Monday, February 21, 2011

Mary Magdalene and Kwan-Yin with a Thousand Hands





"As the figure of Mary embodies all that a Christian is called to be, Kuan-Yin with a Thousand Hands embodies the mode of being of one who has reached the ultimate fruit in Zen. This is a mode of being that has undergone a total emptying of oneself, leading to one's total liberation, whereby one's whole being is given over for others as they are encountered in their particular situations. "This is my body which is given up for you."...from Ruben L.F. Habito's Living Zen, Loving God, pg. 101. Habito is a former Jesuit priest whose enlightenment was authenticated by both Koun Yamada Roshi  and Hakuun Yasutani Roshi.


When your mind is free from all clinging and thinks of neither good nor evil, you should be careful not to sink into a sheer emptiness and stick to a deathlike stillness; you should rather try to broaden your learning and increase your knowledge, that you may become aware of your own mind and thoroughly comprehend the essential teaching of all the Enlightened Ones; you should cultivate a spirit of congenial harmony in your fellowship with others and free yourself of the cramping idea of the ‘self’ and ‘other,’ until you attain complete enlightenment and realize your true nature which is immutable.”

6th Patriarch Hui Neng…in John C. H. Wu The Golden Age of Zen pg 63

“Within, keep the mind in perfect harmony with the self-nature; without, respect all other men. This is surrender and reliance on one’s self.”  

6th Patriarch Hui Neng…in John C. H. Wu The Golden Age of Zen pg 64.

















Charlotte Joko Beck comments on emotions and the differences between 13th century Zen and 21st century Zen at:





Please check out Feb. 14th blog for info on upcoming retreats.
Also check  out:
Master Cheng Yen in Facebook; 
http://chancommunitycanada.wordpress.com/ 
and the Western Chan Fellowship at http://www.westernchanfellowship.org/

Call Adrian at 250 898 8201,
Please notify me if you wish to be removed from the email list.



Monday, February 14, 2011

Musings on Awakening, and upcoming retreats
















Beneficial action in Buddhism is to give thought constantly to how we can cause everybody, all sentient beings, including inanimate beings, to awaken to themselves, and beneficial action is to lead them to the Buddha Way--a peaceful, harmonious life--day by day. The Way means the practice we do with all sentient beings, not practice just for ourselves. The Way is the universal path. We have to actually pass along this universal path practically, day by day. This means to live our daily life with all sentient beings in peace and harmony. This is our hope, the target we have to aim at, whatever circumstances we are in.
     ....Dainin Katagiri in Returning to Silence, pg. 165

Awakening is the purpose that enfolds all purposes. Whatever we do is meaningful to the extent that it leads to awakening, meaningless to the extent that it leads away from it. Dharma practice is the process of awakening itself: the thoughts, words, and deeds that weave the unfolding fabric of experience into a coherent whole. And this process is participatory:  sustained and measured by communities of friendships...  Stephen Batchelor in Buddhism Without Beliefs, pg. 42

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Awake Awhile

Awake awhile.
It does not have to be
Forever,
Right now.

One step upon the Sky's soft skirt
Would be enough.

Hafiz,
Awake awhile.
Just one True moment of Love
Will last for days.

Rest all our elaborate plans and tactics
For Knowing Him,
For they are all just frozen spring buds
Far,
So far from Summer's Divine Gold.

Awake, my dear.
Be kind to your sleeping heart.
Take it out into the vast fields of Light
And let it breathe.

Say,
"Love,
Give me back my wings.
Lift me,
Lift me nearer."

