Stepping Up
This is the transcription of a Dharma talk given at Shasta Abbey in February 2022. This is a Dharma talk about aspiration and deepening our practice, in short it’s a talk about stepping up. This is not meant … Continue reading →
Practice
The Way-Seeking Mind
This is a transcription of a talk given at Lions Gate Buddhist Priory in November 2021. Rev. Master Jiyu said, several times, some version of the following: “If you’re going to sit in front of a wall and practice … Continue reading →
You Don’t Accept
This article was published on the Dragon Bell Temple website, February 2022. In trying to become an accepting person, we get in our own way and smother the possibility of real acceptance. At best we make a clumsy imitation of … Continue reading →
Fear and Fearlessness
This article originally appeared in the Portobello Buddhist Priory Newsletter, September—December 2019. Fear is something that most people experience to a greater or lesser extent, and it can sometimes feel like an obstacle in training. The various words used to … Continue reading →
Stand Up Straight and Begin to Walk
In a recent Sunday morning Zoom gathering of the congregation, I was speaking about walking the spiritual path. I am not comfortable with the idea of a path with a goal reached at the end—what I think of as the … Continue reading →
Spiritual Adulthood
This is a transcript of a Dharma talk given at Shasta Abbey in June 2021 I’d like to welcome all of you whether you’re here in person or online. It would be nice to see everyone face to face – … Continue reading →
Spacious Mind
(This article was adapted from a Dharma talk offered at the Berkeley Buddhist Priory on August 23, 2020, and the audio talk is available on the Priory website.) The universe is as the boundless sky, As lotus blossoms above unclean … Continue reading →
Reflections on Perfection
This article first appeared on the website of Pine Mountain Buddhist Temple where the author has spent time on retreat. As I wipe down the kitchen counters in the Buddha house after morning meditation I contemplate my inclination toward … Continue reading →
Renewal
The following was written in 1985 and reflects the language style used at that time as well as the thinking and understanding of a relatively young monk of four years standing living at Shasta Abbey, California. It is published now … Continue reading →
What is This?
From Portobello Buddhist Priory Newsletter, September – December 2019. It has been recommended that when we sit in Zazen, we bring to mind the question: What is this? Not as a mantra to continually repeat or as a question to … Continue reading →