Podcasts about ummon

In der aktuell als düster empfundenen Weltsituation stellen sich einige die Frage, wie sie erhellend auf die Umstände einwirken können. Martin Luther King hat uns aufgefordert, für den Umgang mit menschlichen Konflikten eine Methode zu entwickeln, die Rache, Aggression sowie Bestrafung ausschließt und deren Grundlage Liebe ist. Bereits der Buddha lehrte, mit einem großzügigen Herzen und freundlicher Sprache ein mitfühlendes Leben des Dienens zu führen, damit auf diese Weise die Menschheit erneuert und die Erde geschützt wird. In Koan 86 des Hekiganroku versichert uns Ummon, dass jeder sein eigenes Licht hat. Es leuchtet mitten im Herzen und gibt ständig Impulse, wie wir uns kreativ und liebevoll uns selbst sowie sämtlichen anderen Wesen zuwenden können. Wenn wir dieses innere Licht kultivieren, werden wir zu Rebellen des Mitgefühls im Sinne des Dalai Lama und schaffen lebensdienliche Strukturen sowohl für uns als auch unseren Planeten. Um für junge Erwachsene den Aufenthalt im ToGenJi zu ermöglichen, bitten wir um eine Spende: Sie finden die Kontodaten/Paypal auf unserer Website https://choka-sangha.de/spenden/ Herzlichen Dank

In this Teisho, given on December 2, 2024, the second full day of Chobo-ji's Rohatsu Sesshin, Rinzan Osho examines case 50 of the Hekiganroku: Ummon's "Particle After Particle Samadhi." When we see beyond concepts, we can be open, free and responsive to the great reality, a place where words meet words and spirit meets spirit.

Teisho, given on December 2, 2024, the second full day of Chobo-ji's Rohatsu Sesshin, by Rinzan Osho. When we see beyond concepts, we can be open, free and responsive to the great reality, a place where words meet words and spirit meets spirit.

In this Teisho, given on October 17, 2024, Rinzan Osho examines case 47 of the Hekiganroku: Ummon's "Beyond the Six."  Taking up our practice on the cushion, stilling the mind, we feel into something beyond, but here. We relax and immerse ourselves in it, so we can rise up in service of that which is beyond the beyond.

In Koan 39 des Mumonkan möchte ein Mönch von Ummon wissen, was der wahre Leib des Buddha ist. Ist es der fleischgewordene Körper, mit dem Shakyamuni in das altindische Kastensystem geboren wurde, der eine Vielzahl von Handlungen hervorgebracht und das soziale System seiner Zeit transzendiert hat? Ummon antwortet »Kayakuran«, was ein gehegter Blumengarten bedeutet, und verweist auf den paradiesischen und geschützten Aspekt der Buddhanatur. Sind wir mit dem in Kontakt, blühen in unserem Herzen Blumen. Doch der Mönch zweifelt, ob er das wörtlich nehmen kann. Denn dann wären ja nur die schönen Aspekte Buddha. Dazu sagt Ummon »Goldhaarlöwe« und bezieht sich damit auf die Leidhaftigkeit der Schöpfung. Auch dieser Aspekt ist Buddha. Dieses ist, weil jenes ist. Das Paradies ist mit dem Schlamm verbunden. Was eine gute Nachricht ist, weil dadurch die Schlammanteile unserer Existenz bei entsprechenden Bedingungen, die Möglichkeit in sich tragen, zu höchster Schönheit zu erblühen. Für den Buddha gab es keine Unberührbaren. Jeder kann erleuchtet werden, selbst der Massenmörder Aṅgulimāla. Wir sind also alle potentielle Buddhas. Doch Partei gegen den Schlamm zu ergreifen, hilft nicht. Der Schlamm will dabeibleiben. Es ist also die Aufgabe von jedem von uns, einen Weg zu finden, liebevoll mit der ganzen Polarität umzugehen. Um für junge Erwachsene den Aufenthalt im ToGenJi zu ermöglichen, bitten wir um eine Spende: Sie finden die Kontodaten/Paypal auf unserer Website https://choka-sangha.de/spenden/ Herzlichen Dank

Diese Frage stellt uns Ummon in Koan 16 des Mumonkan und weist darauf hin, dass die Welt doch unermesslich und weit ist. Warum also sich den Strapazen und strengen Regeln der Zen-Praxis aussetzen? Der Antwort jagen wir hinterher, bis wir erkennen, dass Freiheit nicht in den äußeren Umständen und deren Analyse zu finden ist. Vielmehr liegt sie in der Erkenntnis der »ungehinderten wechselseitigen Durchdringung der Erscheinungen«, wie es im Kegon-Sutra heißt. Erst wenn wir also bemerken, dass die uns umgebende Welt eine uns zutiefst verwandte Welt ist, entwickeln wir wahres Mitgefühl und tun uns zunehmend schwer, vermeintliche Beschränkungen abzulehnen. Im Zen ist frei, wer mit den Beschränkungen der Welt umgeht. Der sich Wandelnde wandelt unwandelbar durch das sich Wandelnde. Genau genommen bewegen wir uns also jeden Moment auf dem schmalen Grat zwischen Himmel und Hölle. Wir ganz allein entscheiden uns für ein Leben in Leid oder eine Welt der Freiheit ohne Gleichen. Um für junge Erwachsene den Aufenthalt im ToGenJi zu ermöglichen, bitten wir um eine Spende: Sie finden die Kontodaten/Paypal auf unserer Website https://choka-sangha.de/spenden/ Herzlichen Dank

Genjo Marinello Osho gave this Teisho during the sixth day of Spring Sesshin, 2023.  This case examines Ummon's Golden Breeze. What would it be like to drop all of our delusions and preferences. How then would we live our lives?

This week Sam brings the culmination of six previous episodes with the final part of the 1990 Dan Simmons novel The Fall of Hyperion. Kassad is back and he's ready to kick some Shrike butt! However, the Shrike is still a master of time so Kassad ends up in the distant future where he leads a band of humans against hordes of Shrike in a final battle that also determines how many Shrike get sent back in time. Also, Moneta is there and it's her first time meeting Kassad due to time shenanigans. Back in the valley, Brawne sets off to the Time Tomb known as the Shrike Palace because her trip to the datumplane showed her that it has some connection to the Tree of Thorns. Sol goes back to the Sphinx to sit and wait for Rachel. Meanwhile, Keats/Severn has a not-very-helpful conversation with Ummon and then dies (kinda) and Leigh Hunt buries him under the watchful gaze of the Shrike (don't ask how), and then finds himself stranded on Earth. Back with the Ousters, the Consul is informed that the Ousters are not, in fact, invading the Hegemony, it's the TechnoCore, gasp! He's also informed that at no point did his actions stem from freewill, but were manipulated by just everyone around him. He does not take that well. Also meanwhile, Meina Gladstone is struggling to find a path forward that doesn't involve using the TechnoCore's plan of a deathwand bomb that may or may not wipe out humanity (Spoiler: it probably will). that's when the ghost consciousness of Severn/Keats decides to bop-around the datumplane/Metasphere a bit having shed his corporeal body. He takes this opportunity to get into the dreams of Meina and also His-Brand-New-As-Yet-Unnamed-Holiness Paul Duré, and give them some very cryptic information that really saves their butts. Will Meina be able to thwart the Core? Will humanity survive? How the heck does Brawne turn the Shrike to glass? Answers to two of those question, and definitely not all three, can be found in this action-packed, jumbo finale of the Fall of Hyperion! While you may be sad this is the end, Danielle could not be more stoked that it's over.

Tenshin Roshi talks on Case 78 of the Book of Equanimity, "Ummon's Farm Rice Cake".

