. If you've enjoyed today's podcast, please consider supporting our future episodes by making a donation. Every little bit goes a long way and we are immensely grateful for any and all of your support. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Make A Donation ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠harmonyslater.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review! ❤ Give us a 5★ rating! Opening and closing music by Nick Evans from his album “for Morgan.” Listen to the entire album on Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase your own copy ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

239 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 3: Buddha-Nature 1

reality emptiness descriptions buddha nature suchness

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2023 27:38

This is part three of my series called “One Reality, Many Descriptions.” While experiences of Emptiness and Suchness (or Thusness) may be liberating and transformative, we may be left with the question of how our limited, embodied existence relates to these profound truths. Our natural inclination toward self-preservation, our appetites and shortcomings, our ingrained habits, our complacency – these things can seem at odds with the greater Reality we have started to perceive. The teaching of Buddha-Nature points to the marvelous and redemptive fact that we too – just as we are – are Thus: Luminous and miraculous in and of ourselves.

235 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 2: Suchness or Thusness

reality buddhist emptiness descriptions suchness capital r

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2023 38:33

What do Buddhists mean by the terms “Suchness” or “Thusness”? Over the millennia, Buddhists have employed many concepts to point us toward Reality-with-a-Capital-R, because awakening to Reality is profoundly liberating. This series of episodes discusses five classic descriptions of Reality. In Episode 229 I talked about the first of these, Emptiness (One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 1: Emptiness). In this episode I explore Suchness, or Thusness.

229 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 1: Emptiness

reality mind buddhist absolute teachings relative emptiness descriptions buddha nature sunyata suchness

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2023 46:19

Teachings like Emptiness, Buddha-Nature, Suchness, Absolute and Relative, and Mind-with-a-capital-M are challenging, and sometimes people wonder if they're all just terms for the same thing, more or less, or whether they're part of a long list of difficult-to-comprehend concepts we need to master as Buddhists. It may be helpful to realize that each of these classic Buddhist concepts describes Reality-with-a-capital-R, and there's only one Reality. The concepts, therefore, are intimately related to one another, and each one emphasizes different aspects of Reality in a very useful way. In this episode I discuss Buddhist descriptions of Reality in general, and then talk about Sunyata, or Emptiness.

Inmo (Suchness) Part 5

Dharma Talks – Ocean Gate Zen Center – Santa Cruz, Capitola, Aptos

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2022

Rev. Shinshu Roberts continues her lecture series in this fifth part on “Inmo” (Suchness) from Eihei Dogen's ShoboGenzo. https://www.oceangatezen.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Shinshu-Dec-3-Inmo-Suchness-Part-5-MP3.mp3 https://www.oceangatezen.org/2022/12/inmo-suchness-part-5-2/feed/ 0

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Inmo (Suchness) Part 4

Dharma Talks – Ocean Gate Zen Center – Santa Cruz, Capitola, Aptos

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2022

Rev. Shinshu Roberts continues her lecture series in this fourth part on “Inmo” (Suchness) from Eihei Dogen's ShoboGenzo (there is almost 30 seconds of silence before talk begins). https://www.oceangatezen.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Shinshu-Nov-5-Inmo-Suchness-Part-4-MP3Audio.mp3 https://www.oceangatezen.org/2022/11/inmo-suchness-part-4-2/feed/ 0

rev roberts zen buddhism dharma mahayana inmo suchness shobogenzo shinshu shinshu roberts kinst

Inmo (Suchness) Part 3

Dharma Talks – Ocean Gate Zen Center – Santa Cruz, Capitola, Aptos

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2022

Rev. Shinshu Roberts continues her lecture series in this third part on “Inmo” (Suchness) from Eihei Dogen's ShoboGenzo. https://www.oceangatezen.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Shinshu-Oct-22-Immo-Part-3-Audio-MP3.mp3 https://www.oceangatezen.org/2022/10/inmo-suchness-part-3/feed/ 0

rev roberts zen buddhism dharma mahayana audio mp3 inmo shobogenzo suchness shinshu shinshu roberts kinst

Guided Meditation: Suchness & Breath Coming and Going

DailyPause

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2022 23:14

Please consider supporting my work and these recordings with a donation or by spreading the word. Venmo @kathy-cherry -or- PayPal.Me/KathyCherry1 Learn more at kathycherry.com Thank you!

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One Suchness in Action and at Rest - Rev. Insik

Won Buddhism Dharma Talks

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2022 15:53

Dharma Talk by Rev. Insik Kim (October 2, 2022) https://wondharmacenter.org/

action rev dharma talk suchness

Nanquan's Tathagata Treasury

DHARMA SPRING

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2022 28:18

Luzu asked Nanquan, “People don't recognize the wish-fulfilling gem. I picked it up myself in the Tathagata treasury. What is this treasury?” Nanquan said, “It's me engaged in conversation with you like this.” “How about when there's no conversation?” “That's it, too.” “What is the jewel?” “Reverend Luzu!” “Yes?” “Go on, you don't understand my words.”Case 93, The Book of SerenitySupport the show

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Immo (Suchness)

Dharma Talks – Ocean Gate Zen Center – Santa Cruz, Capitola, Aptos

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2022

Rev. Shinshu Roberts discusses Dōgen's fascicle “Immo” (Suchness) encouraging us to fully engage with each moment of our lives, including our suffering… reality as it is (Nyoze). https://www.oceangatezen.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Shinshu-Sept-3-Immo-COMPRESSED-Audio.mp3 https://www.oceangatezen.org/2022/09/immo-suchness-2/feed/ 0

rev roberts zen buddhism dharma immo mahayana suchness shinshu shinshu roberts kinst

180. Robe chant and suchness

Podcast – Kannon Do

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2022

A talk by Candy Lowe.

chant robe suchness

Mindfulness & Suchness

Ajahn Anan Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 17:29

'Mindfulness & Suchness' - A Dhamma talk given by Ajahn Anan on 24 May 2022. To join Ajahn Anan and the Wat Marp Jan Community online for daily chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma talk, you can email wmjdhamma@gmail.com for the link. Daily live sessions at 7.15pm - 9pm, Indochina Time (Bangkok, GMT+7).

mindfulness dhamma suchness ajahn anan

411: Exploring Gender, Perceptions, and Suffering

The Deer Park Dharmacast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2022 75:41

At the recent Wake Up Retreat, 10% identified as neither male or female. Attendees self-identified as non-binary, fluid, queer, trans, and gender non-conforming. Thay Phap Dung explores his experiences and feelings of this reality. He relates it to Buddhist concepts of non-dualism and notions. The Buddha said 100% of our perception is wrong. From here we learn about suchness, representation and mere images

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Suchness and Beauty

beauty redwood city closed captioning gil fronsdal suchness insight meditation center

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2022 30:31 Very Popular

This talk was given by Gil Fronsdal on 2022.04.03 at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. ******* A machine generated transcript of this talk is available. It has not been edited by a human, so errors will exist. Closed Captioning: https://otter.ai/u/owbwaAPs2vvmRwAmoBYECJnCM2A ******* For more talks like this, visit AudioDharma.org ******* If you have enjoyed this talk, please consider supporting AudioDharma with a donation at https://www.audiodharma.org/donate/. ******* This talk is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

