Some reflections on violence and non-violence after the shootings at a downtown building site last Thursday [20 July]. Source(s): Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh, Rider 2022. Automated transcript: https://otter.ai/u/ErSveE_ekPYuSTwBmtb_N-bewes

Ethical behaviour is at the very centre of the process of awakening. The Jukai ceremony allows us to renew our commitment to harmless and compassionate thought, speech and action, and sketches out in broad strokes what they look like. Sources: Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts by Reb Anderson Shambhala 2001, Disciples of the Buddha by Zenno Ishigami Kōsei 1989. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/jE_MW-lEO6B073yq9FBMlBBYpGE

The Diamond Sutra, part of the Prajna Paramita sutras, is second only to the Heart Sutra in importance for Zen Practitioners. A number of phrases taken directly from the sutra are to be found among the preliminary koans. Source: The Flowing Bridge by Elaine MacInnes Wisdom 2007 Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/PK4ZrjzRqCkTNTuGBEoOodCke2E

Some reflections on the three main components of Earth Day -- sitting (mind), chanting (speech), and work (body). Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/47aCTOIuoooAdO55DSixq7IKghs

A very simple koan -- but don't be fooled --Tozan's 3 pounds of flax is unfathomable. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/zGsGRmDcu7Nz236FU0_boOg4vMQ

Buddhist and Zen teachings on work. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/vcJnNOoy1wXIVIJ2qry2MgEYa3M

Effort is an essential element in practice. It is one of the strands of the 8-fold Path, one of the 6 Paramitas, and one of the 7 factors of enlightenment. What is right effort, and does it relate to Aimlessness? Sources:Various Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/f9MKFMaWuO6LD_nSXZj8o_2OIvc 

As extreme weather events grow more frequent and it becomes more apparent that we have "entered a period of consequences" in regard to the climate crisis, how do we work with change, loss and devastation in ways that are healthy and helpful? Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/6OHcNJEnuep9ypXoeWdauGOd55c

Working with worries about the future and forgiving wrongs of the past. Text used: Our Appointment with Life: The Buddha's Teaching on Living in the Present, by Thich Nhat Hanh (translated by Annabel Laity), Parallax Press 1990. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/J3X3DVGBh0m0MYM1kdQV2wvn3Pg?utm_source=copy_url

Koans, their purpose, how they work, and why the can be called vile. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/AM0pX6W0btUp3p2GnIiRfBdid9M?utm_source=copy_url

Sickness and pain are inevitable but suffering is not Text used: The Unborn; The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, 1622-1693, Translated and with an Introduction by Norman Waddell, North Point Press 1984. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/JK_XGhwZdC70lwtEvIFQW2GGf-U?utm_source=copy_url

fragment only Text used: The Unborn; The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, 1622-1693, Translated and with an Introduction by Norman Waddell, North Point Press 1984. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/z0rPKjSyJe_Fk_80L4sT0uYxmsQ?utm_source=copy_url

Transforming the unborn Buddha Mind into the poisons. Text used: The Unborn; The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, 1622-1693, Translated and with an Introduction by Norman Waddell, North Point Press 1984. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/GhhPGXNPUsVKWTO7NeA1l2ouCtc?utm_source=copy_url

Meeting his master, deeper insights and beginning to teach. Text used: The Unborn; The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, 1622-1693, Translated and with an Introduction by Norman Waddell, North Point Press 1984. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/i1VtTlKwka3sxU8laG1HHMLnhIM?utm_source=copy_url

Childhood and early struggles to understand "bright virtue". Text used: The Unborn; The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, 1622-1693, Translated and with an Introduction by Norman Waddell, North Point Press 1984. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/d0xcqtvpkDy-FPwD3nrxvO--6fs?utm_source=copy_url

Roshi explores what it means to "live alone"-- not rejecting the world or society, but not attaching to what we experience either. Source(s): Our Appointment with Life: The Buddha's Teaching on Living in the Present, by Thich Nhat Hanh (translated by Annabel Laity), Parallax Press 1990.

“To live alone” doesn’t mean to isolate oneself from society-- it means to be present and steady, wherever you are, whatever your are doing. In this talk Roshi introduces the Sutra and the five skandhas.

What does it mean to "live alone"? -- "Alone" as "all one" --wholehearted zen practice as love-- forgiveness and letting go of the past. Source(s): Our Appointment with Life: The Buddha's Teaching on Living in the Present, by Thich Nhat Hanh (translated by Annabel Laity), Parallax Press 1990.

A dharma talk by Richard von Sturmer Texts used: Our National Parks by John Muir Dogen's 'Mountains and Waters Sutra' from Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen Classic Chinese Poetry translated and edited by David Hinton

"Zazen is not sensory deprivation — anything but. Birds and geckos and bullfrogs guide us. Be open to these natural teachers, wherever you may be practicing." -Aitken Roshi This is the second of three Dharma Talks on 'Zen and Nature' given by Richard at teh Auckland Zen Centre. Texts used: Poetry and Zen: Letters and Uncollected Writings of R. H. Blyth by Norman Waddell Passing Through the Gateless Barrier by Guo Gu The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon translated by Ivan Morris.

In this talk Richard explores interconnection on both vast and intimate scales. This is the first of three talks on 'Zen and Nature' given by Richard at the Auckland Zen Centre. Texts used: A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth by Henry Gee Earth: An Intimate History by Richard Fortey Pilgrim at Tinker's Creek by Annie Dillard

The Diamond Sutra lists four mistaken notions we hold onto which distort our experience of the world; the views of "self", "human beings", "sentient beings" and "lifespan". Thich Nhat Hanh shows how throwing these false views away frees us to respond more effectively to the multiple crises we are facing in 2022. Main Source(s): Thich Nhat Hanh Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet Rider 2021, Brian Swimme, Canticle to the Cosmos VHS Series Automated...

The Diamond Sutra lists four mistaken notions we hold onto which distort our experience of the world; the views of "self", "human beings", "sentient beings" and "lifespan". Thich Nhat Hanh shows how throwing these false views away frees us to respond more effectively to the multiple crises we are facing in 2022. Main Source(s): Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet Rider 2021 Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/Oq1HPYq_ItYB4QMa9_ledoFT1fQ

In this talk Roshi Amala Wrightson explores the concept and practice of frugality from a zen perspective. Frugality is shaped by the motives behind it, such as prudent management of our finances, or reducing our environmental footprint. In Zen, cherishing the absolute value of each and every thing we encounter is at the heart of frugality. As Zuigan Goto-roshi said, "From the first, in people and in things, there is no such thing as trash." Automated...

The thundering silence of the layman bodhisattva, Vimalakirti -- can you hear it? Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/6kdOZX1XBRPyMYYjtr2NLyLbwSc