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Archive for April, 2008

The Four Great Vows: Countering Indifference

Posted in Uncategorized on April 30, 2008 | 1 Comment »

by Sensei Wendy Egyoku Nakao
The Four Great Vows of a bodhisattva point out the direction of practice for Buddhists in all schools of Buddhism. The vows are chanted three times every day in our zendo. Our rendering of the vows is:
Sentient beings are numberless,
I vow to save them.
Desires are inexhaustible,
I vow to put an end [...]

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Reading for April 28

Posted in Readings on April 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

Consider movement stationary
and the stationary in motion,
both movement and rest disappear.
When such dualities cease to exist
Oneness itself cannot exist.
To this ultimate finality
no law or description applies.
-Seng-tsan, “Verses on the Faith Mind”, From Teachings of the Buddha, edited by Jack Kornfield, 1993.

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Readings for April 21

Posted in Readings on April 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

Tantrism and the Vehicle of the Thunderbolt
by Richard Hooker, Washington State University
The final developments of Buddhism in India involved the growth of Tantric thought in both Buddhism and Hinduism. Vedism had always based itself on magic and ritualistic magic; in the fourth and fifth centuries BC, a new form of Hinduism, Tantrism, focused primarily on [...]

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Fall retreat, Nov. 7-9

Posted in Events on April 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

Mark your calendars. Our fall retreat has been scheduled for November 7-9.

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Reading for April 14

Posted in Readings, Zen Buddhism on April 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

In the past, koan practicing meant checking someone’s enlightenment. Now we use koans to make our lives correct… You use koans to take away your opinions. When you take away your opinions, your mind is clear like space, which means from moment to moment you can reflect any situation and respond correctly and meticulously. — [...]

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Reading for April 7

Posted in Readings on April 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

This week’s reading on Mahayana Buddhism is by Richard Hooker of Washington State University.
Mahayana Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism focused primarily on meditation and concentration, the eighth of the Eightfold Noble Path; as a result, it centered on a monastic life and an extreme expenditure of time in meditating. This left little room for the bulk of humanity [...]

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