Suchness and Beauty

Audio Dharma: Gil Fronsdal's most recent Dharma talks

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2022 30:31 Very Popular

This talk was given by Gil Fronsdal on 2022.04.03 at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. ******* Video of this talk is available at: https://youtu.be/8dILngb4qgE. ******* A machine generated transcript of this talk is available. It has not been edited by a human, so errors will exist. Closed Captioning: https://otter.ai/u/owbwaAPs2vvmRwAmoBYECJnCM2A ******* For more talks like this, visit AudioDharma.org ******* If you have enjoyed this talk, please consider supporting AudioDharma with a donation at https://www.audiodharma.org/donate/. ******* This talk is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

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Guided Meditation: Mindfulness of Suchness

guided meditation redwood city meditation mindfulness gil fronsdal suchness insight meditation center

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2022 31:15

This talk was given by Gil Fronsdal on 2022.03.28 at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. ******* For more talks like this, visit AudioDharma.org ******* If you have enjoyed this talk, please consider supporting AudioDharma with a donation at https://www.audiodharma.org/donate/. ******* This talk is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

Guided Meditation: Mindfulness of Suchness

Audio Dharma: Gil Fronsdal's most recent Dharma talks

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2022 31:15

This talk was given by Gil Fronsdal on 2022.03.28 at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. ******* For more talks like this, visit AudioDharma.org ******* If you have enjoyed this talk, please consider supporting AudioDharma with a donation at https://www.audiodharma.org/donate/. ******* This talk is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

guided meditation redwood city meditation mindfulness gil fronsdal suchness insight meditation center

Zen Master Dongshan – “Just This is It” – Talk 3 – More stories including Book of Serenity Case 49 and 98

Everyday Zen Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2022 61:00

Norman gives his third talk on stories of Zen Master Dongshan - "Just This is It." This talk references the book by Daigen Dan Leighton: "Just This Is It :Dongshan and the Practice of Suchness," as we'll as the book of Serenity Case 49 and 98. https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/edz.assets/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/18110020/Zen-Master-Dongshan-_Just-This-Is-It_-Talk-3-Addition-Stories-including-Book-of-Serenity-49-and-98.mp3

stories practice norman zen masters suchness serenity case

Zen Master Dongshan – “Just This is It – Talk 2 – Denkoruku “Transmission of the Lamp” Chapter 39 “Great Master Tozan Ryokai”

Everyday Zen Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2022 52:45

Norman gives his second talk on Zen Master Dongshan "Just This Is It" koans and stories about this seminal zen master. The reference books used are; Taigen Dan Leighton "Just This Is It: Dongshan and the Practice of Suchness." In this talk Norman also references the Denkoruku or "Transmission of the Light" Chapter 39 "Great Master Tozan Ryokai." https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/edz.assets/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/11201035/Zen-Manster-Donghsan-_Just-This-is-It_-Talk-2-Inanimaite-Beings-Denkoruku-_Transmission-of-Lamp_-Chapter-39-_Great-Master-Tozan-Ryokai_.mp3

practice norman transmission lamp zen masters suchness tozan great master

Zen Master Dongshan – “Just This is It” – Talk 1- Case 49 Book of Serenity

Everyday Zen Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2022 57:39

Norman gives his first talk on Zen Master Dongshan, "Just This Is It". Koans and stories about this seminal zen master. The reference books used are; Taigen Dan Leighton "Just This Is It: Dongshan and the Practice of Suchness," Book of Serenity Case 49 "Dongshan Presents Offerings Before The Image," "Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi (PDF), Andy Ferguson "Zen's Chinese Heritage." https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/edz.assets/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/03135233/Zen-Master-Dongshan-Just-This-is-It-Talk-1.mp3

song practice norman zen masters suchness serenity case

The Suchness of Things (Come, Come, Yet Again Come - 11)

Never Born, Never Died

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2022 123:36

Q&A

suchness

Charlie Korin Pokorny: Caring for the Dharma of Suchness

Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2022 46:40

Korin Charlie Pokorny introduces us to three intertwining aspects of how to care for the dharma of suchness: embodied practice realization, inquiry, and communal relational practice. He invites us to care for the dharma of suchness rather than efforting to attain anything. He asks us to allow it to “bring us to practice and to help us through […]

caring dharma korin suchness

Taigen Dan Leighton: Preserving the Dharma of Suchness: Inclined and Upright Interact

Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2022 46:09

In this dharma talk, Taigen Dan Leighton explains the history and context of Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi. He goes over the five main themes of this poem and asks us to recognize that the nature of reality itself is awakening. He ends this dharma talk with the invitation to sit and come to […]

song preserving dharma interact upright inclined suchness taigen

The Dharma of Suchness and the Jewel Mirror

Ancient Dragon Zen Gate Dharma Talks

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2022 73:57

ADZG 959 ADZG Sunday Morning Dharma Talk by Taigen Dan Leighton

mirror dharma suchness

Suchness Is Our Self-Nature (Bodhidharma: The Greatest Zen Master - 05)

Never Born, Never Died

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2022 129:21

Beloved Bhagwan The buddha said people are deluded. This is why when they act they fall into the river of endless rebirth. And trying to get out, they only sink deeper. And all because they don't see their nature. If people weren't deluded, why else would they ask about something right in front of them? Not one of them understands the movement of his own hands and feet. The buddha wasn't mistaken. Deluded people don't know who they are. Something so hard to fathom is known by a buddha and no one else. Only the wise know this mind, this mind called dharma-nature, this mind called liberation. Neither life nor death can restrain this mind. Nothing can. It's also called the unstoppable tathagata, the incomprehensible, the sacred self, the immortal, the great sage. Its names vary but not its essence. Buddhas vary too, but none leaves his own mind. The mind's capacity is limitless, and its manifestations are inexhaustible. Seeing forms with your eyes, hearing sounds with your ears, smelling odors with your nose, tasting flavors with your tongue, every movement or mode, it's all your mind. At every moment, where languages can't go, that's your mind. The sutras say, “A tathagata's forms are endless. And so is his awareness.” The endless variety of forms is due to the mind. Its ability to distinguish things, whatever their movement or mode, is the mind's awareness. But the mind has no form and its awareness no limit. Hence, it's said, “A tathagata's forms are endless. And so is his awareness.” A material body of the four elements is trouble. A material body is subject to birth and death. But the real body exists without existing because a tathagata's real body never changes. The sutras say, “People should realize that the buddha-nature is something they have always had.” Mahakashyapa only realized his own nature. … The sutras say, “Everything that has form is an illusion.” They also say, “Wherever you are, there's a buddha.” Your mind is the buddha. Don't use a buddha to worship a buddha. Even if a buddha or bodhisattva should suddenly appear before you, there's no need for reverence. This mind of ours is empty and contains no such form. Those who hold onto appearances are devils. They fall from the path. Why worship illusions born of the mind? Those who worship don't know. And those who know don't worship. By worshiping you come under the spell of devils. I point this out because I'm afraid you're unaware of it. The basic nature of a buddha has no such form. Keep this in mind, even if something unusual should appear. Don't embrace it, and don't fear it. And don't doubt that your mind is basically pure. Where could there be room for any such form? Also, at the appearance of spirits, demons, or divine beings, conceive neither respect nor fear. Your mind is basically empty. All appearances are illusions. Don't hold onto appearances.

