Why do you worship?
zengateway's podcast
Master Obaku, who was often seen bowing with great devotion, was asked by a disciple: ‘Are you seeking something of the Buddha, or seeking something concerned with the Truth?’ The Master replied: ‘I have nothing to ask of the Buddha or to seek about the Truth.’ ‘Then why do you worship?’ The Master said; ‘I simply worship.’ [The Wisdom of the Zen Masters by Irmgard Schloegl] ………………………………………………………………….. In this podcast: A devotional practice is to practice the Six Paramitas Different types of devotion...
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Chanting the Three Refuges - Troubleshooting Zen Study & Practice
zengateway's podcast
Q)What are the Three Refuges and what is the value in chanting them? In this podcast: What is the meaning of refuge in Buddhism? What are the Three Refuges What is their meaning in practice? What do we ‘I’ take refuge in? The difference between my usual refuge and the Three Refuges Correspondences between Refuges and the Three Bodies of the Buddha in Yogacara thought.
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A Handful of Grass for the Water Buffalo
zengateway's podcast
Two stories of Master Nansen (c.749-835): Master Nansen, asked by a monk, ‘Where does he go who knows what is what?’ replied: ‘He becomes an ox of the monastery supporter down the hill, to requite him for his help.’ When the monk thanked him for his teaching, the Master added: ‘At midnight yesterday, the moon shone in at the window.’ Asked at another time, ‘Where will the Master be gone in a hundred years time?’ Master Nansen replied: ‘I’ll be a water-buffalo.’ The monk asked: ‘May I follow you or not?’ Master Nansen said: ‘If you do, bring a mouthful of grass with...
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This is Just This
zengateway's podcast
When Master Daibai was about to die, he said to his monks: ‘What comes is not to be avoided, what goes is not to be followed.’ A little afterwards he heard a flying-squirrel screech and said: ‘This is just this, and nothing else. You all keep this faithfully. Now I must depart.’ The Wisdom of the Zen Masters by Irmgard Schloegl …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. In this podcast: How picking and choosing creates fear of loss How feeling a ‘lack’ creates inner restlessness...
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Kyogen’s Real Poverty
zengateway's podcast
Master Kyogen said: ‘My poverty last year was not real poverty, but this year my poverty is real. Though last year there was no place even for an awl to stick into, this year have no awl either’. The Wisdom of the Zen Masters by Irmgard Schloegl In this talk: • We hear the story of Master Kyogen who came to awakening by hearing a pebble strike a bamboo trunk. • The root of ‘I’ clings to status and to have that being threatened evokes an existential crisis. In Kyogen’s story he lays violent hands on his master and was cast out to wander for...
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The Purpose of Life: What is the difference between a life with meaning and one with purpose? Rinzai points to something profound in the universe that is meaningful and yet without purpose.
zengateway's podcast
32 - One (monk) asked: “What is the meaning of (Bodhidharma’s) coming from the West?” The master said: “Had he had a purpose, he could not even have liberated himself.” the monk asked: “If he had no purpose, how could the Second Patriarch attain the Dharma?” The master said: “To attain is not to attain.” The monk asked: “ if it is not to attain, then what is the meaning of not to attain?” The master said: “It is because you are running about seeking everywhere and cannot put your heart at rest that the patriarchs say ‘My, the fellow with his head on his shoulders is...
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From Inner Lack to Inner Stillness
zengateway's podcast
‘From the High Seat, the master said: “One is on the way for aeons without leaving his house; one leaves his house without being on the way. Which one is worthy to receive the offerings of men and gods?” And he came down from the seat.’ The Zen Teachings of Rinzai - tr. Irmgard Schloegl …………………………………………………………………….. In this podcast: Reflecting on Rinzai’s question from the High Seat, this talk explores what it means to be truly “on the Way,” and how desire grows from a feeling that something is missing. Dukkha is...
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Bodhisattvas and Re-birth - Trouleshooting Zen Study & Practice
zengateway's podcast
Q. Does taking the bodhisattva vow mean that they have to be reborn in one of the six realms again? Does whatever it is that is reborn have to be reborn in the six realms? ……………………………………………………………………. In this podcast: The development of the bodhisattva - the path and the vow? The arhat in the remote forest and the bodhisattva in the market place The example of Vimalakirti - Huyakujo and the monastic rule ‘A day without work is a day without food’. Nirvana and the escape from Samsara (6 realms), in early and later...
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Rohatsu Reflections for 2025
zengateway's podcast
In this talk: Daiko - Osho san: ‘A world that cannot be grasped. A world of change. A vast, open empty sky’ ‘ku’ = emptiness/sky in Japanese - from the Heart sutra. Background to the Rohatsu sesshin - Buddha’s great effort prior to Enlightenment. True emptiness - what is this emptiness? Reflections on why the Enlightenment is commemorated in December rather than Wesak in May? The Power of Letting-go - The past is gone, the future is not yet here, the present is a fantasy… The empty heart is resilient because it is empty. 3 temptations of Mara. The space in a cup...
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Sokei-an's Traffic Lights - Form and Circumstances
zengateway's podcast
Master Sokei-an, who lived half of his life in the United States, stated humorously: 'If you are in a powerful car in the middle of the Gobi Desert, you can step on the gas pedal and go any speed you like, any direction you fancy. But if you are in New York at a busy Broadway crossing, you better look out for the traffic lights.' (Wisdom of the Zen Masters by Irmgard Schloegl) ................................ In this podcast: What is the form? How does it interact with circumstances? The relationship between them and why it is important in Zen training. The power of discernment in the...
info_outlineMartin gives a commentary on the following passage from The Zen Teachings of Rinzai tr. Irmgard Schloegl.
'Venerable Ones, do not delay and spend your days idly. In former days wen I could not yet see clearly, all the world seemed dark to me. I could not get beyond light and shade. I ran around with fever in my belly and with my heart in a flurry, asking about the Way. Later I gained strength and now I am here, preaching deliverance to you, followers of the Way. My advice is not to come here for just your food and clothes. Life in the world passes quickly, and it is difficult to meet good teachers; the Udambara plant only flowers once in a while.'