This week Sam returns to his comfort zone with the 1990 Dan Simmons novel The Fall of Hyperion. The Time Tombs have opened and the Ousters are invading the WorldWeb, so things could be going better for the Hegemony. Severn is woken up just in time to take a little walk through the first-wave invasion worlds after filling in Meina Gladstone on the current goings-on of the pilgrims. Meina clues in Severn that his "dreams" of the pilgrims are extending beyond his supposed connection to the other Keats persona cybrid, and somehow this never occurred to Severn. Severn decides to meditate into a vision, and sees Martin Silenus stuck on the Tree of Pain, but through the power of reciting poetry he's able to ease his pain, and that of those around him, enough to apologize to Sad King Billy who just happens to be impaled right near by. Convenient! Anyway, Severn then goes to Renaissance Vector and meditates again, this time getting a vision of Meina in her war room deciding on a plan to abandon the first-wave worlds so they can take the fight to the Ouster swarms to save the rest of the Web. Severn wakes up and is suddenly chased by a mob of Shrike Cult zealots before escaping into a library with a dedicated room full of Keats poems. Super convenient! Severn takes yet another nap and sees Brawne and Johnny traversing the Megaspehere to find Ummon, Johnny's "father", a megalith that loves to speak in koans, so that's fun. It informs them about a war between a machine-created Ultimate Intelligence and a human-derived Ultimate Intelligence from far in the future, where part of the triune human Ultimate Intelligence fled back in time to the "present" to hide and keep from losing the war. Thus, the Shrike was sent back in time to track it down and finish the battle. That's just such a brief summation of the lunacy contained in Ummon's story. Also, Paul Duré is back in the web on Pacem. How did he get there? Two words: Corpse tunnels.

Genjo Marinello Osho gave this Teisho during the fifth day of Rohatsu Sesshin, 2022. This talk, which examines Ummon's "Preaching Oneness and No Preaching Oneness." Genjo explores the two sides of this coin, and how they relate to the Four Noble Truths.

Sesshin: November 2022, Day 6. Description: What is my light? Why can't I see it? How do I stop objectifying myself and those around me? Source(s): The Golden Age of Zen by John C.H. Wu, Doubleday 1996 Teisho by Roshi Amala Wrightson. Automated Transcript The post Hekiganroku #86, Ummon's “Everybody has their own light” appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

In this Teisho, given on March 13th, 2022, Rinzan Osho examines The Blue Cliff Record, Case 83: Ummon's "The Old Buddha Communes With a Pillar." The practice of zen asks us to dissolve our barriers and commune with all things, animate and inanimate, sentient and insentient.

Genjo Marinello Osho gave this Teisho on the fifth day of Spring Sesshin, 2022, investigating the 39th Case of the Mumonkan. This talk examines the truth that we can embody any of the ancient masters.

Rinzan Osho gave the following Teisho on January 13th, 2022, on day 6 of No-Rank Zendo's Rohatsu Sesshin examining Case 77 of the Hekiganroku: "Ummon's 'A Sesame Bun.'" We long for more complete intimacy with our lives. When the membrane that separates us falls away, we are complete and unseparated.

Ummon presents our human predicament: We each have our own light but when we try to see it everything is dark. What is this light, and what is the darkness? How do we find our way? Source(s): The Golden Age of Zen by John C.H Wu Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/Yn0cUA1CVjt87V_SsUdY4NFU9MU