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177 - Unconditional Strength and Gratitude: The Medicine of Suchness

gratitude strength medicine unconditional suchness

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2021 33:33

The medicine of suchness is life-saving, because even the happiest and most fortunate human life inevitably contains suffering. Sometimes – in our personal lives or in the wider world – we face terrible things that arouse anxiety, depression, fear, despair, or rage, such as our climate and ecological emergency. Our Zen practice offers us suchness as a medicine that can alleviate our despair and help us access strength and gratitude.

50. Trusting Mind Quartet 2: Trusting Mind, Period

UnMind: Zen Moments With Great Cloud

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2021 27:52

Who said it was yours?What if they are all liars?Who you gonna call?* * *The Hsinhsinming, the longest of the three Ch'an chants in the Zen liturgy, occupies three pages in the layout of the service manual, while Sandokai fills only one page, and Hokyo Zammai requires two. This gives you a rough idea of the variability of these three ancestors' differing manners of expression, and their relative loquaciousness, in communicating The Great Matter to their contemporaries, over spans of almost exactly one century apiece. One suspects that someone suspected that their audience would also include future generations. Otherwise, why write it down? Although it is hard to imagine that they might have imagined folks like you and me studying them diligently, ensconced in our modern milieu.You may recall that we left off the prior podcast close to halfway through, in my formatting of the poem:If you do not discriminate between coarse and fine you will not be tempted to prejudice and opinion. To live in the Great Way is neither easy nor difficult. But those with limited views are fearful and irresolute; the faster they hurry the slower they go.Setting aside further commentary on discriminating, prejudice and opinion, and the likely progenitor of our contemporary trope, “the hurrier I go, the behinder I get” (shout out to Zen Master Lewis Carroll), note that where the first line assures us that the Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences, here the Master is revising that difficult enough idea, with the even less dualistic point that it is neither easy nor difficult. It depends upon whether or not you are fearful and irresolute. Well, punk, are you?Clinging cannot be limited; even to be attached to the idea of enlightenment is to go astray. Just let things be in their own way and there will be neither coming nor going. Obey the nature of things and you will walk freely and undisturbed.We see a lot of mindfulness acolytes these days preaching the gospel of not clinging, “just noticing,” et cetera. We might be forgiven for pointing out that some seem to be clinging to these fixed ideas, like the hapless survivors of the Titanic, clinging to furniture and other debris from the sinking vessel. If the very apostles of non-clinging cannot let go of their own clinging, what hope is there for the rest of us great unwashed? We are all noticing all kinds of things, all the time, for all the good it does.Letting things be in their own way seems absolutely un-American. If there is anything we are good at, it is messing with things, rearranging the deck chairs. Trying to perfect the innately imperfect, shaping the world and everything in it to our niggling, humanocentric ideal of conforming to human need, as the living and breathing, “chosen” representatives of the gods, or God, on earth. The notion that if we can finally relinquish this stubborn idea of ultimate control, we will “walk freely and undisturbed” begs credulity, smacking of the Taoist ideal. But that “there will be neither coming nor going,” as a result? “Coming and going” is usually a generic stand-in for being born and dying. Merely letting go of O-C behavior, means that we will be free of birth and death? This is the old Hinayana ideal, to escape the wheel, slip the surly bonds of earthly existence. For Mahayanists, it seems a moot issue. Who cares?When thought is in bondage the truth is hidden for everything is murky and unclear. The burdensome practice of judging brings annoyance and weariness. What benefit can be derived from distinctions and separations?The unspecified implication is, in bondage to what? One might presume, to any kind of clinging, to ideas as well as the sensory, and other attachments, that bedevil us. The murk, and lack of clarity, is in one sense built in, and therefore not our job to clean up. But allowing thought — and by extension consciousness itself — to be forever mired in it, is definitely our responsibility. Who you gonna call?The bit about judging bringing annoyance and weariness is, ironically, the favorite line of one of our senior teachers. Ironic, that is, in a paean to the relinquishment of all preferences. I insert the verb “making” in the last line — as in making distinctions and separations — which, again, seem built-in. But we tend to make way too much of them.If you wish to move in the One Waydo not dislike even the world of senses and ideas.Indeed to accept them fully is identicalwith true Enlightenment.The wise man strives to no goalsbut the foolish man fetters himself.Aha! So there it is. At long last, is our get-out-of-jail-free card. We do not have to turn our back on the sensory realm, and our cherished ideas, in order to be Zen-cool. The empirical method is saved, hallelujah! Seriously, this means that Zen is not, and never has been, anti-intellectual. It just puts the thinking tool at the disposal of the higher intellect. If we establish any lesser goals, they simply become foolish fetters, inhibiting the process of going after the gold ring. And missing the free ride.There is one Dharma not many; distinctions arise from the clinging needsof the ignorant.To seek Mind with discriminating mindis the greatest of all mistakes. Rest and unrest derive from illusion;with enlightenment there is no liking and disliking.The one Dharma, of course, has to be divided into many, in order to present it in words. Raising a finger or throwing a whisk to the ground may demonstrate it completely, for those who have the eyes to hear and the ears to see. But seeking it with the thinking mind is like a dog circling its tail around the room, looking for the ideal place to plop down. It can continue forever, or at least for as long as there is life in the dog. May as well settle down right here and now. If we cannot rest in our unrest, we are badgered by illusion. In our own enlightened self-interest, we can give a “like” even to our natural state of unrest.All dualities come from ignorant inference.They are like dreams of flowers in air:foolish to try to grasp them.Gain and loss, right and wrong,such thoughts must finally be abolished at once.Inference is a cut above mere interpretation. It implies that we have given this some thought. Which in itself is an interesting proposition. Is thought really something that can be given? Both interpretation and inference, even after much thought, can be based on ignorance. In fact, we cannot possibly know all there is to know about any given set of circumstances, so our mental machinations are always based on a preponderance of ignorance. Tip-of-the-iceberg stuff. Grasping at flowers in air is the stuff of dreams and romance. Foolish, but irresistible, when driven by hormones and other born-of-body-mouth-and-mind influences. There may be nothing to gain, and nothing to lose, but we have the right to be wrong. Abandoning such thoughts is perhaps more practicable than the idea of abolishing them.If the eye never sleeps all dreams will naturally cease. If the mind makes no discriminationsthe ten thousand thingsare, as they are, of single essence.To understand the mystery of this One-essenceis to be released from all entanglements.Even dreams of flowers in air will naturally cease, if only the eye never sleeps. Makes me want to take a nap. Which eye is in question, here? The mind's eye, in making no discriminations, takes in the unity underlying the appearance of the ten thousand things. We see what it means, so to say. Phenomena beget noumenon, and vice-versa. The last line may represent a questionable choice on the part of the translator, as surely the mystery of this “one-essence,” hyphenated, surpasseth all understanding. Being released from all entanglements suggests