This is a teisho – kind of like a cross between a Dharma Talk and guided meditation. I hope my words will point you toward how the Great Matter – that which we seek to awaken to and manifest – is never apart from this very place. Ordinary mind is the Way, and is buddha itself. But what does this really mean? Not that we can’t hope for relief from the turmoil of our minds as we usually experience them! Mind-with-a-capital-M is not equivalent to our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and concepts. Mind is the undisturbed space within which everything arises, so it is always available to us – never apart from this very place.
Apologies for releasing two episodes in June instead of three. I have been working on what will end up being at least a two-part, maybe three-part, episode on Dana, the Paramita of Generosity: Buddhist Teachings on the Perfection of Giving. I have ended up spending a lot of time preparing for that episode, once I realized I wanted to give you a good overview of Buddhist teachings on the subject rather than just talk about my own sense of it. I hope you’ll find my Dana episodes worth the wait! I will publish them in July.
In the meantime, though, I figured I offer you another Teisho, or a Dharma Talk given within the context of a meditation retreat. Teisho differ from my usual episodes in that they’re not informational or conversational. They are meant to point listeners toward the Great Matter experientially, and ideally you can listen to them without a whole lot of activity or distraction going on. (Listeners in retreat are seated quietly in the meditation hall, and the atmosphere remains meditative.) You might think of this as a cross between a Dharma Talk and guided meditation.
Anyway, here goes!
Sorry, there is no text version of this episode available, as it is meant to be listened to!
Endnotes
Samvega: See Episode 86 – Samvega and Pasada: Two Buddhist Emotions Indispensable for Practice
Mumonkan Case 19: Sekida, Katsuki and A.V.Grimstone (ed.). Two Zen Classics: Mumonkan and Hekiganroku. New York, NY: Weatherhill Press, 1977.
Bodhidharma. The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma (p. 20). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition.
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