Rinzai or Soto?It does not make much diff'rence —if you are sincere.* * *In the last segment, we ended with Matsuoka Roshi's cautionary tale about overreacting to the menu of Zen and other meditation teachers on offer today:In all the world now there are many genuine teachers and many more pretenders. The popular Zen teachers of today may fade in a year or two.He goes on to point out that with Master Dogen, and other teachers in the so-called unbroken face-to-face lineage from Shakyamuni on down, many of their stories are subject to revisionist history, which further amplifies his point on history as a great deceiver:Of course, if you were a slightly dishonest scholar of the Sung era who wanted to justify the Lin Chi sect's use of koans, it would be handy to make a venerable canon testify to that prior practice. This story, and that of Dogen, are just two specifics from modern Zen research to remind you to distrust historians a little. With bad information, it is easier to let yourself believe some embellished legends, and then wonder why they do not make sense in your own life.Why should the history of Zen Buddhism be any different, after all? As soon as any record is written down, as usual by the victors, it is subject to error, intentional or accidental. While we have the ideal of the separation of church and state as a contemporary meme, it was not always so. Those who do not study history may be doomed to repeat it, but we cannot take for granted that the written record is any more than an approximation of what actually happened, and why. The who, how, where and when are often questionable as well. Not to be too paranoid, but Zen Mind is one of few things we can trust:There is of course a second thing to distrust. There is nothing that is static, so do not look for an unchanging Zen tradition any more than you would look for an unchanging you. In examining Zen as it has been taught in all the different times and places in the last 2,500 years or so, the form has changed, and changed, and changed again. The original vinaya, or monastic rules, as set down by Shakyamuni Buddha to his disciples are no longer all practiced in the monasteries of modern China and Japan, and yet, the Zen practice is as authentic as the first practice of the historic Buddha.Here is a fundamental koan on the history of Zen: its form changes but its essence does not. It is based on the innate quality of the buddha, or awakened, nature, as being natural, the birthright of all humans. The method, that is the only concrete thing that is transmitted in Zen, is what fosters this realization. It does not matter, in this sense, what the historical details really were. We do not claim the performance of miracles, for instance, other than awakening to the miracle of existence itself.After going into tighter focus on the history of Zen in 9th century China, mentioning some of the standout “monsters” of Zen, as we like to refer to them, and remarking their differences, Sensei includes verbal and visual pedagogy:Each of the three schools [Ikyo; Ummon Zen; and Hogen Zen sects] was based upon meditation practice and upon the use of verbal or diagrammatic means to reveal the light of inherent wisdom. Wei Yang of Ikyo Zen and his disciples used a series of circular figures that they would draw in the sand. By means of these illustrations and the terse descriptions that accompanied them, and by question-and-answer, called “mondo,” the Ikyo masters worked for the liberation of their disciples.Socrates was not the only master innovating non-traditional teaching approaches. We are challenged to do likewise today.Wrapping up his brief survey of this century-plus of Ch'an, Sensei summarizes:Of the five schools of Zen, these three vanished. What is ironic is that Yun Men, founder of the Ummon sect, was the most popular of all the founders of the five houses of Zen in that century. And yet, the Ummon sect vanished. The two Chinese houses of Zen that lasted, and later crossed the shore to Japan, were Rinzai and Soto. These two I will discuss in a little more depth.Matsuoka Roshi, like many of the early pioneers of Zen in America, was steeped in the history of Zen, developing a near-encyclopedic memory of teachings and the exchanges between the great ancestors. But for our immediate ancestors, the history of Zen was inseparable from the history of the country, Japan, itself. In our case, they may appear as interesting — if somewhat irrelevant — stories from a remote part of the world. Imagine what it would be like if they were intertwined with the story of America, from its founding to the Revolution, and the subsequent establishment of the Republic. Master George Washington. Fully enlightened Thomas Jefferson, Zenji. James Madison, dai osho. John Adams, Roshi. Brother Ben Franklin, that iconoclast rogue monk. Householders all. But I digress:The Master I Hsuan (Gigen in Japanese) of Lin Chi Temple is credited with being the founder of the Lin Chi or Rinzai Zen sect. Lin Chi, as I Hsuan is also known, was a very intense, driven and severe disciple of Huang Po (Obaku Kiun in Japanese). He used beatings, shouting and other severe discipline in conjunction with koan practice to open the eyes of his followers. Although others before Lin Chi used these methods, under Lin Chi's guidance, they became a most skillful means of teaching to obtain immediate enlightenment. Lin Chi also discoursed on more doctrinal issues, like the four propositions of Indian Buddhist logic; but such discussions were the common interest of Zen disciples in China at the beginning of the Five Dynasties period. Despite his strict and somewhat brutal methods, Lin Chi was also well able to discourse on the dharma in public debate, a teaching method now sometimes called “dharma combat.” After Lin Chi, however, the teaching style of the sect became more formalized, and less spontaneous. Nonetheless, it has proved itself to be a vital and effective teaching.Where others see and tend to stress difference over sameness — the current political term of art being “divisiveness” — Sensei, and Zen teachers in general, tend to stress sameness over difference. The ultimate resolution of this binary is found in Sekito Kisen's Sandokai — Harmony of Sameness and Difference. Matsuoka Roshi had friends who were priests in the Rinzai sect, one of whom visited the Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago, and was the guest speaker. Since it was in Japanese, I do not remember the content. But afterward, if memory serves, we began striking both shoulders with the kyosaku, the “wake-up” stick, instead of only the right shoulder. Sitting with a Rinzai group in Japan in 1987, I asked for the stick, and they struck down the back on both sides of the spine, rather than on the shoulders. I suspect that Matsuoka Roshi adopted the double strike as an influence of Rinzai, but do not know for sure.He goes on to compare Rinzai with Soto, the tradition in which he trained at Sojiji, Keizan's monastery:The original Ts'ao Tung sect does not bear much resemblance to the modern Soto sect. In fact, old Lin Chi Zen is closer to modern Rinzai than Ts'ao Tung is to modern Soto. The masters Liang Chiai of Tung Shan monastery, and Pen Chi of Ts'ao Shan monastery are credited as being cofounders of the Soto sect, although Liang Chiai died thirty-one years before Pen Chi. Again the main practice was zazen, but the “finger pointing to the moon of enlightenment” took the form of the teaching of the five ranks.The five ranks were a system of symbols used to differentiate among the levels of enlightenment. The ranks were the prince; the minister; the prince looking at the minister; the minister returning to the prince; and the prince and minister in harmony. Additionally, the idea of “host and guest” were used interchangeably with those of the “prince and minister.” Circular symbols in black and white as well as kua from the I Ching were also used to try to communicate this abstruse and complicated scheme of teaching. As those of you who have practiced Soto Zen know, we do not discuss the five ranks. Instead, we practice zazen-only Zen.So here we find the reduction to zazen-only, the hallmark of simplicity of Soto praxis. Tozan's Five Ranks constitute one of many such models that the ancestors designed to help their students visualize the big picture, while putting their main effort into the reality before their faces. The next sentence is a classic of stating the obvious, but with the resonance of Zen's encompassing worldview:Time passed, and change occurred. The Soto and Rinzai sects also changed. By the middle of the twelfth century AD, Rinzai had become the more popular Chinese Chan sect. The koan system became a regular feature of Rinzai practice. The word “koan” (kung-an in Chinese) translated literally means a “public case,” in this instance a public discussion of the truth of Zen. The koan were alogical problems which were given to disciples to solve. The solution of the koan could only be arrived at with an experience of satori, or some realization of enlightenment.Sensei goes on to demystify this thing, the koan, explaining that,…no intellectual solution to the koan is acceptable to the Rinzai masters because mental antics or logic are the chatter of the superficial self. Only after a hundred and eight thousand or more surface mind answers is the logical mind brought to a frustrated impasse. Then, and most suddenly at that moment, the eye of enlightenment sees with all certainty the solution to the koan.Sensei traces the origin of the schism that developed between the two systems:Two great Zen masters lived in the twelfth century China: Rinzai Master, Ta Hui (1189–1163 AD) and Soto Master, Tien T'ung (1091–1157 AD). These two contemporaries criticized each other's version of Zen teaching. You will hear their positions repeated today, so it is instructive to know what they said.And concludes his gloss on the history with a reconciliation of the conflict on the personal level:When Tien T'ung died, his Rinzai dharma combatant, Ta Hui, hastened to attend his funeral rites. Soto and Rinzai Zen of the Sung dynasty ending time is fairly much how Rinzai and Soto are practiced today.Puts one in mind of other famous contemporaries and their deaths, such as Huineng and Shenxui, of the so-called Southern and Northern schools of Ch'an. And, more recently, that of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who famously passed within hours of each other on July 4th, 1826.Sensei then brings us to our present lineage founder:It was not too long after Tien T'ung's death that Dogen Zenji was born in 1200 AD in Japan.We will not be able to fully cover this in-depth exegesis on the ways of Zen in the time we have available. I will share a few of the nuggets, with the hope that you will follow by studying the whole chapter and book. In concluding his remarks on Soto versus Rinzai pedagogy, Sensei uses some striking imagery:Rinzai Zen moves from the outer world to the inner world like a fearless hunter questing for an elusive quarry. If, however, you can understand… Dogen's “practice and enlightenment are the same”; and my “Five minutes of practice, five minutes a Buddha!”; you will know that Soto is just the opposite Zen of Rinzai.The original nature is already present and shining… In Soto Zen, when we sit, we let this original nature shine as it is. When we simply stop interfering, this original nature will melt all our hardness; will untangle our confusion; will blunt all our sharp and jutting angles; and will balance us perfectly without any effort of the small self directing an assault on the great and enlightened self.I think that this sudden enlightenment of the old Rinzai masters seemed so sudden because the way of koan inquiry into the original nature is not the way that the original nature is and acts. The practice of koan Zen applies an extra and angular energy to the primal radiant nature. It pits the small self's desire for peace and harmony with all its own turbulence against the great and silent original mind. Only when the Rinzai practitioner succeeds in exerting a 180 degree polar opposite and artificial energy, does the seat of consciousness turn about on its axis. Suddenly, like two out-of-phase magnets that flip and lock together with inseparable force, the original nature and worldly nature become one, fused inseparably. It seems sudden and violent because koan Zen moves against the outward and outpouring current of radiant enlightenment.All the while, the gradual Soto practice of zazen allows the original nature to dissolve the small, suffering and separated self, breath by breath. The end result does not seem, perhaps, as striking; but it is more sure as a Dhyanayana. No matter whether gradual or sudden, first remembering, then bringing the enlightened nature back into pre-eminence is the way of Zen.Sensei concludes with an exhortation for Americans to practice the gentler approach of Soto Zen:Today, I can absolutely recommend Soto Zen to you as the upaya and Dhyanayana of our time. If you are half-hearted, it will produce no ill effects; and, in fact, will improve some areas of your life physiologically, emotionally, or mentally. If you are sincere and determined to the end, Soto Zen will lead you surely, safely, and most harmoniously, to the supreme realization and to the subtlest Samadhi in this life.Note the definition of zazen Samadhi as the “subtlest,” Master Dogen's “fine mind of Samadhi,” or “subtle mind of Samadhi.”Please take Sensei's compassionate plea to heart. Just sit still enough, long enough, to let your true colors come shining through.* * *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