that it must be very lonely at the top.When all things are seen equally the timeless Self-essence is reached. No comparisons or analogies are possible in this causeless, relationless state. Consider motion in stillness and stillness in motion; both movement and stillness disappear.Does not say that all things are seen as equal. Seeing them equally is in the eye of the beholder, not an assertion of some sort of universal equality. If timelessness is reached, it must occur at this time, and it must have always been present. If so, spacelessness, which is not even a word, must also be reached at the same time. This comprises a sincere attempt to point to the singularity of Zen, that personal spacetime in which all the known laws of reality, all the marks and parameters of conscious awareness, collapse inward of their own mass, so to speak. The center cannot hold. That this has always been so means that it cannot be the effect of a cause, even of “first causes,” such as the Word. Nor is there in it any kind of relationship, such as that of the soul to God. The example of mokurai, “motion in stillness and stillness in motion,” may be the root source of Matsuoka Roshi's liberal use of this term. In the context of emptiness, change, or nonduality, they merge, in a binary dance of mutuality.When such dualities cease to exist Oneness itself cannot exist. To this ultimate finality no law or description applies. For the unified mind in accord with the Way, all self-centered striving ceases.Here, there is no break in the flow of the message. Taking us full circle, Master Sosan makes it clear that he is not merely asserting “oneness” as the ultimate reality. Would it were so simple. No oneness, no twoness. You cannot simply pay your money and take your choice. The ultimate finality is not final, not even determinate. It is in flux. “Seeing into the flux of arising, changing, abiding, and decaying,” as Master Nagarjuna, 14th in India, would have it. This is undefilable, not reducible to ordinary laws or descriptions. But — and it's a big but — somehow this does the trick. “Self-centered striving ceases.”Doubts and irresolutions vanish and life in true faith is possible. With a single stroke we are freed from bondage; nothing clings to us and we hold to nothing. All is empty, clear, self-illuminating, with no exertion of the mind's power.Here the flow is once again uninterrupted, and waxes effusive. As self-centered striving ceases with the ultimate finality of realizing no-self, just so any remaining doubts, and irresolutions. Which is also not a word in English. But we all know what it means. Vacillation. Pussy-footing this way and that, all around the problem, rather than facing it squarely. It turns out it is built into the way the mind works. True faith then becomes possible as the exercise of action, in the face of nagging self-doubt. Liberation in the midst of the bondage, and nothing to grasp, in the clinging. In the absence of exertion of the mind's terrible power to discriminate, all becomes empty, clear, and self-illuminating. No need for task lighting.Here thought feeling knowledge and imagination are of no value. In this world of Suchness, there is neither self nor other-than-self. To come directly into harmony with this reality just simply say when doubt arises “Not two.”“Here” — meaning at the nexus of spacetime, the singularity of the “eternal moment,” as Sensei called it — our usual tricks, trinkets and trash are of no avail. “Sitting without relying on anything,” as Master Dogen puts it, in the spare reductionism of Zazenshin. “Suchness” explained socially: neither self nor other-than-self. Thus no possibility of acting selfishly, or selflessly. But this does not mean “all is one,” in the vapid simplemindedness of New Age thinking. “Not-two” is the most we can say about it, just as zazen is the most we can do about it. Coming into harmony with it is, again, the Tao raising its winking head.In this “not two” nothing is separate, nothing is excluded. No matter when or where, enlightenment means entering this truth. And this truth is beyond extension or diminution in time or space; in it a single thought is ten thousand years.Again no break in the flow, but we must chew this over in digestible bytes, b-y-t-e-s. We like to say there is no difference between us, can't we all just get along? But Zen says we may not be truly separate, but vive la différence! Otherwise, how boring! Zen is all-inclusive in its social embrace, and mostly in its intellectual grasp, through we would beg to differ with certain belief systems afoot in the world. However, an enlightenment worthy of the name will include this inclusiveness. That it is beyond extension or diminution in time or space is another testament to the nobility of the Four Noble Truths. Like the noble gases, they are inert. They do not change with circumstances, causes and conditions, even when approaching the event horizon of your friendly local neighborhood black hole. A single thought encompassing ten thousand years is a bit more difficult to allow. Until you sit through a long retreat. Or consider Buddha's thought of enlightenment. How long did that take? How long did it last?Emptiness here, Emptiness there, but the infinite universe stands always before your eyes. Infinitely large and infinitely small; no difference for definitions have vanished, and no boundaries are seen. So too with Being and non-Being.Yeah, yeah, you can have your emptiness. What about this thing in front of your face? How far out does it go? How far in does it go? “So minute it enters where there is no gap. So vast it transcends dimension.” Oops, wrong poem. Spoiler alert. Down the rabbit hole, do we come out the other side? How big are you? How small? Here, have a bite — b-i-t-e — of this cookie, and find out. Not only no preferences at this remove, not even any differences, because not even any definitions, any more. Nor any boundaries, between the undefined. All made up, notes crumpled up and tossed in the cosmic wastebasket, the dustbin of futile ideas. But even Being and non-Being? Note the capitals. Denotes something big. The existential question, source of much existential angst. For Sosan it is a casual, throwaway line, like a Borsht-belt comic's outdated groaner.Waste no time in doubts and arguments that have nothing to do with this. One thing, all things, move among and intermingle without distinction. To live in this realization is to be without anxiety about nonperfection.Wait a minute — we just learned that we cannot actually waste time, let alone on such trivial concerns. But of course the old man means “meanwhile” (shout out to Master Colbert) — up until, and when, we finally get this. The “this” in question is not only the most important issue in life, it is the issue of life itself. Meanwhile, keep on moving on, disperse while intermingling, nothing to see here, all distractions are equally without distinction in this regard. Living large — livin' la vida loca — begins with jettisoning the very idea of nonperfection, with its excess baggage weighted down with anxiety. Travelin' light.To live in this faith is the road to nonduality, because the nondual is one with the trusting mind.Okay — so as we come to the end, we are stretching less and less to mean more and more, like the drawn out ending of a romcom movie. The characters predictably depart and say their goodbyes in reverse order of their billing and onscreen time — first, the bit players and character actors, and, finally, the romantic leads. The trusting mind is the star of this show. Its romantic partner is nonduality. Together they make a lovely couple, and live happily ever after. Finally, just before rolling the credits, the denouement, the climactic, closing scene, a dramatic, uplifting summation of all that has gone before:Words!The Way is beyond language, for in it there is no yesterday, no tomorrow, no today.The audience applauding, the curtain falling, slowly trudging out of the theater, exchanging smiles, wise and knowing looks, heads nodding in melancholy assent, all are mute, knowing that there are no words to describe, no concepts to capture, the wisdom of the Way. However, in doing so, they may be forgiven for imagining that what they have learned today will survive until tomorrow, and will not be relegated to yesterday. In other words, the tyranny of language has already begun to reassert itself. The popcorn was unusually good, though.* * *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

