SokukoJi Buddhist Temple Monastery

https://youtu.be/DMHSdHNPFp8

What appears is not what it actually is. No matter what you do, you can’t really cover up what is. If you try to cover up what is, it will create problems for you and for others. It is important to observe whatever shows up in front of you as it is. You may need to look through your projections to see fundamentally what is showing up. Initially fixation, fear or a need to be in control causes us t...

Watch what arises in your mind stream without adding your personal little stamp of approval, disapproval or disregard. Don’t meddle with anything that shows up in the mind stream. Be fully responsible, cognizant and aware of how much you add on. Sit down, hold still and watch the movement. Don’t add to it, don’t subtract from it, don’t judge it and don’t distract yourself from it. Watch the moveme...

No more war. That would be nice. It seems like all we hear about is war. Our history is full of it. People who are selfish, greedy, fearful and at the mercy of their opinions, beliefs and ideas create trouble for themselves and for others. What I am looking at is more confusion and it is very painful to see so many people who are completely unaware of their insanity. They cover it up with opinions...

Don’t ask ‘why?’ Ask ‘what?’ 'Why' questions are circular. Some 'why' questions, like ‘Why am I cold?’ are helpful relatively, and so we become accustomed to using them. However, the circles that ‘why’ questions create will just keep going when it comes to your mind stream and your emotions. As a meditator sit down, hold still and watch what moves. That is Shikantaza. Don’t add, subtract or divide...

https://youtu.be/-Q8O435WfCY

https://youtu.be/C7G9XI5fcBA

“We know nothing until we know everything” is a line from a poem by 14th century Christian mystic St. Catherine of Sienna. When we realize this all questions go away and you know deeply what ‘this’ is all about. It is possible to approach this realization directly by looking deeply into our mind stream through the sitting practice of shikantaza. Give into the fundamental nature in front of you by...

https://youtu.be/DVEqdW-CgMU

https://youtu.be/ySq0fGP2IC0

The ego, the self-centered aspect of the mind, is very intelligent at defending itself. It uses this intelligence to confirm or reify someone who knows everything, someone who understands. Hold still and watch the constant propaganda of the mind. You don’t need to stop or control anything. What’s happening is totally appropriate; it’s utterly, completely perfect because it’s happening out of depen...

https://youtu.be/li5priPpojs

Chogyam Trungpa’s very direct way of saying this is, “The best relationship is no relationship.” When I say relationships don’t work, I mean we have expectations, transactions, and agreements. We think there is someone here in relation to someone over there. We even have little relationships with ourselves called conflicting emotions. It’s painful. Find out who you are so that going into relations...

https://youtu.be/zocFTlZX55o

Craving, desire, or greed for otherness is just a basic way of saying we want something else. This constant inner chatter about ourselves and who we are is substantiating and validating a “someone” who’s doing something. When it ramps up it fuels the believability in the separation and the promise that you can actually get your heart’s desire. Just observe the clutching action of the mind without...

https://youtu.be/bD5Ne8tgYQc

“Whatever is seen with the eyes is vividly unreal in emptiness, yet there is still form.” This line is from the Sadhana of Mahamudra, which we chant at every new moon. If you see this, you will see that what’s fundamentally important is not threatened. This is a dream. How do we bring this about in our life stream? The more difficult this gets, the more it is incumbent upon us to practice; instead...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQAvei5oWaA

The world reminds us that we’re not important all the time. You can make use of this understanding by looking at the self-centeredness that we continually fluff up while ignoring the complete spaciousness of our minds as they are. When any kind of fear or sensitivity that hasn’t been looked into gets triggered, we go to war with it or try to blame somebody. This creates the illusion that we are im...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuFc3mmGMG4

The first of the four noble truths is the truth of sufffering (dukkha). Why are we suffering? Because we want something else; this is the second noble truth. Trying to be happy and trying not to suffer can tie up your whole life and it will persist if you try to stop it. There’s no particular way to deal with this other than to just see what it is through the simple practice of shikantaza or zazen...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZgkRLzFzDo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ETD-lhg0OY

I often say, when training your mind, concentrate on your intention without looking for results. The intention to train your mind might not be as forthcoming with results as something like intending to weed the garden. When we focus too much on improvement or results, this is spiritual materialism. It takes energy away from our intention to train our minds, to study, and to return to the buddha, t...

https://youtu.be/t9vAfYQ2aCc