Three Working Grounds
Practice Resources
Three Working Grounds are the classical practices of giving (dāna), virtue (sīla), and meditation or cultivation (bhāvanā). Cultivating these three practices can provide a firm basis for the arising of joy, connection, and wisdom, strengthening our roots and resources for Zen practice.
Below, find talks, readings, and references. This page will be updated as new talks on these themes are curated.
Introduction
The Ground of Dāna: Giving
SUTRA: Lovingkindness Meditation (Mettā Sutta) as chanted at SFZC - A short text, rich in the qualities of a generous, giving heart. For frequent reflection.
TEXT: Dōgen Zenji’s pithy guidance on the practice of giving. Excerpt from Bodhisattva's Four Methods of Guidance.
The Ground of Sīla: Virtue
TEXT: The Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts, the foundation of our Zen Way.
TALK: My Imperfections Are The Path - An introduction to the working ground of sīla, the Bodhisattva Precepts, and care without self-judgment.
TALK: The Liberating Power of the Bodhisattva Precepts - from the YUZ Archive
The Ground of Bhāvanā: Cultivation
TEXT: Dōgen Zenji’s seminal instructions for and universal recommendation for Zazen, the Fukanzazengi.
TALK: Zazen in Brief — Kodo surveyed 10 Dharma teachers about the one simple teaching that clarifies the practice of Zazen.
TALK: Mettā: Accessing Refuge amidst Affliction — a discussion of the practice of lovingkindness, the classical meditation associated with Bhāvanā.
TALK: Freedom Through Knowing And Seeing The Five Aggregates - The Working Ground Of Bhāvanā
禅
The Three Working Grounds are often translated as the three grounds for meritorious activity:
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "There are these three grounds for meritorious activity. Which three? The ground for meritorious activity made of giving, the ground for meritorious activity made of virtue, and the ground for meritorious activity made of development [meditation]. These are the three grounds for meritorious activity."
Train in acts of merit that bring long-lasting bliss — develop giving, a life in tune, a mind of good-will. Developing these three things that bring about bliss, the wise reappear in a world of bliss unalloyed. — Itivuttaka 60 (Translation © Access to Insight.)