Guest Teacher Taigen Leighton: Dongshan's Place Beyond Heat and Cold and Soto Zen Responses to Climate Breakdown

Zen Center North Shore Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2021 79:57

We are delighted to welcome back Zen teacher, sangha leader, translator and scholar Taigen Leighton to ZCNS for a dharma talk on Dongshan's Place Beyond Heat and Cold and Soto Zen Responses to Climate Breakdown. Dongshan, the ninth century Chinese founder of the Soto Zen lineage, recommended going beyond heat and cold. This story and Dongshan's teachings of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi and the five degrees offer contexts for responses to our current climate crisis. Resources: Taigen Dan Leighton, Just This Is It; Dongshan and the Practice of Suchness (Shambhala, 2015). Rebecca Solnit, "Dare we hope? Here's my cautious case for climate optimism” About the speaker: Taigen Dan Leighton is a Soto Zen priest and Dharma successor in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Taigen began formal everyday zazen and Soto practice in 1975 at the New York Zen Center with Kando Nakajima Roshi. He migrated to the Bay Area in 1978 and shortly thereafter began to work full time for the San Francisco Zen Center. Taigen practiced and resided for years at the SFZC City Center, Tassajara monastery, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, and received priest ordination in 1986 from Reb Anderson Roshi. Taigen also practiced for two years in Kyoto, Japan, translating Dogen with Shohaku Okumura Roshi, and practicing with several Japanese Soto Zen teachers. Taigen received Dharma Transmission in 2000 from Reb Anderson. Taigen is author of Just This Is It: Dongshan and the Practice of Suchness; of Zen Questions: Zazen, Dogen and the Spirit of Creative Inquiry; of Faces of Compassion: Classic Bodhisattva Archetypes and Their Modern Expression; and of Visions of Awakening Space and Time: Dogen and the Lotus Sutra. He is co-translator and editor of several Zen texts including: Dogen's Extensive Record; Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi; The Wholehearted Way: A Translation of Dogen's "Bendowa" with Commentary by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi; and Dogen's Pure Standards for the Zen Community: A Translation of "Eihei Shingi". Taigen relocated to Chicago in 2007, and now is Guiding Dharma Teacher for the Ancient Dragon Zen Gate sangha. Taigen still teaches online at the Berkeley Graduate Theological Union, from where he has a Ph.D., and he has taught at various other universities. Taigen has long been an Environmental and Peace activist, currently working with Buddhist Peace Fellowship Chicago.

The Taproot of Soto Zen, Part 1 - Suchness is Groovy

San Francisco Zen Center Dharma Talks

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2021 27:15

07/07/2021, Zenshin Greg Fain, dharma talk at Tassajara.

zen buddhism groovy taproot soto zen suzuki roshi tassajara suchness

Dharmette: Harmony of Zen and Vipassana: The Suchness of Thinking

Audio Dharma: Gil Fronsdal's most recent Dharma talks

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2021 13:32

This talk was given by Gil Fronsdal on 2021-04-22 at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. ****** A machine generated transcript of this talk is available. It may not have been edited, so errors may exist. Closed Captioning: https://otter.ai/u/MEuQaTHRdb9JxIgFpfdJZQduqO0 ****** For more talks like this, visit AudioDharma.org ****** If you have enjoyed this talk, please consider supporting Audio Dharma with a donation at https://www.audiodharma.org/donate/. ****** This talk is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

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Harmony of Zen and Vipassana (4 of 5) The Suchness of Thinking

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2021 13:32

This talk was given by Gil Fronsdal on 2021-04-22 at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. ****** Would you rather watch? A video of this talk is available at https://youtu.be/mhcZ03xnNPI?t=1928. ****** A machine generated transcript of this talk is available. It may not have been edited, so errors may exist. Closed Captioning: https://otter.ai/u/MEuQaTHRdb9JxIgFpfdJZQduqO0 ****** For more talks like this, visit AudioDharma.org ****** If you have enjoyed this talk, please consider supporting Audio Dharma with a donation at https://www.audiodharma.org/donate/. ****** This talk is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

thinking meditation buddhist buddhism buddha talks dharma gil vipassana sangha redwood city closed captioning gil fronsdal suchness insight meditation center audio dharma fronsdal

Harmony of Zen and Vipassana (4 of 5) The Suchness of Thinking

Audio Dharma: Gil Fronsdal's most recent Dharma talks

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2021 13:32

This talk was given by Gil Fronsdal on 2021-04-22 at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. ****** Would you rather watch? A video of this talk is available at https://youtu.be/mhcZ03xnNPI?t=1928. ****** A machine generated transcript of this talk is available. It may not have been edited, so errors may exist. Closed Captioning: https://otter.ai/u/MEuQaTHRdb9JxIgFpfdJZQduqO0 ****** For more talks like this, visit AudioDharma.org ****** If you have enjoyed this talk, please consider supporting Audio Dharma with a donation at https://www.audiodharma.org/donate/. ****** This talk is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

thinking meditation mindfulness buddhism buddha dharma gil vipassana sangha redwood city closed captioning gil fronsdal suchness insight meditation center audio dharma fronsdal

Dharmette: Harmony of Zen and Vipassana: The Suchness of Thinking

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2021 13:32

This talk was given by Gil Fronsdal on 2021-04-22 at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. ****** A machine generated transcript of this talk is available. It may not have been edited, so errors may exist. Closed Captioning: https://otter.ai/u/MEuQaTHRdb9JxIgFpfdJZQduqO0 ****** For more talks like this, visit AudioDharma.org ****** If you have enjoyed this talk, please consider supporting Audio Dharma with a donation at https://www.audiodharma.org/donate/. ****** This talk is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

thinking meditation buddhist buddhism buddha talks dharma gil vipassana sangha redwood city closed captioning gil fronsdal suchness insight meditation center audio dharma fronsdal

Harmony of Zen and Vipassana (3 of 5) The Suchness of Emotions

Audio Dharma: Gil Fronsdal's most recent Dharma talks

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2021 13:37

This talk was given by Gil Fronsdal on 2021-04-21 at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. ****** For more talks like this, visit AudioDharma.org ****** If you have enjoyed this talk, please consider supporting Audio Dharma with a donation at https://www.audiodharma.org/donate/. ****** This talk is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

meditation emotions mindfulness buddhism buddha dharma gil vipassana sangha redwood city gil fronsdal suchness insight meditation center audio dharma fronsdal

Harmony of Zen and Vipassana (3 of 5) The Suchness of Emotions

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2021 13:37

This talk was given by Gil Fronsdal on 2021-04-21 at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. ****** For more talks like this, visit AudioDharma.org ****** If you have enjoyed this talk, please consider supporting Audio Dharma with a donation at https://www.audiodharma.org/donate/. ****** This talk is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

meditation emotions buddhist buddhism buddha talks dharma gil vipassana sangha redwood city gil fronsdal suchness insight meditation center audio dharma fronsdal

