Auckland Zen Centre: Weekly Podcasts

Discussion following the teisho on precepts (part 1) Transcript: https://otter.ai/u/TzR5AgJe8tXU1xqsnAIJoxaEYkg

The 10 Precepts are at the core of the Great Way and have their origins in the 8-fold Path. The version that we say can be found in the Brahma Net Sutra, translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva in the 4th Century CE. Transcript: https://otter.ai/u/TzR5AgJe8tXU1xqsnAIJoxaEYkg

The teaching and poetry of grass and weeds, from Zen to Walt Whitman.

All is a circle -- an exploration of some of the circles to be found in nature and in Mind. Main Texts: River of Fire, River of Water: An Introduction to the Pure Land Tradition of Shin Buddhism by Taitetsu Unno, article From Anthropocene to Noosphere: The Great Acceleration in AGU (Advancing Earth and Space Science), 2021, by Boris Shoshitaishvili

Learning from spiritual friends, practising humility. Main text: River of Fire, River of Water by Taitetsu Unno

What we can learn from the Japanese Pure Land tradition Main Text: River of Fire, River of Water: An introduction to The Pure Land tradition of Shin Buddhism by Taitetsu Unno

More on how and why our sitting practice is woven with vows. Examples of other formulations of vows within the Mahayana tradition.

A look at four essential ingredients of our practice of the Buddhadharma, (besides zazen), and an introduction to Ko Ngā Oati e Whā (the four great vows in te reo).

The Emperor of China doesn't understand the National Teacher's request for him to build a 'seamless monument'. After he dies, his heir Tangen recites a poem to answer the Emperor's query, saying, "Beneath the shadowless tree a community ferryboat."

What is the meaning of Zen? What is the meaning of life?

How we cling to the self-identities we create, even when they are painful. Main Source(s): Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui Translated by Christopher Cleary

Renunciation is not an outward but an inward action, a gradual transformation of our attitude toward the world around us. Main Source(s): Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui Translated by Christopher Cleary

Who or what is in the way of our waking up? How do we get out of the way? Main Source(s): Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui Translated by Christopher Cleary

How subjective emotional consciousness distorts our experience. Main Source(s): Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui Translated by Christopher Cleary

Some historical background on Master Dahui and his championing of koan practice. Source(s): Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui Translated by Christopher Cleary, and Circle of the Way by Barbara O'Brien

Chiyono experiences enlightenment when the bottom falls out of her water bucket. How do we break out of fixed ways of seeing ourselves and framing the world? Absorption in a koan is a tried and tested way. Main text: The Hidden Lamp, Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women edited by Florence Caplow and Susan Moon

A meeting between a Buddhist monk and a people in Colombia who understand that they are part of the living world, not separate from it. Main Text: Running Toward Mystery; The Adventure of an Unconventional Life by Ven Tenzin Priyadarshi and Zara Houshmand

"With total trust, roam and play in samadhi". Main Text: Cultivating the Empty Field, The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi by Taigen Daniel Leighton with Yi Wu, North Point Press San Francisco 1991

"You must be broadminded, whole, without relying on others." Main Text: Cultivating the Empty Field, The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi by Taigen Daniel Leighton with Yi Wu, North Point Press San Francisco 1991

The bright, boundless field -- what is it? "Degrading situations" and how to avoid pursuing them. Main Text: Cultivating the Empty Field, The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi by Taigen Daniel Leighton with Yi Wu, North Point Press San Francisco 1991