Say to the sun and the moon,
Say to our dear Friend,

"I will take You up now, Beloved,
On that wonderful Dance You promised!"
...from Renderings of Hafiz... I Heard God Laughing
 pg. 73


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First upcoming retreat:  May7/8 Alert Bay
Second retreat:              May 14/15  Courtenay
Third retreat:                 Time:    3-day   6/24-6/26
                                                   7-day   6/24-6/30

Place:  Loon Lake Research & Education Centre
            14500 Silver Valley Road
            Maple Ridge, B.C. Canada

Fee:  $80 + Tax / per night
         (Including meals and accommodations)

Activities in this retreat will include sitting and walking (indoor/outdoor) meditation, and yoga exercises.

It will be really helpful  to get a rough idea of attendance if people can let Adrian know whether they want to participate.





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Also check  out:
Master Cheng Yen in Facebook; 
http://chancommunitycanada.wordpress.com/ 
and the Western Chan Fellowship at http://www.westernchanfellowship.org/

Call Adrian at 250 898 8201,
Please notify me if you wish to be removed from the email list.

Monday, February 7, 2011

The pure sense of moment is vast



"The pure sense of emptiness means vastness. Your existence is not just in the small scale of the world---it is vast. This is the pure sense of moment. But if you see the moment from just your individual  viewpoint it becomes limited. The pure sense of moment is vast. Immediately your individual existence expands to all sentient beings. This is total manifestation. It is not just an aspect of human life, it is the real portrait of existence itself. Not only human beings, but all sentient beings exist like this. So, just taking care of yourself is not just taking care of yourself while ignoring others. You have to take care of of yourself simultaneously with all sentient beings. At that time you can really get a taste of impermanence. 

This is the best way to know who you are; this is Buddha's compassion. You can get a taste of the core of existence, which is called Buddha-nature. How sublime your life is!" ...from Dainin Katagiri in Returning to Silence, pg. 12.


   
   
There will be a class this Thursday.


Also check  out:
Master Cheng Yen in Facebook; 
http://chancommunitycanada.wordpress.com/ 
and the Western Chan Fellowship at http://www.westernchanfellowship.org/

Call Adrian at 250 898 8201,
Please notify me if you wish to be removed from the email list.







Wednesday, February 2, 2011

the beginning meditator and the boiler room
















"Neither quiet nor noisy."

This line is taken from the Zen classic Song of Mind by Niu-t'ou Fa-jung (594-657) and commented upon by Master Sheng Yen. He tells the story of a monk who could not concentrate because of the noise in the meditation hall. Continually searching for the silence in which he could apply his full attention, the monk abandoned the meditation hall for a mountain forest. He left the forest because of  the chirping of an irritating bird, then a spring meadow because of a chorus of insects and finally a pond because of some singing frogs. In frustration, he stuffed his ears with cloth.

"Boom-boom, Boom-boom, Boom-boom, Boom-boom..."

"How could there be drumming? I am alone in these mountains." He realized he was listening to his own heart and realized he would never be able to meditate. Sound was simply too distracting.

Later, a master told him, "The problem is not with sounds, but with the mind that is influenced by those sounds." As soon as the monk heard these words, he immediately obtained enlightenment.

At a retreat Sheng Yen tells his listeners, "In and of themselves, phenomena are not disturbing. It is the mind that is moved by phenomena which calls them disturbances. If you agree with the monk that it is the sounds that are a problem, then let me know. We can always move you and your cushion to the boiler room."

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"Mind appears, then Dharma appears; Dharma appears, then form appears; form appears, then suffering appears."

"Mind disappears, then Dharma disappears; Dharma disappears, then form disappears; form disappears, then suffering disappears." Zen Master Seung Sahn in The Compass of Zen, pg. 188

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In late August, there will be a seven day huatuo retreat in 
Taiwan with  Guo Ru Fashi.  You can read about him at 
http://www.dharmadrumretreat.org/aboutus.php?id=ourfaculty  

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Also check  out:
Master Cheng Yen in Facebook; 
http://chancommunitycanada.wordpress.com/ 
and the Western Chan Fellowship at http://www.westernchanfellowship.org/

Call Adrian at 250 898 8201,
Please notify me if you wish to be removed from the email list.