Stop

DHARMA SPRING

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2020 24:39

Zen is essentially a deconstructive practice. Rather than building up and fortifying a different way of being to replace our current state, it is a path of dismantling and undoing the habitual, unhelpful patterns that lead us away and astray from the fullness of our lives and our being right where we are. To support our journeying along more deeply and authentically from right where we are, we become aware of and put a stop to the wayward journeys we engage in that block, stifle, and hinder us. In short, we stop, and this opens the way for us to truly begin.Support the show (https://www.paypal.me/apalmr)

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Resistance, Suchness and The Heart Sutra

Ordinary Mind Zen School

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2020 11:21

Resistance, Suchness and The Heart Sutra by Ordinary Mind Zen School

resistance heart sutra suchness

Home Practice: One Suchness in Action and Rest - Rev. WonGong

Won Buddhism Dharma Talks

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2020 20:26

Dharma Talk by Rev. WonGong (July/19/2020) @ Won Buddhism of North Carolina http://www.wonbuddhismnc.org/

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139 - Suchness: Awakening to the Preciousness of Things-As-It-Is

awakening buddhist buddha preciousness suchness

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2020 45:22

All religions and spiritual practices have one purpose: To relieve our suffering and give us hope. As Buddhists we sometimes emphasize “relieving suffering” and leave it unsaid that, after being freed from your suffering, you will perceive things in a way that gives you hope, inspiration, and solace. The Buddhist teaching of suchness arose a couple hundred years after the Buddha to address the need some of us feel to hear descriptions of the positive aspect of reality from the beginning of our practice.

Meditating with Buddhist Sutras, with Michael Owens

Deconstructing Yourself

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2019 76:26

Host Michael Taft speaks with Michael Owens, a Buddhist teacher and author, about being a monk in Taiwan, Buddhist sutras as portals to alternate realities, understanding dependent origination, the nondual ground and extreme psychedelia of the Mahayana sutras, the Vimalakirti Nirdeśa Sutra, explaining the "inconceivable," Suchness as the opposite of Emptiness, and more.Michael Charles Owens is a Buddhist teacher, translator, and author. Michael uses a sutra-based curriculum that draws from a variety of traditions to teach the history, philosophy, and practice of Buddhism. His teaching style weaves humor and storytelling with modern scholarly research to create a unique learning experience. He teaches regularly for the San Francisco Dharma Collective and he also runs Lotus Underground, a repository of his teaching activities, audio recordings, and writings.MC Owens - Lotus Underground on Soundcloud

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Enlightenment Day and Ongoing Care for the Dharma of Suchness

Ancient Dragon Zen Gate Dharma Talks

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2019 56:48

ADZG 770 ADZG Sunday Morning Sesshin Talk by Rev. Taigen Dan Leighton

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Five Dharmas Of The Lankavatara - 07-03-19 by Sokuzan - SokukoJi.org

SokukoJi Buddhist Temple Monastery

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2019 57:26

Five Dharmas of the Lankavatara Sutra: 1. Something arises 2. We name it 3. We explain it 4 & 5. Correct knowledge and Suchness, in either order. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMUeI8DlMLQ

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Suchness Without Delay

DHARMA FIELD

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2019 56:33

Talk given by Steve Hagen. For more talks visit dharmafield.org

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Emptiness and Suchness

How to meditate | Guided Meditation and talks

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2019 19:24

This Guided Meditation was given by Ajahn Amaro on the 17th of March 2019, Winter Retreat at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, UK. The post Emptiness and Suchness appeared first on Amaravati Buddhist Monastery.

uk guided meditation emptiness winter retreat suchness ajahn amaro amaravati buddhist monastery

Emptiness and Suchness

Ajahn Amaro Podcast by Amaravati

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2019 19:24

This Guided Meditation was given by Ajahn Amaro on the 17th of March 2019, Winter Retreat at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, UK. The post Emptiness and Suchness appeared first on Amaravati Buddhist Monastery.

uk guided meditation emptiness winter retreat suchness ajahn amaro amaravati buddhist monastery

Giving From Your "Suchness"

SpeakItOn

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2019 16:18

Acts chapter 3 has an amazing story of Peter and John healing a lame man. The man thought he might get money, but he got something so much more. Peter said "silver and gold have I none, but SUCH AS I HAVE give I thee..." Peter gave of his "suchness" from God. Here are some thoughts on how we can follow Peter's example...

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37: Synths and Suchness

It's Just Called Two Brothers

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2018 32:18

TOPICS • More exciting moving minutiae! • Limbo, and the neatly ordered D&D afterlife • Life with the in-laws (spoiler: it's nice) • FM synth sounds • Howard Jones, Jupiter-8 maven • Personal connection to a tragedy • Music share: Brian Balmages, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Punch Brothers LINKS • A bunch about planes of existence in D 'n' D: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Plane • Brian Balmages - "Arabian Dances" https://open.spotify.com/track/4hT6wR3GLqMsd6ODodleN1?si=n2SHpco3ThCoLwkHxSAzPA • Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - "Future Choice" https://open.spotify.com/track/51dEuOWi7oP68iKMBkpvYA?si=C3rT9YyLTumrpBOVxORpUA • Punch Brothers - "The Angel of Doubt" https://open.spotify.com/track/0N4SbPXyqsfnLEJuSvc1gC?si=uMVQGcmOQwWIHCcdCKnVVg We welcome messages. You can contact us at bros@itsjustcalledtwobrothers.com, or on Twitter at @ijc2b, and on Facebook at https://facebook.com/ijc2b/ Marcus's daily blog about creating stuff (mostly) is at https://marcusharwell.com/ Archived episodes are at https://itsjustcalledtwobrothers.com/ Our theme is by Matt Mahaffey & sElf

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Meditating on LSD

Buddhist Geeks

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2018 74:51

In this episode we speak with meditation teacher & author Michael Taft about his experience of meditating on LSD. Michael describes himself as someone who has likely done more LSD than anyone you've ever known, while also being a hardcore meditator, a skilled teacher, and one of the more high-functioning & well integrated adults that you're likely to meet.In addition to discussing the potential dangers and downsides of using LSD, Michael also shares his unique experience of the 3 characteristics of the LSD experience, Impermanence, Suchness, & Meta-Rationality, each of which mirror what can be found through Buddhist meditative training. Memorable Quotes:"For this stuff to be powerful it has to be powerful." - Michael Taft"It's like opening a door in your mind you did not know is there." - George HarrisonEpisode Links:

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Consciousness, Spirituality, and Intellectual Honesty, with Thomas Metzinger

