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…
Category: way of oneness
What are you carrying?
For today’s dharma talk, I want to ask first a question, and then I want to share a story. Now I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to think about the question for a few moments and think about it – What are you still carrying? What are you…
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…
Freed from knowing.
I would like to start today’s Dharma talk with one of the most famous of the Zen Koans – Attention! Master Dizang asks Fayan, “Where have you come from?” Fayan replies “I pilgrimage aimlessly,” “What is the purpose of your pilgrimage?” asks Dizang. “I don’t know,” replies Fayan. “Not knowing is the most intimate,” remarked…
Not knowing is the most intimate.
The Master would teach his students, “Understand your true self.” One day, one of his students asked him, “Do you understand your true self?” He said, “I don’t know. But I understand this ‘don’t know’.” From a young age, many of us are afraid to be someone who doesn’t know. Maybe we are afraid…
The Limits of Outrage.
This Dharma talk was given by Christopher Kakuyo Sensei at the Salt Lake Buddhist Fellowship November 4th, 2018 Today I want to share some remarks regarding what seems like an ever deepening polarization of our country and communities – and as of late, an increase of not just polarization but of fearmongering and violence. This…
Interdependence Guided Meditation
In this practice, we’ll be cultivating awareness of our interdependence – “During quietness, you breathe together with the whole world. We breathe as one.” – Gyomay Kubose Sensei GUIDED MEDITATION Breathing in, Breathing out Feel the air filling your lungs as you breathe in and out feeling the air fill your lungs, Honor…
Generosity: The Primary Buddhist Virtue
Last week we were speaking about Dana – or the practice of generosity – from the receiving end and today we are going to talk about it from the giving end – We shared last week that there are preconceptions that Buddhism is all about meditation and kindness and how this is a partial misperception…
Joyful Receiving
Today I want to share a little about the Buddhist practice of Dana, in Mahayana Buddhism, it is called the perfection of generosity and it is one of the six paramitas. For many Westerners, Buddhism is all about meditation but is a misperception. To only practice mediation would be like going to the gym…
The Grace of Parents and Other People
The past few dharma talks were based on this idea, a quote form Daesan a Buddhist teacher, “ There is a reason why we have two eyes. One is for looking inward and observing our mind, and the other is for looking outward and finding Grace.” In some ways, these simple lines are a…
Everyday Nembutsu 