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All of the teachingsare met within this zazen:pure meditation!* * *In the last segment we ended with Keizan's discussion of the Precepts, the true ones that go beyond mental characterization. These are the manifest Precepts, that do not depend upon our practice. They are natural, and universal. Such constructions as, “Do not kill,” “Do not steal,” and “Do not lie” become statements of the truth — that actually, the universe that gives us birth is that which actually ends life, and we cannot even own anything, let alone steal it. We cannot actually tell the truth, no matter how erudite, or glib, our speech. These, of course, are absolutist views of the Precepts, which also have relative meaning. In this segment we will continue with what the master says about the remaining two “aspects of spiritual training” he mentions. Beginning with mindfulness:“Mindfulness” is the observing that there is nothing that is in excess. When seated in pure meditation, we let go of “body and mind,” abandon “delusion and enlightenment.” We are unchanging, immovable, unwillful, impervious. We are like a simpleton or a legless man. We are like a mountain or an ocean: no trace of “movement versus stillness” has yet arisen. When mindful, there is no fixed state of things. Short and sweet, but comprehensive. Reminds again of Hsinshinming, “The Way is perfect like vast space — nothing lacking, nothing in excess.” Compare with the modern take on mindfulness, from the pop meditation of the same name, meaning “being in the moment.” In our anxiety- and uncertainty-ridden society, just being able to be in the moment for a moment or two, rather than obsessively ruminating over the past, or planning for the future, is certainly welcome. However, it does not begin to answer the question, Mindful of what? Keizan's abbreviated answer is meant to focus like a laser on one key point, but we would be prone to include mindfulness of the Four Noble truths and other central teachings of Buddha. However, his main point here is that we should also not obsess over these teachings, as such. After all, they are only pointing at the reality in front of our face. Which has nothing extra, nothing truly separate, in mokurai, the complementarity of movement and stillness. He takes a similarly blunt approach to defining wise discernment:“Wise discernment” is being selective within enlightened awareness. When seated in pure meditation, what is intellectually known spontaneously vanishes and self-consciousness is discarded. Your whole being's Eye of Discernment possesses no “specialized insight”: It clearly sees Buddha Nature and is, from the first, not deluded.Keizan uses this kind of expression, “from the first,” repeatedly. We will find Hakuin Zenji starting off his Song of Zazen with “From the beginning…” This captures the meaning of “refuge” in Zen — having the connotation of returning to the safe place from which we originated. It has all been like a bad dream, but we are the authors of that dream, and when we wake up, everything will be okay with us. The rest of the baggage that we carry with us — delusion, and the intellectual ramblings and self-centered striving that result — fall away. The emphasis on spontaneity means that this is not something we can do intentionally, but it can happen. Before launching into another litany of practical things like seeking a “good, quiet place,” a thick cushion, avoiding “mist, smoke, or fog” and “rain and dew,” keeping “your sitting place neat and clean,” et cetera, and repeating some of the prior instructions, he delves again into more specifically mental, or better, counter-mental, techniques:This is the technique for meditating: Let go of, and abandon, awareness of thoughts; put to rest looking at mental fancies and images. Do not devise some notion of what “realizing Buddha-hood” is. Do not let right and wrong control you. Act as if you were saving your head which was ablaze!Here we are hearing echoes of Dogen, for sure. Again, the “hair-on-fire” expression may have been a common trope in this period, much as it is currently. The “…give up even the idea of becoming a Buddha” is, again, pure Dogen. It begins to look like this document may have been a result of someone taking notes, or writing down a spontaneous talk given by Keizan Zenji to an audience. It has that kind of character, of jumping from point to point, and being careful to remember and transmit some of the golden nuggets he had inherited from the newly-developing legacy of Dogen's lineage. Many of the passages sound like direct quotes, perhaps paraphrased, and morphed in translation, from various of Dogen's written teachings, which have a more structured feel. Keizan is either quoting or channeling Dogen's Jijuyu Zammai when he says:Do not get involved with the burning of incense, the making of bows, the reciting of the Buddha's name, the undergoing of some penitential ritual, the reading of Scriptures, the holding on to a daily work schedule: just sitting, without “doing” anything, is what you should aim at above all.This does not strike me as the kind of advice and encouragement to a kind of indolence that the parents of the young monks in Keizan's charge would approve. But with a couple of notable exceptions, it seem lifted verbatim from his predecessor. It is notable that in the first line to Jijuyu Zammai, “practice” is the only thing that Dogen mentions and does not repeat in the following two lines, which seem to refute the first. Don't take my word for it, check it out. Practice transcends the relative, absolute, and even the nondual Buddha Way, whereas “…delusion and realization…birth and death…buddhas and sentient beings,” the other binaries recited as examples, apparently do not. “Practice, practice, practice!” sayeth the Preacher.Next, another whiplash:As a general practice, when doing seated meditation, you should put on your kesa. (Remove it in the dark before dawn and at dusk, as you come out of the meditation state.) Do not omit this.He segues instantly from recommending against following traditional protocols to insisting on wearing the formal robe. The kesa, for the uninitiated, is the quilt-like outer robe, which is typically donned at the beginning of zazen, and removed after. This seeming contradiction may be resolved by a sober analysis of what else the average monk would have available to wear, other than the robe, which can hide a lot of sins. The three undergarments in usage today — the juban, or undershirt, with some sort of boxer shorts; and the kimono and koromo, the Japanese and Chinese under-robes, respectively; may not have been universally in vogue. We do have to keep up appearances, to some degree.There are some deep-dive details noted in the text that may be of importance to scholars and historians, another reason I suspect that this may have been recorded from a live presentation in the zendo, or lecture hall. Before going into boilerplate instructions for the posture, one mention by the master I think is useful to clarify some confusion that arises yet today:Whilst on your mat… do not always sustain the cross-legged, “lotus” sitting position; range from a half-lotus position to, later, sitting with your feet under your spine. This is the method of sitting of the Buddhas and Ancestors: sometimes to do full lotus, sometimes half-lotus.This is different from Dogen's written record, but may have been characteristic of his live instructions. Remember that Keizan was born only 15 years after Dogen's demise, so his teachers had lived with and learned from the great founder in person. Note the admonition, more than a mere suggestion, to “not always sustain the cross-legged” position. This will come as a relief to many contemporary practitioners, who have been told that they must assume the “correct” posture, and heaven forfend if you should move. Buddha moved. I guaran-damn-tee you, Buddha moved.We recommend rotating through the various postures — over time, not continuously — to develop the requisite flexibility in the lower body, hips, knees, legs and ankles. Also sitting on a chair, including the ergonomic kind. Zen is always contemporary, as Matsuoka Roshi insisted. There is nothing magical in the lotus posture. It is, simply, more stable than the others, like the proverbial three-legged stool. What follows is familiar enough to those who follow Soto Zen praxis that we can skip it here. However, there are a couple of details that I think worth retelling, separated by more details in the text (italics mine):Next, your should settle down in your sitting placed by swaying your body seven or eight times in ever smaller movements, then steadily sitting erect.When you wish to arise from meditation, first, place your hands respectfully on your knees and sway your body seven or eight times in ever larger movements.This is a small, but not insignificant, improvement over the written instructions in Fukanzazengi, as the “ever smaller” movements in the beginning help us to find the central “sweet spot” in the posture, where we come into equilibrium, or equipoise, with gravity, the most efficient and effortless proprioception. The “ever larger” pendulum moves at the end of the session likewise loosen the musculature, especially the lotus-position base, allowing us to rise without strain. This set of moves is most often forgotten by many contemporaries, but makes the approach to zazen more like any other physical exercise.Keizan goes on to give similar instructions when rising and beginning walking meditation, when sleepy, and for breathing while walking, which he treats as an antidote to sleepiness, none of which I recall from Dogen's documentation. Doesn't mean they weren't there, but Keizan's emphasis does seem to be on some other syllables. Included in the advice for kinhin is the nugget:Although you are walking, do it as though you are not walking: be calm and tranquil, and do not thrash your body about.The last thing anyone who has done kinhin would associate with it, I think, is thrashing your body about. This rather comic image may reflect the young age at which some of the young monks, or unsui, would be sent to the monastery. Walking as if you are not walking is a wonderful idea. Matsuoka Roshi would often say, “Put your whole self into the walking” or “into the sitting. If you can put your whole self into this, you will gain the power to put your whole self into everything you do, and will become the strongest person in the world.” Today we might say that you will become the best version of yourself.I often say that zazen is like “falling asleep staying awake.” In other words, like drifting off to sleep, our natural, busy monkey mind preoccupations tamp down to a dull roar, we begin to lose sensory awareness, maybe even experience sudden vertigo, and in general, lose the turgor associated with normal awakeness and anxiety. But while this process sets in, we stay awake and observe it rather scientifically. Keizan seems to concur, offering some evasive maneuvers to fight off sleep:If drowsiness persists, you should make a vow, saying, “Because my karmic habits are already heavy, I am now shrouded in sleep. When will I awaken from my dark and confused wandering in the mind? I pray that the Buddhas and Ancestors will confer their great compassion on me and remove my dark and heavy suffering.”I suspect that these techniques address what we might recognize as symptoms of sleep deprivation. The dawn-to-dusk design of retreats, and especially the time-honored tradition of sitting up all night on occasion, surely are meant to challenge the circadian rhythm, with notably direct effects on perception. The entreaties to Buddhas and Ancestors we might consider extraneous to this problem, but they tend to remind us that all of our lineage went through privations and self-discipline at least as trying as those we face, in the relative comfort of an environment fueled by electricity and fossil fuels, as well as indoor plumbing. We got no room to complain about our “dark and heavy suffering.”Interestingly for a Soto Zen priest, Keizan also recommends that “If your thoughts are still not at rest, you should call to mind some short koan which your Master has given you to guide you, such as ‘What is It that comes like this?,' ‘A dog's not having Buddha Nature,' ‘Ummon's Mount Sumeru,' Joshu's oak tree,' for instance: ‘bland talk is what meets the need.” So koans were not eschewed entirely in early Soto Zen, even when doing zazen, but were considered relatively bland, not disturbing to equanimity. He also recommends focusing on death to calm the mind, “the great matter where your breathing comes to an end and your eyes close forever.” Or, “focus on the ‘not-yet-born state' before a single thought has arisen. In modern parlance, neither of these images would be considered especially calming. But then he predicts that even “when you are doing your daily activities, you will suddenly give rise to the two types of ‘emptiness' — that of there being no personal self and of there being no permanent self in phenomena — and your scattered thoughts will, without fail, lose their force. Again, seemingly not very soothing.In closing, he brings it home: “Then, what is right before your eyes will be your koan.” Which he rephrases, “At that moment, what the koan is is ‘right before your eyes.'” In between he notes, “You and it will not be ‘two things going around each other.'” Again, the great master seems to be throwing out, at random, all the fingers pointing at the moon that he can muster, in the hopes that one will stick. He ends with “Wholeheartedly do I pray for this; with all my heart do I so pray.” Can I get an amen?* * *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