Deconstructing Yourself

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2017 91:32

Thomas Metzinger and Michael W. Taft discuss having moral integrity with yourself, intellectual honesty in the pursuit of spirituality, the overlapping goals of science and spirituality, the possibility of a fully secularized spirituality, neurofeedback and virtual reality, mortality denial, the simulation hypothesis, and a whole bunch more.Thomas Metzinger is full professor and director of the theoretical philosophy group and the research group on neuroethics/neurophilosophy at the department of philosophy, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany. He is the founder and director of the MIND group and Adjunct Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute of Advanced Studies, Germany. His research centers on analytic philosophy of mind, applied ethics, philosophy of cognitive science, and philosophy of mind. He is the editor of Neural Correlates of Consciousness and the author of Being No One and The Ego Tunnel.Thomas Metzinger’s website.A video of Metzinger’s Spirituality and Intellectual Honesty talk.Read an interview with Thomas Metzinger, entitled “What Is the Self?“Show Notes0:25 – Introduction2:53 – Interesting times in the world4:12 – Summary of Thomas’ talk, “Spirituality and Intellectual Honesty”7:46 – Impact and divided reactions to “Spirituality and Intellectual Honesty”12:43 – Internal moral integrity: belief formation & authority17:05 – Needing a teacher, master or guru21:10 – Surrender, Western enlightenment and the “crazy corner”24:13 – Getting science to say something interesting about human experience26:08 – Neurofeedback glasses for walking meditation; taking meditation into life30:00 – Virtuality and nothingness, consciousness as virtual reality34:03 – Suchness; spirituality as de-immersion from conscious experience, meditating on artifacts36:20 – The feeling of being real, transparently and opacity38:55 – Hyperreality & derealization: hallucinogens, religious ecstasy and seizures40:42 – VR meditation, getting in touch with virtuality42:28 – Reaching earlier brain processing stages through meditation or hallucinogens45:43 – The Ruining Innocence podcast: a half-serious criticism of taxonomies and discussing meditation49:33 – Thomas’ thoughts on the Arrow of Attention; correlates in neuroscience53:20 – Mindfulness of inattention and avoidance, pitfalls of mindfulness56:07 – Discussing Douglas Harding: the Headless Way and immersion; more discussion of the Arrow of Attention1:00:14 – The self as a visual metaphor; the pre-3D lump of sensations and motor babbling1:03:23 – Thomas’ recent studies of subjectivity: the epistemic agent model of self1:09:48 – How it transpires that the Self is not conscious1:11:34 – Questioning science’s value for practice; the moral imperative of trying to improve contemplative practice1:15:12 – Thomas’ critique of the perennial philosophy; strategies of mortality denial1:22:07 – The simulation hypothesis; thoughts in the mind of god1:25:41 – Is suffering real, and how deep does reality go?1:29:05 – A hypothetical merging of science and subjectivity1:31:29 – OutroYou can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.

Placing Ourselves in Suchness, Part Two

Vanessa Zuisei Goddard

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2017 35:59

In the second half of her talk on Suchness, Zuisei speaks further on the nature of reality and our place in it. “Our lives are just long enough for us to ask, ‘What is this?' and to find an answer to that question. But they are too short not to ask at all.”

placing suchness

Placing Ourselves in Suchness, Part 1

Vanessa Zuisei Goddard

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2017 40:18

Do we know things as they truly are, or as our ideas and perceptions of what they might be? In this talk, Zuisei speaks on a concept from Yogachara's philosophies of consciousness , wherein the first field of perception is the “field of suchness”— where we perceive reality directly. Cultivating this discernment between truth and perception is an ongoing practice— one that ultimately opens us up to liberation.

cultivating placing suchness

The Two Aspects Of Suchness - by Sokuzan - Wednesday, May 17, 2017 - http://sokukoji.org

SokukoJi Buddhist Temple Monastery

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2017 43:15

The fullness of this is what you are thinking and feeling and doing and all that is happening. It is empty of what you think it is. This fullness and emptiness that are not two are the two aspects of Suchness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7HifWHP2rQ

battle talk meditation suffering mindfulness buddhist zen buddhism creek aspects dharma suchness shikantaza sokuzan

Suchness And Self Acceptance

Ordinary Mind Zen School

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2016 28:22

Sesshin Day 3 (Nov 2016)

self acceptance suchness

Non Fear

Brooklyn Zen Center Audio Dharma Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2016 105:06

The Retreat on Buddhist Psychology continues in Key West, Florida. The date is November 9, 1997. This is the final talk in the series. Thay jumps immediately to the teachings on the verses of consciousness, the topic of this retreat, beginning with the thirtieth verse. Self and nonself. Interbeing. Consciousness is always flowing and evolving. Conditioned dharmas (36). Space and time are not separated entities. The only dharma that can be considered "unconditioned" is nirvana. Suchness (36). No coming. No going. Tathagata. Verses 37-40, we learn about the four conditions. Primary cause. Object cause. Supporting causes. Immediacy of continuity. These four conditions are necessary for manifestation. Deluded mind and true mind. Codependent arising. Paratantra (41). Samsara and suchness are no different. It is deluded mind to think they are different - they have the same ground. The flower is already present in the garbage (42). We see one in the other. They are not two. There is no need to run away from birth and death (43). We can understand that the kingdom of God is at hand; available in the present. Conscious breathing and Right View (44). Mindfulness can transform all mental formations (45). Mindfulness is the energy of God. And mindfulness is not an idea, but something we can cultivate and allow to grow. To be alive in the presence of God. Transformation at the base is down there at the depth of our consciousness. This is where the real transformation takes place and our internal knots are slipping (46). The present moment contains the future (47). The secret to transformation at the base is how well we handle the present moment. And practicing with a sangha can help it occur more easily. Affliction and enlightenment are the same (50). Ride on the waves of birth and death. With no fear. There are three kinds of gifts: material gifts, gift of the dharma, and nonfear (this is the greatest gift to give). The practice of nonfear can let I'd look into the light of interbeing. When we chant the Heart Sutra, we see that Sariputra has been able to transcend fear. History of Buddhist Teachings Many have asked who is the author of these 51 Verses. After the Buddha passed away, a few decades after, there was a need to systemize the teachings of the Buddha. This is known as the Abhidharma - super dharma - and it contains many many teachings. Thay offers the background on the abidharma teachings over time. Some of these teachings have been translated into English so it can be available to you. For example, the Path of Purification, the Twenty verses on Manifestation only (or mere manifestation - it is a very difficult teaching), but the 51 verses are much easier. You can listen to these talks again or purchase Understanding Our Mind: 50 Verses on Buddhist Psychology. Two Stories on Dying Story of Anapindika and Sariputra with the practice on the Recollection of the Three Jewels. Story of Alfred Hassler. About 8-years ago, on the way to the Omega Institute for a retreat, we learned our dear friend Alfred Hassler was dying in a hospital nearby. Sr. Chan Không and Thay decided to stop and visit him along with Alfred's wife and daughter. Thay recalls some of the work done with Alfred and his family. If you appreciate this teaching, please consider making a donation to support the ongoing efforts of the online monastery. Please make a note with your donation that it was because of this talk.

