AZC Weekly talks

How we create a sense of self with our habit of approval, disapproval and indifference. Sources: RZC translation of Affirming Faith in Mind, in  Chants and Recitations , Rochester Zen Center, 2005 and   Faith in Mind: A Guide to Zen Practice  by Master Sheng-Yen, Dharma Drum Publications, 1987.

Dharma Talk by Jissai Prince-Cherry. Jissai Prince-Cherry has been practicing with the Rochester Zen Center since 1996 and currently serves as the Center's Online Head of Zendo as well as Group Leader of the Louisville Zen Center. In 2022, she was ordained as a Zen Buddhist Priest. She joined us via Zoom to give this dharma talk.

Reflections on the situation in Gaza and readings from Carlo Rovelli's book,  White Holes . A Dharma talk by Richard von Sturmer.

A tale of Long Covid, anxiety and encounters with the bodhisattva of compassion. Adrian Croucher is a senior student at the Auckland Zen Centre. Resources: John Blofeld, "Bodhisattva of Compassion: The Mystical Tradition of Kuan Yin", Shambhala Classics, 2009.

 Main text used: 'Encouraging Words' by Robert Aitken" Dharma talk by Sensei Richard von Sturmer.

Early life. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/CpEA7WV6ZKg6Qxk2ZQHRwUFVwOA

Encountering the Dharma and zen training at Hosshin-ji. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/HMUtCaw751dTCfjHjZ5wkRN3n34

3. Realization. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/wiY6T5dEwSi3aGdz6YqqeiSjz0s

4. The illusion of separate self. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/TkOqLE0iw13xumEasfO6kdDa_lY

The importance of vows. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/Zo5rmcgaI7SGBjbTlxJJBTXyEuE

Impermanence. Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/NSMcmbz-cf1WKcET-f-qPvae9IE

Chan teacher Guo Gu explores how koans (gong'ans in Chinese) are not meant to be solved by us, but rather they can dis-solve our self preoccupations and cherished opinions. Source(s):  Passing Through the Gateless Barrier: Koan Practice for Real Life  by Guo Gu Shambhala 2016 Automated transcript https://otter.ai/u/dx9TToyDTTq8N6hfhx77g5EZ6fo  

Kyogen presents a dilemma. How can a man hanging by his teeth from a tree answer a question about Bodhidharma's coming from the west? If he opens his mouth to speak he'll fall to his death, if he remains silent he fails the questioner. When to remain silent, when to speak, and what to say can be life koans. Words are never sufficient, but they are called for at times. How can we respond...

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...

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

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

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