I gave this Dharma Talk on June 29, 2024, during my stay at the Orginal Light Zen Temple (zentemple.eu). Please forgive the choppy edit. The talk was translated into Hungarian by Chong An Sunim as I spoke, so most of the translation was edited out. Hence, the unnatural pauses. Deep gratitude to Chong An Sunim and the Original Light Zen Temple Sangha for supporting and caring for Charlene and me during our stay.
Category Archives: Dharma Talks
Calendar Update: Regular Practice Schedule
Join us tonight for our Wednesday Evening Practice Session, on July 3, 2024. Ordinary Zen Sangha practice sessions continue after a month off in June 2024. OZS is secular in its approach, no experience is necessary, and all are welcome. We practice at our Zendo on Wednesday at 7:00 pm. We chant the Heart Sutra, practice sitting meditation for 25 minutes, walking meditation for 5 minutes, and another sitting meditation for 25 minutes, followed by a Dharma talk and discussion […]
Hauling Away the Shit Pail
“It is foolish to use the verb “to appear” in describing the manifestation of the buddhas. We simply use the expression “a buddha appears in the world” to make it easier for sentient beings to understand. “Picks up a shit pail and hauls away all the shit of conceptual proliferation” means that a buddha removes all traces of various types of ignorant thoughts. If you do not depart from the original true reality of the middle way, then whatever words […]
Getting unstuck and non-duality
I am about to head up to North Carolina for a few days and while I am gone, I thought you might enjoy this blast from the past. I gave this Dharma Talk from North Carolina, 3 years ago on Aug 23, 2020. It was during COVID, please forgive the quality of the video, it was from my Chromebook on Zoom… We will resume our regular practice sessions on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Deep Bow, Will Rauschenberger
Huangbo’s Transmission of Mind – Parts 19 – 26
The Illusory City We now dive into what is referred to as the Two Vehicles and the ten-stage path. These are all powerful provisional, accessible teachings and form the Illusory City.
The Conscious Perspective Interview
Here is the interview with Gary Lee Haskins from The Conscious Perspective on YouTube…
Exploring The Transmission of Mind with Huangbo
Good Friends, In the New Year, I will share a series of posts on the ‘Transmission of Mind’ by Master Huangbo (Similar to the series we did in August of the ‘Platform Sutra of Hui-neng‘). This series will primarily use the Book ‘Zen Roots – The First Thousand Years‘ by Red Pine as its main study text (There is a link to purchase the book on the website). Another good translation is ‘The Zen Teaching of Huang Po: On the […]
Sunday Practice Session
I am happy to be back after a month off and looking forward to sitting together! Please join me this Sunday, 9-03-2023 at our Zendo or online for our practice session. After our practice session, I would like to invite sangha members to join me for an Indian buffet at the Royal Peacock Indian Kitchen. They are just up the road from our Sangha at 5445 Fruitville Rd (near Publix).
Hui-neng leads us to water, but we must drink it.
Our study of the platform sutra only leads us to our own minds, nowhere else, no other Buddha. ‘Each of us must practice ourselves. No one else can do it for us. Nor can any text take our place‘ It isn’t that the teaching is direct or not, sudden or gradual. ‘The teaching is simply so. When we finally understand it, it appears direct because it is right in front of us. When we don’t understand it, it appears indirect […]
Platform Sutra Study- Part 4 – Sections 20-23
Dear Good Friends, We continue to explore the Platform Sutra of Hui-neng. If you are following along with me, I recommend that you go directly to the Platform Sutra and skip the introduction and the sections with commentary by Red Pine. Read sections (20-23) of the Platform Sutra, notice your reaction to this reading, sit with it, and comment below. I will respond to your comments (privately) as necessary. You may of course not follow my direction and not respond […]