For Today’s dharma talk, I want to share some ideas and feelings about the beauty of imperfection. To do this, I want to use a metaphor from Japanese material arts, Kintsugi. Metaphor helps us learn by adding a deeper, more emotive dimension. Metaphor tends to be the language of the heart. For me, kintsugi is…
Category: Buddhism
THIS VERY BODY IS THE BODY OF THE BUDDHA
DHARMA GRETCHEN SEIYO SENSEI AUG 18 2021 There’s a Buddhist concept that our teachers are all around us. A little while ago I received a Dharma lesson from one of my brothers, although he didn’t know it and is very Christian. He lives in Michigan and we had been catching up on the phone. It…
In Praise of Failure
Dharma Talk – Christopher Kakuyo Leibow I want to start with a personal story. Let me paint you a picture. I’m about 43. I sit on the floor in a small room in a stranger’s house with my back against a wall. It’s late. I am watching reruns of Perry Mason on a 12-inch black…
Thank you, Jesus!
Dharma Glimpse by Gretchen Seiyo Sensei Given the title of this Dharma Glimpse, you may think I’ve gone completely off the rails. But, stay with me. I’m going to tell you about something people do that I really don’t like, and something I also don’t like about myself. Here’s what gripes me; have you ever…
Haiku as Awareness Practice.
I would like to talk about Kobayashi Issa and Haiku, well technically senryu as practice. Haiku’s focus us usually nature and senryu is like haiku but the focus is primarily on human nature and emotion. For today, when I say haiku I mean both haiku and senryu. So who is this Issa fellow. He…
Kwan Yin Goddess of Compassion
Here is something I wrote for the “blessing of the hands” event that is held each year at the University of Utah Hospital. Traditions from all over the valley come together to give spiritual support for all of the hospital caretakers, from janitorial staff, to surgeons. The blessing of the hands is returning after a…
Already Broken: Impermanence
I want to begin our discussion on Dharma today with a story shared by Mark Epstein, one of the pioneers in integrating psychotherapy and Buddhism. He recounts an encounter with his teacher, Ajahn Chah, many years ago. During this meeting, someone asked the master how genuine happiness is possible in a world where everything changes,…
We Call Upon Ourselves as Kwan Yin: On Mass Shootings in America.
by Christopher Kakuyo Sensei What can one say? I find myself at a loss for words again. Another mass shooting. Here is a vain attempt to share what I am feeling. Any words I could say to the families of the murdered or to their community would feel hollow, self-serving, so I could say my…
On Lack & Happines
ON LACK & Seeking Happiness Today I want to talk about a feeling that many of us experience – it can be persistent, and it can be the source of much suffering. Many of us may not even be aware of how much it affects us. For much of the world, this feeling is an…
Violence as Entertainment?
Today’s dharma talk has been retitled Violence as Entertainment? The seeds of this talk were first planted that moment, some of you know that moment when your kid becomes interested in some violence he sees on the TV screen. That moment when you grab him quick to avert his eyes. Of course, the only thing…
Everyday Nembutsu 