the source of the river Buna

Temple Life – Part Two

After 8 days of traveling with Sunim and his family,  plus 8 days of Charlene and I traveling alone down Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, Charlene and I have returned to the Orginal Light Temple outside Budapest for the last few days of our visit. We will be ending our trip with an Ancestor Celebration on Sunday. Of course, there are stories to tell about our adventures. However, this post is not a travel log. There will be opportunities to share those […]

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

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 […]

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 […]

The gift of our Meditation practice

Transcript of the Podcast – I have no words I have no words, which is rather unusual for me. I’m sure I’ll think of something in a moment or two. Having no words reminds me to get to the root, relaxing into my nature without relying on the trappings of conceptualization or making something up. It sounds so simple, just being in the moment, as we say. However, there are so many distractions in our lives. When your mind is […]

A cloud and water man

Cloud and Water Man. Since I have a zen stick, I like to fly 30,000 miles. Wielding my ink brush, I will not flinch if several thousand watch me. Sometimes winning, sometimes losing: gain and loss do not matter to a cloud and water man. –il-bung

Mind, clear like space

Join Abbot Will Rauschenberger of Ordinary Zen Sangha for  Zen Meditation Practice on Siesta Key Beach Saturday mornings (weather permitting).  Meditating in nature is ideal and we will have the beach mostly to ourselves this early in the morning. This is a wonderful opportunity to meditate together in a safe and beautiful environment (we will practice social distancing, by keeping 8 feet apart). No experience is necessary and all are welcome.  Please bring your own cushion or mat and arrive […]