Here's what I played:Lucifer   “Wild Hearses”, Wheel   “At Night They CameUpon Us”,Black Sabbath  “Falling Off The Edge of The World”, Sister Midnight   “Blood On Snow”,Calibro 35   “Summertime Killer”, Black Elephant   “Berta's Flame”, Shihad   “Just Like You”,Mastodon   “The Crux”, Black Tusk   “Beneath”, Eyehategod   “Three Black Eyes”, Blood From the Soul   “Fang Tooth Claw”, Bongzilla   “Sundae Driver”, Carcass   “In God We Trust”,Go Ahead and Die   “Truckload Full of Bodies”, Kaiju  Daisenso   “Rodan”, Fu Manchu   “As You Crawl”,   Green Lung   “Old Gods”, The Sword   “Hexenringe”, God is an Astronaut   “Adrift”,Sleestak   “Infinite Eternal”, Slift   “Ummon”, The White Swan   “Purple”,Emma Ruth Rundle   “Marked for Death”.

In this talk, delivered on the second day of the Fall 2021 Beginner's Mind Sesshin at Yokoji Zen Mountain Center, Shiro talks about the fundamental point of Zazen, linking basic breath practice and counting of the breath to the Four Noble Truths and the end of suffering in our lives. How do we start freeing ourselves from the shackles of our thoughts? How do we not become a tool of our thinking mind and emotions? Zazen. Starting with Case 6 of the Blue Cliff Record, "Ummon's Good Day," this free ranging talk also features questions and answers from the Sangha, more powerful perhaps than the main talk itself.

In Autumn Sesshin's Day Five Teisho, given on Oct. 6th, 2021, Rinzan Osho examines The Hekiganroku, Ummon's "One Treasure." Hidden in the mountain of form is one treasure. How do we know it? How do we testify to it?

Tenshin Roshi talks on Case 31 of the Book of Equanimity, "Ummon's Free-Standing Pillar".

What happens when we go deep with our Zazen, developing the ability to concentrate on something as small as an atom, a particle of dust? Shiro and the sangha of Prajna Heart Zen Center explore what it means to go in to go out, to become intimate with the true self and thus with all things.  Case 50 of the Blue Cliff Record, "Ummon's Dust-Particle Samadhi."

In Autumn Sesshin's Day Two Teisho, given on Oct. 3rd, 2021, Rinzan Osho examines The Hekiganroku, Case 60, "Ummon's Staff Becoming a Dragon." Our practice invites us to become intimate with all things. Our concept of "intimacy" might invoke certain notions about what this might feel like, but true intimacy allows even this to be swallowed up. When we are so intimate that we allow ourselves to really go beyond, then what?

In this Teisho, given on Sept. 11th, 2021, Rinzan Pechovnik Osho examines The Blue Cliff Record, Case 54: "Ummon Stretches Out His Hands." The path of Zen is the path of intimacy. What is it to be intimate with all things, beyond conception of what is and is not intimacy?

In this Teisho, given on July 25th, 2021, Rinzan Pechovnik Osho examines The Blue Cliff Record, Case 50: Ummon's "Particle after Particle's Samdhi." We utilize Zen training to develop our ability to be intimate and present with all that is. From a position such as this, what is it and how do we greet this moment now ... now ... now ...

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday Morning 08/01/2021 - From The Book of Serenity, Case 19 - Ummon's Mount Sumeru - Apologies for the microphone problem during the first 10 seconds obscuring Shugen Roshi's voice for the first sentence of the koan: "The pointer: I always admire the novel devices of Master Ummon."

In this Teisho, given on July 10th, 2021, Rinzan Pechovnik Osho examines The Blue Cliff Record, Case 47: Ummon's "Beyond the Six." What is the true nature of reality? How do we find our place in the mystery of being? Though frames of reference can be helpful, the truth is ultimately ... beyond, beyond, beyond ...