2016 Rohatsu Sesshin by Reb Anderson: Day 2 (2016/05/19)

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2016

The Samadhi is the teaching of Suchness. The Samadhi is intimate communion. The Samadhi is Buddhas and Ancestors. Buddhas and ancestors are the Samadhi. Buddhas and Ancestors are that teaching. Buddhas and Ancestors are intimate communion. Bodhisattvas want to live in that intimate communion, they want to be Buddhas and Ancestors, they want to be … 2016 Rohatsu Sesshin by Reb Anderson: Day 2 (2016/05/19) Read More »

buddha ancestors samadhi bodhisattvas suchness rohatsu sesshin

Suchness Sesshin Day 3

Ordinary Mind Zen School

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2015 29:24

Suchness Sesshin Day 3 by Ordinary Mind Zen School

sesshin suchness

Nature Suchness - June 14, 2015

Live Dharma Sunday

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2015 28:00

Dharma Glimpse by Lay Minister Douglas Kuyo. Dharma Talk by Rev. Koyo Kubose.

nature rev buddhism buddha dharma sangha dharma talk suchness

Suchness : Morning Talk Reflection

Sunday Talks 2010

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2014 43:14

Suchness AM Reflection 19 Mar 2007 Ajahn Sumedho The post Suchness : Morning Talk Reflection appeared first on Amaravati Buddhist Monastery.

reflection morning talk suchness amaravati buddhist monastery

Suchness : Morning Talk Reflection

Ajahn Sumedho Podcast by Amaravati

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2014 43:14

Suchness AM Reflection 19 Mar 2007 Ajahn Sumedho The post Suchness : Morning Talk Reflection appeared first on Amaravati Buddhist Monastery.

reflection morning talk suchness amaravati buddhist monastery

Suchness (1986)

108 Talks by Ajahn Sumedho

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2014 53:15

These Dhamma talks or reflections are given by Luang Por Sumedho during the course of 1978 until 2010. These talks have been compiled when Luang Por Sumedho retired from abbotship of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in 2010. The post Suchness (1986) appeared first on Amaravati Buddhist Monastery.

suchness amaravati buddhist monastery luang por sumedho

Perception and Reality

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2014 109:46

Originally given in Vietnamese, available from Lang Mai, the talk from the Upper Hamlet of Plum Village is dated Sunday, January 19, 2014 and is the nineteenth talk of the 2013-2014 Winter Retreat. English translation, available below, is by Sr. Tue Nghiem. We begin with a teaching on the art of happiness and the art of suffering and how the body and mind work together. The second half of the talk returns to our sutra study by looking at perception and reality. 0:00-9:07 Chanting 9:28-29:36 Art of Generating Happiness 29:36-37:54 Art of Suffering 37:55- 50:25 Mindfulness of Body 50:25-1:07:11 Direct Perception 1:07:11-1:20:25 Representative Perception - Manas 1:20:25-1:32:52 Mind consciousness in Dispersion 1:32:52-end Reality as Form If we know how to use our time, we can learn a lot in only a week at Plum Village and when we return home we can continue our practice. Mindfulness helps us generate peace, joy, and happiness. This can realized in every breath and step. We can use mindfulness, concentration, and insight. Mindfulness is happening in our body, feeling, and perception. It helps us know what is happening right now. We all have mindfulness energy. A second meaning for mindfulness is to remember, to recall. Our experiences of the past. With our mindfulness we can have insight. Do we know how to make use of our insight? Concentration is focusing on something. We can dwell stably in the present moment. An experienced practitioner who can generate joy, peace, and happiness in every step and every breath. While we are here at Plum Village we can practice so that we can also do it when we return home. This is the art of generating happiness. How are we not caught by things worthy of pursuit? Our attachments prevent us from being happy. We can be happy when we let go. Mindfulness can also help us manage our suffering, our painful feelings and emotions. In doing so, we can suffer less. This is the art of suffering. We can use our suffering to generate our happiness. Love and understanding bloom from the mud of our suffering. In only one week we can generate and learn this practice. First, there is mindfulness of the body. When we breath-in, we bring our mind back to the body. This is the first fruit of the practice. We have some exercises to become more aware of our body. How do we practice with mindfulness of our body. The other day we began to learn the three objects and we continue here. Direct perception - things in themselves. Suchness. Reality as it is is a direct and correct and right perception. Subject and object of perception that always go together. What does science and Buddhism have to say about this? True direct perception sees the unity of subject and object. This includes consciousness of a object. Our practice is to break through ideas and the more we can do this then the more we can be happy. We can take away the discrimination of things. Store conciousness has this true and right perception but manas does not. Manas is the desire to live coming from sttore conciousness but considers the body as a self. It is obstructed. This is an erroneous direct perception. The object of manas is only a representation of reality. Mind consciousness in dispersion. When in this condition, there is no mindfulness and can be easily be influenced by manas to look for pleasure and avoid suffering. If we have mind conciousness, then we can see the Four Kinds of Nutriments. We have to know to inhibit and shine light manas so the amount of "mud" is in moderation so we can grow the lotus. We need some amount of mud. Direct perception. Erroneous perception. Wrong perception. In the 30-verses, we see the three natures. The tendency of conciousness to cut reality into pieces. Interdependent co-determination. Memory and mere image.

Discovering Non-Discriminative Wisdom

Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2013 116:32

November 24, 2013. 116-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Lower Hamlet of Plum Village. This is the third talk of the 2013-2014 Winter Retreat. We begin with two chants (17-minutes) from the monastics. The talk was given in Vietnamese and this is an English translation by Sr. Tue Nghiem. Shares a little about the chant in Vietnamese; it's about love. The purpose of the practice is to generate joy/happiness and to take care of our suffering. How do we do this? We do tis with mindfulness, concentration, and insight. The foundations of the Four Noble Truths in Plum Village. Walking and sitting meditation should be viewed as a privilege. Freedom can be found in our busyness. Every action can bring happiness, it is a path of happiness. A mental formation such as contact is present when three things are present. The organ, object, and consciousness. All three must be present. Mind and consciousness. When is consciousness active? The mind still works when there is no consciousness. This is the store consciousness. The eighth consciousness that comprise the store consciousness. The store consciousness can learn good things and bad things; it is neutral. Door consciousness can be both individual and collective. Interdependent co-arising; Interdependent nature of phenomenon. One thing gives birth or arising to another thing. Suchness. Transcending the idea of being and non-being. Inter arising of suchness. Inter arising of all phenomenon. Where is store consciousness? Example of H2O to illustrate. The characteristics of manas. Manas. The lover. The seventh consciousness. What are the dangers of manas? Manas does not know the goodness of suffering. The sixth consciousness is the gardener and can bring Mindfulness to the seventh consciousness. No self, so no complex of inferiority for superiority or quality.

The Knowledge of Suchness

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2013 4:27

Our FBA Dharmabyte today is a reading from the and#8216;Perfection of Wisdomand#8217; titled: and#8220;The Knowledge of the Suchness of the Skandhasand#8221;. From the guided and#8220;Reflection on the Five Skandhasand#8221; in the series and#8220;Night Lily Garden of the Midnight Way and#8211; Emptiness and the Great Compassionand#8221; by Kulaprabha.

reflection perfection emptiness sunyata suchness skandhas wisdomand

Sitting is an Art