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Treeleaf Zen

(BENDOWA XXVIII) In other words … Someone asks … “Hey Dogen, your wild talk of “Zazen as the way of the Buddhas and Ancestors” is tough for ordinary folks to grasp. There are many schools of Buddhism which propose that we should attain enlightenment or salvation by doing something … studying the Sutras, chanting a…

This Way of ‘Just Sitting’ is also our Way of ‘Just Living’ … (remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended) To subscribe to “Treeleaf Zen” click here.  

Man, I just woke up from a pretty bad dream. I don’t remember all the details … something about getting fired and losing a job  I had years ago.  (I guess a lot of folks are having … or living … that same nightmare these days!) But it was pretty scary! So, are Buddhists allowed…

Please join our MAY MONTHLY 4-hour ‘Live from Treeleaf’ ZAZENKAI, recorded in “real time” and available at the following link: ZAZENKAI Remember, when we drop all thought of ‘here’ ‘there’ ‘now’ and ‘then’ … we are sitting all together! Please have a chuckle as my 6 year old son, Leon, turns our chanting today into…

(BENDOWA XXVII) I want to continue and clarify a couple of things mentioned in the last talk … I asked: But, in fact, did all the Buddhas and Ancestors practice exactly the form of Zazen we practice? No …  and Yes … The moment we sit Zazen, we are sitting exactly as the Buddhas and…

(BENDOWA XXVI) In the remaining pages of Bendowa, Master Dogen answers a series of 18 questions about the whys and hows of Zazen … First, he starts off by saying that Zazen is the gateway to truth, to what the Buddha realized. Furthermore, Zazen is what all the Buddhas and Ancestors practiced. So, if it…

The way to settle the ripples in a vessel of agitated water is not by doing something … not by patting down the ripples with our hand, not by blowing on them or trying to will them down … but by doing nothing at all, allowing the waters to still and balance of their own…

In transit, coming back from a retreat, so no netcast today … Instead, a few jotted words on “Enlightenment”, and its various interpretations … doodlings on a train … Let me use a “movie theater” parable for the point I wish to present here … Imagine our lives are like being born into a movie…

… although pre-recorded today as I am at a Zen Retreat for the next few days, at a Zen temple deep in the mountains here in Japan (Let me also mention that our MONTHLY 4-HOUR ‘LIVE’ ZAZENKAI WILL BE HELD ON Saturday MAY 9th ) … However, we are still sitting all together today, even…

I am off to a Zen Retreat for the next few days, at a Zen temple deep in the mountains, invited by a friend who is the priest there … which means: OUR MONTHLY 4-HOUR ‘LIVE’ ZAZENKAI WILL BE HELD ON Saturday MAY 9th And our usually ‘Live’ 1-hour Zazen for tomorrow (Saturday May 2nd)…
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