Our party of adventurers are on their last rope. Ummon does the unspeakable. Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick Ummon Kowka: Bret Larimer Griffin Dadson/Editor/Producer: Richard Bertelsen Armen Hammer/Producer: Ted Hong Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Epic Journey" by Yungos Logos "The Long Night" by Quincas Moreiras "Dance of the U-Boat" by Aakash Gandhi "The Inner Sound" by Jesse Gallagher "Virtual Light" by Houses of Heaven "Snack Time" and "Splashing Around" by The Green Orbs --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterarcana/support

The party meets an unexpected ally as they search for the frost portal in the caves of Bilgewater. Armen gives in to his baser instincts. Griffin develops a strong connection, and Ummon faces his greatest challenge yet. Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick Griffin Dadson (Human Druid): Richard Bertelsen Armen Hammer (Warforged Artificer): Ted Hong Ummon Kowka (Tabaxi Sorcerer): Bret Larimer Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Dark Toys" by SYBS "Epic Journey" by Yung Logos "Dance of the U-Boat" Aakash Ghandi "Virtual Light" by Houses of Heaven "Spirit of Fire" by Jesse Gallagher "Magical Triumph" by Sir Cubworth --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterark/support

The party meets an unexpected ally as they search for the frost portal in the caves of Bilgewater. Armen gives in to his baser instincts. Griffin develops a strong connection, and Ummon faces his greatest challenge yet. Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick Griffin Dadson (Human Druid): Richard Bertelsen Armen Hammer (Warforged Artificer): Ted Hong Ummon Kowka (Tabaxi Sorcerer): Bret Larimer Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Dark Toys" by SYBS "Epic Journey" by Yung Logos "Dance of the U-Boat" Aakash Ghandi "Virtual Light" by Houses of Heaven "Spirit of Fire" by Jesse Gallagher "Magical Triumph" by Sir Cubworth --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterarcana/support

Our heroes head deep into enemy territory. Armen does his best version of stealth, Ummon hears a chilling new voice, and Griffin digs in his heels. Join us on Patreon.com/CharacterArk for the after show! The titular Solemn Scholar was conceived with the help of @Micah_Monarch on Twitter. Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick Griffin Dadson/Editor (Human Druid): Richard Bertelsen Armen Hammer (Warforged Artificer): Theodore Hong Ummon Kowka (Tabaxi Sorcerer): Bret Larimer Find Art, Music and other endeavors by Bret @Sometimes_Family and @Maximus_Fancyman on Instagram Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Epic Journey" by Yung Logos "Dance of the U-Boat" by Aakash Gandhi "Magical Triumph" by Sir Cubworth "Decision" by The Tower of Light "Spirit of Fire" by Jesse Gallagher "Dark Toys" by SYBS --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterarcana/support

Our heroes head deep into enemy territory. Armen does his best version of stealth, Ummon hears a chilling new voice, and Griffin digs in his heels. Join us on Patreon.com/CharacterArk for the after show! The titular Solemn Scholar was conceived with the help of @Micah_Monarch on Twitter. Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick Griffin Dadson/Editor (Human Druid): Richard Bertelsen Armen Hammer (Warforged Artificer): Theodore Hong Ummon Kowka (Tabaxi Sorcerer): Bret Larimer Find Art, Music and other endeavors by Bret @Sometimes_Family and @Maximus_Fancyman on Instagram Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Epic Journey" by Yung Logos "Dance of the U-Boat" by Aakash Gandhi "Magical Triumph" by Sir Cubworth "Decision" by The Tower of Light "Spirit of Fire" by Jesse Gallagher "Dark Toys" by SYBS --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterark/support

On this episode, Drew takes the reins on this week's list and shows us his classic rock side, Alex finds out Duke Ellington wrote a song about him and we discuss whats wrong with EDM. List 5: 1. Never Been Any Reason by Head East 2. UMMON by SLIFT 3. Not In Love by Crystal Castles featuring Robert Smith 4. Part III by Crumb 5. Bow Down and Die by The Almighty Defenders 6. China by BRONCHO 7. Lost You by Zeds Dead featuring Twin Shadow & D'Angelo Lacy 8. Drakkar Noir by Phoenix 9. Take the "A" Train by Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra 10. We Lost The Sea by A Gallant Gentlemen

In this Teisho, given on January 17, 2021, Rinzan Pechovnik Osho examines "The Blue Cliff Record, Case 17: Kyorin's "Sitting Long and Getting Tired." Kyorin faced with Ummon's question, "What is this?" for thirty years, sitting with great faith, great doubt, and great determination. How do we develop these qualities in our own practice? How do they show themselves in our own lives?

Our heroes embark on their first official mission as members of The Blood Ravens! Armen receives a special gift, Ummon is enthralled by his new employer, and Griffin gets caught in a dangerous situation. Our surprise enemies were suggested by Patron @MoseyDM on Twitter. Join us for an exclusive chat after every episode on Patreon.com/CharacterArk where we go from talking about ass play to how ancestral languages influence a fantasy setting. Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick @CharacterArcana on Twitter Griffin Dadson/Editor: Richard Bertelsen @CharacterArk on IG Armen Hammer: Ted Hong www.CharacterArk.net Ummon Kowka: Bret Larimer @Sometimes_Family and Maximus_Fancypants on IG Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Epic Journey" by Yung Logos "Wandering Soul" and "Dream of the Ancestor" by Ashero Fulero "Dark Toys" by SYBS "Dance of the U-Boat" by Askash Gandhi --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterarcana/support

Our heroes embark on their first official mission as members of The Blood Ravens! Armen receives a special gift, Ummon is enthralled by his new employer, and Griffin gets caught in a dangerous situation. Our surprise enemies were suggested by Patron @MoseyDM on Twitter. Join us for an exclusive chat after every episode on Patreon.com/CharacterArk where we go from talking about ass play to how ancestral languages influence a fantasy setting. Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick @CharacterArcana on Twitter Griffin Dadson/Editor: Richard Bertelsen @CharacterArk on IG Armen Hammer: Ted Hong www.CharacterArk.net Ummon Kowka: Bret Larimer @Sometimes_Family and Maximus_Fancypants on IG Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Epic Journey" by Yung Logos "Wandering Soul" and "Dream of the Ancestor" by Ashero Fulero "Dark Toys" by SYBS "Dance of the U-Boat" by Askash Gandhi --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterark/support

In this Teisho, given on January 9, 2021, Rinzan Pechovnik Osho examines "The Blue Cliff Record, Case 15: Ummon's "No Preaching on Oneness." There is only one thing, all things. Going beyond even notions of stillness and oneness, how do we manifest this great reality?

Our heroes are officially inducted into The Blood Ravens Guild. A blacksmith strikes a chord with Ummon and hints at the ancient knowledge that powers Armen's weapons. Griffin must confront his past. Visit us for our aftershow over at Patreon.com/CharacterArk The Blacksmith in this episode was named for, and inspired by, the excellent homebrew work of Jinx. You can find their amazing work at gjxjinx.wixsite.com @j.i.n.x.g on Instagram @GJX50215912 on Twitter Our Usual Players: Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick (@Characterarcana on Twitter) Griffin Dadson/Editor (Human Druid): Richard Bertelsen (@CharacterArk on Instagram) Ummon Kowka (Tabaxi Sorcerer): Bret Larimer (@Maximus_Fancyman on Instagram) Armen Hammer (Warforged Artificer): Ted Hong (Characterark.net) Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Epic Journey" by Yugos Logos "A Night Alone" by Tracktribe "Hero's Ascent" by Chris Hagen "The World's Fair" by Godmode "Kiss the Sky" by Aakash Gandhi "The Sleeping Prophet" by Jesse Gallagher "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" by Cooper Canell "Miyo San Kyoku" by Doug Maxwell / Zac Zinger --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterarcana/support

Our heroes are officially inducted into The Blood Ravens Guild. A blacksmith strikes a chord with Ummon and hints at the ancient knowledge that powers Armen's weapons. Griffin must confront his past. The Blacksmith in this episode was named for, and inspired by, the excellent homebrew work of Jinx. You can find their amazing work at gjxjinx.wixsite.com @j.i.n.x.g on Instagram @GJX50215912 on Twitter Our Usual Player: Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick (@Characterarcana on Twitter) Griffin Dadson/Editor (Human Druid): Richard Bertelsen (@CharacterArk on Instagram) Ummon Kowka (Tabaxi Sorcerer): Bret Larimer (@Maximus_Fancyman on Instagram) Armen Hammer (Warforged Artificer): Ted Hong (Characterark.net) Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Epic Journey" by Yugos Logos "A Night Alone" by Tracktribe "Hero's Ascent" by Chris Hagen "The World's Fair" by Godmode "Kiss the Sky" by Aakash Gandhi "The Sleeping Prophet" by Jesse Gallagher "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" by Cooper Canell "Miyo San Kyoku" by Doug Maxwell / Zac Zinger --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterark/support

Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede The post January 2021 Online Sesshin, Day 7: Blue Cliff Record #14, “Ummon’s Teaching in Reference to Oneness” appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

In this Teisho, given on December 27, 2020, Rinzan Pechovnik Osho examines "The Blue Cliff Record, Case 14: Ummon's "Preaching Facing Oneness." How do we face life? So long as we have notions of what things are and how they should be, we miss it. Yet we are immersed in this ineffable IT all the time. When we truly face it, nothing is missing. Nothing is lacking.

