Tag: zenmeditation
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SEWANEE ZEN OPENS APRIL 2, 2023
Sewanee Zen will open for the first time on April 2, 2023, with an Introduction to Zen Practice at the new Stone Nest Dojo at 3818 Sherwood Road in Sewanee, Tennessee. The three-hour workshop will provide the basics of Zen practice: zazen (sitting concentration), kinhin (walking concentration), and dojo etiquette. Background on Zen Buddhism and…
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Does barbie have buddha nature?
Having at last succumbed to the barrage of Barbenheimer mania, I can now share my thoughts on the two films from a Zen perspective. (For now, though, I’ll restrict my remarks to Barbie.) My first reaction to Greta Gerwig’s Barbie was that it was the story of the Buddha. Like Siddhartha, she begins life (if…
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Integrity
A talk given at Stone Nest Dojo by Richard Collins, 28 May 2023 An integer is a positive natural number or a negative number, with no fractional part, and includes zero. One thing that we see in the Zen masters whom we read about from long ago is that they had integrity. This doesn’t mean…
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A GLIMPSE OF IT
Zen poetry comes in many forms. There are the essential ancient wisdom poems by masters, like the Shodoka, the Shinjinmei, and the Hokyo Zanmai. There are koan poems and poems that comment on koans. There are poetry contests, like the one described in the Platform Sutra. There are satori poems and death poems. There are…
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Oppenheimer the Hungry ghost
“The Supreme Lord [Krishna/Vishnu] said: I am mighty Time, the source of destruction that comes forth to annihilate the worlds. Even without your participation, the warriors arrayed in the opposing army shall cease to exist.” – Bhagavad Gita 11:32 While there are no overt references to Buddhism in Oppenheimer, the underlying themes that connect to central…
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91. Zen Phrases
1.) The test of zen is to find that still point within, even in the midst of chaos.2.) Hakuin Zenji taught: Find the silence which contains thoughts.3.) The ego is a fabricated illusion4.) People are afraid to empty their minds fearing that they will be engulfed by the void.What they don’t realize is their own…
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92. Keep A Not Moving Center
You must silence the constant stream of mental chatter. “It is hard toconceptualize, no less experience an openness of mind in the midst of thisconstant internal chatter.” Guo Gu Poet Ryokan also famously said, “There is nothing better than saying nothing.” Itis both possible and actually preferable to teach others simply by a calmpresence. Speak…
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THE YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO: ICHI-GO, ICHI-E
Richard Reishin Collins, Abbot Kusen, Stone Nest Dojo, 19 May 2024 Yesterday, as I was reading in my study, I heard a thump against the glass of the outside doors. When I looked to see what had caused the noise, I saw a bird twitching on the bricks, but it didn’t twitch for long. It…
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the ENDLESS JOURNEY of KŌDŌ KYŌHAN 廣道映範 AUBREY LEBLANC (1985-2023)
What follows are the memorial remarks made at Stone Nest Dojo on 10 December 2023 by Richard Collins, Abbot of the New Orleans Zen Temple, on the death of Aubrey LeBlanc. Endless Journey When the great Zen master Sengai (1750-1837) was asked by a parishioner for a blessing for his new baby, the old monk…
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94. Everyday Mind is the True Path
Like a laser beam, Hui Neng’s teaching has pointed directly to the core of zen forover 1500 years. It can easily be said that his prolific insights have guided manythousands over the centuries. Prior to his death in 713, Hui-Neng left a few interesting notes on how to approach“formal interview” with the zen teacher. The…