The more grateful we feel, the happier we become. This is because gratitude helps us realize we are all connected. Nobody feels like an island when feeling grateful. Gratitude awakens us to the truth of our interdependent nature. Sunim, Haemin. “The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down” (p. 38). Penguin Publishing Group.
Category Archives: Emptiness
Empty, emptiness, without a permanent self.
Making Clouds Disappear
When I was a child, I used to play a game with friends called “making the clouds disappear.” Days that clouds were scattered and puffy were ideal. We would each pick a cloud and focus all our energy on making it disappear, and sure enough, with patience, they would disappear! What was wonderful about the game was the experience of oneness, of sky, mind, space. It was the magic of active imagination! As adults, we intellectually might grasp that this […]
Vimalakirti Sutra – with talks by Norman Fischer
From http://everydayzen.org/ – these Podcasts by Norman Fischer are excellent commentaries on the Vimalakirti Sutra. The sutra explains the meaning of nonduality directly with the words of the Buddha. An important aspect of this scripture is that it contains a report of a teaching addressed to both arhats and bodhisattvas by the layman Vimalakīrti, who expounds the doctrine of Śūnyatā, or emptiness, to them. You may download the Sutra here: https://holybooks-lichtenbergpress.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/Vimalakirti-Nirdesa-Sutra.pdf Vimalakirti Sutra – Talk 1 – Dharma Seminar – […]
Don’t Believe Everything You Think!
If we are caught in the bubble of our own thinking, we are not truly practicing Zen and are only deluding ourselves. We are Buddhist practitioners in name only and our commitment goes up in smoke with the fire of like and dislike! We may wander around from one Teacher, Spiritual Center or Zendo, to another, trying to make the world into how we think it is, or blindly following like sheep as long as it feels good. By believing […]
Enlightenment is the Solution – Chong An Sunim – March 8, 2019
In this second visit to OZS, Sunim begins our weekend retreat with a brief Dharma talk on the path to awakening followed by a Q&A.
Welcome to OZ
This morning on the way to the Sarasota Jail to teach Ordinary Zen Meditation to the inmates, I began thinking about our Ordinary Zen practice as a trip to OZ to see the wizard! Is this not the perfect story about getting lost to find ourselves? Aren’t all these characters just part of our own inner stories? The Scarecrow who doesn’t believe he is smart, the Tinman who thinks he is heartless, The lion who is fearful. Then there is Dorthy, the child […]
What Now?
Ask an open-ended question, anticipation without expectation. Don’t make NOW into something. In calm abiding before thought, see with your ears and hear with your eyes. Each morning wrens welcome the sunrise in song.
Wednesday Dharma Study-Everyday Zen Podcast on MIND
If you’re unable to join us for our OZS Dharma Study on Wednesday Evening, here is the Podcast we will be listening to… Norman Fisher, Everyday Zen Podcast: MIND Mind podcast – download here Posted: 13 Dec 2018 09:05 PM PST Norman speaks on the Buddhist teachings of “Mind” from a recent article of his published in “Lions Roar” magazine.
Manjushri
Manjushri, the wisdom that cuts through delusion and gives insight comes not from golden statues, nor worshiping a deity, but from practice alone. Keeping a clear mind like space, that alone is Manjushri’s sword! Just ask, What is this? Eventually, you will cut through what you are not and then there is just your original face!