Our heroes grieve a tragic loss in an epic battle. Ummon learns an uncomfortable secret, Armen makes a new friend, and Griffin must go Dad-to-dad with another dad. Check out our NPC friends on Twitter @TheSpellPod and @Waylays_Melees Join us at the table for a talk after the episode on Patreon.com/CharacterArk Featuring: Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick Griffin Dadson (Human Druid and Editor): Richard Bertelsen Armen Hammer (Warforged Artifcer): Ted Hong Ummon Kowka (Tabaxi Sorcerer): Bret Larimer (on Instagram @Sometimes_Family and @Maximus_Fancyman) Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Epic Journey" by Yugos Logos "Dance of the U-Boat" by Aakash Gandhi "Elegy" by Wayne Jones "The New Order" and "Christmas Homecoming" by Aaron Kenny "Communicator" by Reed Mathis "Snack Time" by The Green Orbs "Large Smile Mood" by Nico Staf Episode Art from Pixabay by the artist: Thommas68 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterarcana/support

Our heroes grieve a tragic loss in an epic battle. Ummon learns an uncomfortable secret, Armen makes a new friend, and Griffin must go Dad-to-dad with another dad. Check out our NPC friends on Twitter @TheSpellPod and @Waylays_Melees Join us at the table for a talk after the episode on Patreon.com/CharacterArk Featuring: Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick Griffin Dadson (Human Druid and Editor): Richard Bertelsen Armen Hammer (Warforged Artifcer): Ted Hong Ummon Kowka (Tabaxi Sorcerer): Bret Larimer (on Instagram @Sometimes_Family and @Maximus_Fancyman) Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Epic Journey" by Yugos Logos "Dance of the U-Boat" by Aakash Gandhi "Elegy" by Wayne Jones "The New Order" and "Christmas Homecoming" by Aaron Kenny "Communicator" by Reed Mathis "Snack Time" by The Green Orbs "Large Smile Mood" by Nico Staf Episode Art from Pixabay by the artist: Thommas68 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterark/support

Iedere muziekliefhebber weet dat het jaar bestaat uit vijf seizoenen: lente, zomer, herfst, winter en… het lijstjesseizoen! In de vorige aflevering van Osmium – de zwaarste podcast in het Nederlands – deelden Pim en Niels hun lijstjes met favoriete albums…

Ummon's dark secret is revealed, Griffin meets his heroes, and Armen aims to lure a new pet as our heroes learn of a grave new threat. Join us at the table after the show for a behind-the-scenes discussion of what happened in each episode by visiting Patreon.com/CharacterArk Featuring: Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick Griffin Dadson/Editor (Human Druid): Richard Bertelsen Armen Hammer (Warforged Artificer): Ted Hong Ummon Kowka (Tabaxi Sorcerer): Bret Larimer (@Maximus_Fancyman and @Sometimes_Family on Instagram) Original Music: "Threat" by Richard Bertelsen Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Epic Journey" by Yugos Logos"Dark Toys" by SYBS "Spirit of Fire" and "Lord of Dawn" by Jesse Gallagher "Spirit of the Dead" and "Dance of the U-Boat" by Aakash Gandhi "Cartoon Bank Heist" by Doug Maxwell "Claim of Thrones" by RKVC "God Fury" by Anno Domini Beats --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterark/support

Ummon's dark secret is revealed, Griffin meets his heroes, and Armen aims to lure a new pet as our heroes learn of a grave new threat. Join us at the table after the show for a behind-the-scenes discussion of what happened in each episode by visiting Patreon.com/CharacterArk Featuring: Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick Griffin Dadson/Editor (Human Druid): Richard Bertelsen Armen Hammer (Warforged Artificer): Ted Hong Ummon Kowka (Tabaxi Sorcerer): Bret Larimer (@Maximus_Fancyman and @Sometimes_Family on Instagram) Original Music: "Threat" by Richard Bertelsen Music from Youtube Audio Library: "Epic Journey" by Yugos Logos"Dark Toys" by SYBS "Spirit of Fire" and "Lord of Dawn" by Jesse Gallagher "Spirit of the Dead" and "Dance of the U-Boat" by Aakash Gandhi "Cartoon Bank Heist" by Doug Maxwell "Claim of Thrones" by RKVC "God Fury" by Anno Domini Beats --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterarcana/support

Our heroes continue on their quest to become Blood Ravens! Ummon shows off his skills, Griffin spots some unexpected guests, and Armen takes a tumble. Join us after the show on THE SECOND WIND where we discuss the appropriate height of gnomes, inner demons, and whether real boys feel pain... You can find The Second Wind at www.Patreon.com/CharacterArk. Featuring: Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick (@CharacterArcana on Twitter) Griffin Dadson (Human Druid): Richard Bertelsen (@CharacterArk on Instagram) Armen Hammer (Warforged Alchemist): Ted Hong (CharacterArk.net) Ummon Kowka (Tabaxi Sorcerer): Bret Larimer (@Sometimes_Famliy on Instagram) Music from Youtube Audio Library: "London Fog" by Quincas Moreira "Epic Journey" by Yung Logos "I'll Remember You" by Jeremy Blake "Once Was" by Kwon "Magical Triump" by Sir Cubworth "Mission Start" by The Brothers Records "La Danse de Femme" by The Mini Vandals "Collapsing All Around" by Amulets "Ode to Joy" by Cooper Cannel "Dream of the Ancestor" by Asher Fulero "When We Found the Horizon" by Late Night Feeler "The New Order" by Aaron Kenny --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterarcana/support

Our heroes continue on their quest to become Blood Ravens! Ummon shows off his skills, Griffin spots some unexpected guests, and Armen takes a tumble. Join us after the show on THE SECOND WIND where we discuss the appropriate height of gnomes, inner demons, and whether real boys feel pain... You can find The Second Wind at www.Patreon.com/CharacterArk Featuring: Dungeon Master: Nick Slaick (@CharacterArcana on Twitter) Griffin Dadson (Human Druid): Richard Bertelsen (@CharacterArk on Instagram) Armen Hammer (Warforged Alchemist): Ted Hong (CharacterArk.net) Ummon Kowka (Tabaxi Sorcerer): Bret Larimer (@Sometimes_Famliy on Instagram) Music from Youtube Audio Library: "London Fog" by Quincas Moreira "Epic Journey" by Yung Logos "I'll Remember You" by Jeremy Blake "Once Was" by Kwon "Magical Triump" by Sir Cubworth "Mission Start" by The Brothers Records "La Danse de Femme" by The Mini Vandals "Collapsing All Around" by Amulets "Ode to Joy" by Cooper Cannel "Dream of the Ancestor" by Asher Fulero "When We Found the Horizon" by Late Night Feeler "The New Order" by Aaron Kenny --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/characterark/support

The best way to give thanks is to experience and share the Goodness, Value and Beauty of every day that is given to us. But how to do this in the midst of pain, fear and anguish? What makes a day like that Good? Ummon, great Zen Master, tells us that "When there are no unnecessary thoughts in your mind, Everyday Is A Good Day". The thoughts we have about what happens, the anger or catastrophic expectations acts as a filter to what is truly here, moment by moment. As we do not chase after or empower those thoughts, we see beyond them to the Goodness available with every breath we take.

