We will discuss what it can be to be "awake" in the midst of our busy lives. Practically speaking, what is it to be "awake" in places like work and bring practice to our daily struggles? How can the practice of awakening help with the daily stresses and anxieties that arise? We'll look at embodied rituals and zazen that can help alleviate suffering and help us get through our difficulties with grace and integrity.
Words, Ducks, and Buddha: Don’t Get Lost in Translation!
In Zen, words are tools to guide us, but they are not the destination. We will discuss how words can sometimes mislead us in practice, and how we can stay grounded in the direct, lived experience of our true nature rather than getting lost in concepts.
Why did Bodhidharma come from the West?
Zachary Smith: we’ll answer the age-old and often-asked question, “Why did Bodhidharma come from the West?”
Difficult Conversations
Michael McCord: Do Zen monks have difficult conversations that they wrestle with whether to have or not? What space does difficulty with others play in the Buddhist path? Tonight we will explore the subject of difficult conversations, and when it may or may not be best to engage. And if so, what we do before, during and after - so that we and others may suffer a little less and set tomorrow up for a bit more thriving.
Meeting Fear With Stillness
Eli Brown-Stevenson: We will be discussing a few flavors of fear and the role of zazen (Zen meditation) in overcoming everyday anxieties.
Being Human in the Age of A.I.
Michael McCord: what does Zen elucidate about who we are if there is "no self"? A machine is looked at as a soulless collection of fallible parts that are subject to decay and failure. How is this different from the Zen concept of the self, an unfixed ever changing collection of matter with no permanent properties that eventually falls apart? And why does it matter?
Studying The Self
Kogetsu Mok: we’ll dive deep on ”Studying the Self” from Dogen Zenji’s Genjo Koan.
Zazen: Ready, Willing, Don't-Know
For our discussion, let's see if we can point to the heart of the matter regarding our practice of Zazen.
The Vicissitudes
The session will be inspired by Case 74 of the Book of Serenity, commonly known as “Fayan’s ‘Substance and Name,’” which, frankly, gives the best-ever accounting of the vicissitudes of the human condition. With this gift in hand we will puzzle together over the central question of what, in Buddha’s name, we should do about it.
On Death and Dying
Mei Elliott: The theme for the evening was the Buddha's Five Daily Recollections, with an emphasis on the third reflection, which focuses on death and dying. Recollections on death are common in the Buddhist tradition and can be a powerful source of wisdom and compassion.
Compassion and Empathy
Michael McCord: Compassion and Empathy, the difference between these two (compassion involves empathy but also brings in the element of action/no action as a decision) and how do concepts like “tough love” fit into and or work with these fundamental elements of practice? As a cornerstone of Buddhist practice (compassion cultivation) how do we set good/healthy boundaries while not veering into ruinous empathy or cold hearted disassociation from another’s struggle?
Shikantaza and Emptiness
Kogetsu Mok: The topic will be about Shikantaza and Emptiness. What is shikantaza practice? What is "emptiness"? How can that help us in our daily lives as we navigate the difficulties that come our way?
Equanimity and The Mountains of Our Lives
Kogetsu Mok: How can we use Zen practice to navigate the persistent mountains in our lives with poise and balance?
The Suchness of Mind and Objects
Kodo Conlin: We'll look directly into some of the basics and subtleties of Zazen.
The Way Seeking Mind and The Welcoming Practice of Zazen
Eli Brown-Stevenson: in this week's gathering we will talk about the heart/mind that brings us to practice and we will also do a welcoming exercise to help inspire our zazen practice.
The Messenger
Zachary Smith: Lately I’ve been thinking about all the cases where some teacher, for some reason, has been required to boil their knowledge and experience down to a single, simple compelling expression and deliver it. The Buddhist literature is full of examples and we’ll talk, at least briefly, about some of them but I’ll also be giving it a try as well.
Mindfulness
Mei Elliott: Mindfulness has the extraordinary capacity to cultivate wholesome states and diminish unwholesome ones, illuminating the path to happiness. In this meeting we'll explore the Buddhist roots behind the buzzword, and discuss the liberating potential of this practice.
Perfection of Patience
Kogetsu Mok: discussing the Buddhist principle of the "Perfection of Patience" and how this can help us to meet our suffering, anxieties, and difficulties. How can we examine the nature of our suffering with self-awareness and clarity? How can we cultivate patience and tolerance? How can we meet every moment of our lives with wisdom and equanimity?
Patience can help us to find inner freedom and peace which can remind us that we are all interconnected. We can learn to find agency to act skillfully and to not be controlled by habitual patterns. In this, we can begin to create better karmic conditions for ourselves and others.
Joy
Michael McCord: in a world with so much suffering, how can a person (should a person?) be joyful? Is this not taking the cares of the world seriously? And in the face of so many existential threats (pandemics, climate change, political polarization, wars, etc.) - what is the appropriate way to live a life that is responsible, connected and thriving?
We'll unpack this from the context of Zen Buddhist principles. Since Buddhism has at its core the concept of "liberation", one shouldn't have to wait until some distant time in the future to exhale and set down the baggage of the world, and find ways to live into mini-liberations all along the way.
Just One Finger
Zachary Smith shares a collection of strange Zen stories, including Case 19 of the Blue Cliff Record, about a teacher named Jùzhī with a very eccentric teaching style,