Category: Zen Philosophy

Richard Reishin Collins Spring “Cicada” Sesshin, 24-26 May 2024 Stone Nest Dojo, Sewanee The Spring Sesshin at Stone Nest Dojo of Sewanee Zen took place near the end of May, with a small group of practitioners, some who had practiced some ten or twenty years, some fewer, and one who had never practiced zazen at…

Richard Reishin Collins Here’s a lighthearted poem of mine, “The Zen Monk to His Designer Dog,” published in Alien Buddha Zine 61 (April 2024). In this dramatic monologue in the mode of Robert Browning, the monk speaks directly to his canine companion and addresses (however obliquely) Joshu’s famous koan from The Gateless Gate (Mumonkan) about…

Richard Collins Komorebi (木漏れ日): Sunshine filtering through trees Just over a year ago I attended my elder brother’s funeral on the Oregon coast. A few days later my wife and I took an early-morning hike down a steep cleft in the rocks just off the coast highway. At the bottom of the trail the Pacific…

Richard Collins, Abbot New Orleans Zen Temple 31 October 2024 Yesterday I spoke about Zen Work, about the life work that comes with DOKAN, the Great Vow, the Ring of the Way. This work begins with working on yourself, really understanding yourself, recognizing yourself, not running away from yourself. And not just your nice, compassionate…

It is upon us to begin the work; It is not upon us to complete it. – Talmud Zen work begins with samu 作務. Samu is physical and sometimes intellectual labor done in the spirit of mushotoku, with no thought of personal profit, without complaint or compensation, for the benefit of the sangha. It is…

“Don’t be deceived by the body, the mind, the world, or Buddhist teachings.” — Tōrei Enji This morning I plucked one of my old journals at random from the shelf, a volume covering Fall 2012, and found this quotation copied on the title page as an epigraph. It is by the famed painter and calligrapher,…

17 November 2024, Stone Nest Dojo This morning in the meditation hall The chanting call-and-response of bellies  Not the phonetic monosyllables of The Heart Sutra but something even more  Primal, more visceral, authentic, true Responding to the energy in the room Calling out to the third treasure: Sangha Embodying the other two: Dharma Buddha (you).…