Genjo Marinello Osho gave this Teisho during the Sept. 2020 Zazenkai at Chobo-Ji. This talk explores Case 92 of The Book of Equanimity and examines how do we hold forth our torch in these trying times.

Genjo Marinello Osho gave this Teisho during the July 2020 half-day sit (zazenkai) at Chobo-Ji. It is important to see beyond sounds and shapes to realize the Way, awaken peace of mind and transform excrement into fertilizer. (Note: not sutible for radio broadcast)

Hekiganroku Case 86: Ummon’s “Everybody Has Their Own Light” - Teisho given by Shinge Roshi, 5/14/20 by The Zen Studies Society

What is the nature of illness? What Is medicine? Ummon says that the whole earth is medicine, and asks what, then, is the self? How do things change when we approach the circumstances of our life from an understanding that the whole earth is medicine?

Support this podcast at patreon.com/okaythenpod or paypal.me/RissyMcCoolThis week, Daria and Jane examine how shit gets weird in the story as well as the cinematography. “The Six Ungraspables”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_koans_by_Yunmen_WenyanThe Six Ungraspables — This refers to a Zen koan (a story, dialogue, question, or statement, which is used in Zen-practice to provoke the “great doubt”). A monk once asked Ummon, “What is the Dharma Kaya?” Ummon answered him with “The Six Ungraspables.” (The Graspables are the five senses and the mind.)https://www.pajiba.com/tv_reviews/a-guide-to-the-episodes-titles-on-fxs-fargo-.php

Uh oh!  Looks like this is another episode of Knot Zen After Dark. The Gang explores the 14th Case of the Blue Cliff Record and pushes the limits of appropriate statements.  And this is just part 1!  Be sure to check out Part 2 where everything starts going topsy turvy!

In this Dharma Talk, given on June 1st 2019, Rinzan Pechovnik Osho explores the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) case #21, Ummon's "Sh*t Stick." How do we move beyond striving for a state of being, defined by notions and concepts, and move into the flow of being? When we have moved beyond notions of "good and bad" we can enter into a responsive way of being that flows in a world of "good and bad." 

Genjo Marinello Osho gave this Teisho on during Chobo-Ji's, Feb. 2019, zazenkai. This talk explores the playfulness of two Zen masters, Ummon and Kempo. Oh that we all could be this sharp and intimate.

In this talk, given at Autumn Sesshin Sept. 23rd, 2018, Rinzan Pechovnik Osho investigates Hekiganroku case #82: Ummon's "The Old Buddha Communes with the Pillar. When we drop the discrimination mind (judgements and analyses) we can become intimate with the whole spectrum of life, painful and joyous. From this place, a new clarity in action and engagement emerges.

Genjo Marinello Osho gave this Teisho on the sixth day of Summer Sesshin at Chobo-Ji. This talk explores Case 11 of the Book of Equanimity: "Ummon's Two Sicknesses," and examines cautions about being attached to "enlightenment."

Christoph Rei Ho Hatlapa spricht über die verschiedene Interpretationen der Lehre des Buddha und dass es hilfreich ist, sich damit zu beschäftigen und in wieweit die Zenübung hilft, das Verständnis zu vertiefen. Er erzählt über seine Erfahrungen mit Dogmen und Weltanschauungen und folglich seiner Zurückhaltung und Respekt gegenüber dem großen Kanon des Buddha. Das Undogmatische des Zen hat ihn besonders angezogen. Aus seiner Erfahrung ist es von großem Wert, sich mit der Lehre auseinanderzusetzen, da dadurch Fragen entstehen, die uns auf dem Weg weiterhelfen können. Ummon, z.B., hört, dass der fragende Mönch, der ein sehr guter Kenner der Lehre Buddhas war, viele Widersprüche in Buddhas Lehre wahrnimmt, dass er verwirrt ist und es ein Bedürfnis nach Klarheit gibt. Wie kann man Ummons knappe Antwort: „Ein einziger Zuspruch!“ (eine der verschiedenen Übersetzungen) verstehen? Christoph erwähnt die unterschiedlichen Übersetzungen des Koans und die tiefere Bedeutung der Auslegungen von Ummons Antwort. Zum Beispiel empfiehlt Oi Saidan Roshi folgende Übersetzung: „Preaching facing one answer“, also, „..einer Antwort gegenübersitzen“. Es war in China üblich, im Angesicht des Buddha eine Predigt zu halten. Der Meister saß dem Buddha, oft schweigend, gegenüber. Ummons Anwort weist darauf hin, dass sowohl in dem Sprechen, wie auch in dem Schweigen des Buddha eine einzige Botschaft verkörpert wird. Was ist das für eine Botschaft? Der ganze Zweck der Buddhalehre ist das Wohlergehen aller. Was kann uns glücklich machen, jenseits unserer Vorstellungen und Wünsche an das Leben? Welches Bedürfnis erfüllen wir uns, wenn wir zu einem Sesshin kommen? Wie können wir dem Ausdruck verleihen? Buddhas Lehre weist auf die genau Erforschung der Bedingungen. Welche Bedingungen tragen zu unserem Leben bei? Zu unserem Glück, zu unserem Unglück? Begriffe, die im Teisho vorkommen: Abhidharma- der 3. Teil des Pali-Kanon Vinhabthi Vijnana - 5 Sinne + Denken Vijnana - Wissen von der Welt / Bewusstsein Alaya Vijnana - Speicherbewusstsein / das 8. Bewusstsein / „Samen“- Bewusstsein Manas - Identitäsbewusstsein / persönlicher Memoirenschreiber Ropa - Form / Körper Nama Ropa - Einheit von Geist und Körper Wir freuen uns sehr über eine Spende, um die Kosten für die Erstellung dieses Podcast zu decken. Sie finden die Kontodaten/Paypal auf unserer Website http://choka-sangha.de/kontakt/spenden/ Herzlichen Dank

In this Dharma Talk, given on May 20th 2018, Rinzan Pechovnik Osho investigates Case #60 from the Hekigonroku, Blue Cliff Record, "Ummon's Staff Becoming a Dragon." When we let our practice (life) devour us, we are able to be fully open to and embrace the mountains, rivers and this great world.

Rinzan Pechovnik Osho gave this Dharma Talk on March 25th, as a quest speaker at Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji's Spring Sesshin. In it, he investigate how intensive retreat (and Zen practice in general) constrains the ego-agenda and compels us to drop ego-conceptualizations so that we can freely open our heart-mind to all that is.

Rev. Genjo Marinello gave this Teisho during the Chobo Ji halfday mini sesshin given on May 17th, 2009, on Case 88 of Hekiganroku. The case involves Zen Masters Gensha and Ummon about how to work with one who is deaf, dumb and blind.

This Dharma talk was given during Chobo-Ji's half-day mini-sesshin, February 10th, 2008. The text for this talk is the 54th case of the Hekiganroku, Blue Cliff Records and investiagates the question, where do you come from?