Karma is real, Nyogen Roshi reminds us. Zen practice is real. What do we see when practice allows us a glimpse of our world as it truly is? The vast emptiness that Bodhidharma spoke about in his exchange with Emperor Wu. What do most of us do when we catch that glimpse? “You turn it into a concept,” Roshi tells us. “What you’re holding onto now is delusion! You have to keep stepping into each new moment. That’s the point to our practice.”
Dharma
Clarifying Koan Practice
Let’s clear up the misconceptions about what it means to study koans. A koan is not a puzzle or conundrum. They aren’t to be reasoned with intellectually or used as a form of psychotherapy. A koan is to be experienced. They will aid you in producing a state of consciousness in which you have full awareness, and as you practice longer, that state will generalize into how you function moment after moment in any circumstance…
Maezumi’s 3 Admonitions
Wisdom teachings are fascinating things. They may not appear to be special. They are never complicated. They can sound so ordinary that we don’t even hear them or grant them consideration. But like seeds, they burrow into us and one day surface in full bloom. Only then are we ready to appreciate them. Here are Maezumi’s Three Admonitions, which you’re not likely to find elsewhere…
Realizing Dharma
In this passionate summary of his teaching, Nyogen Roshi exhorts us to put aside the intellectual pursuit of Dharma–the true nature of each one of us. Realizing our true nature can only be accomplished through practice. “You truly are the Dharma,” Roshi says. “You truly are the Way. But do you understand what that means? No! You can’t understand that. You can only be that.”
Beating the Drum
Kasan said, “Cultivating study is called learning. Cutting off study is called nearness. Going beyond these two is to be considered real going beyond.” A monk came forward and asked, “What is real going beyond?” Kasan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum…”
Opening to Wisdom
Maezumi Roshi answers the question, “How do we open ourselves to wisdom?”
Transcribed from a recording made in July 1993.
Mind Moves
In a talk that begins with a famous koan about a flag waving in the breeze, Nyogen Roshi encourages us to move beyond the limitations of the chattering mind that we mistake for our true self. Discovering who we really are sounds daunting, but Roshi helps us keep things in perspective…
The Manifest Koan
The manifest koan is you, what is apparent and appearing, depending solely on right now. Nothing else. If you’re still caught in the comparing mind, the judgmental mind, you won’t see it. If you’re trapped in seeing objects as separate from you, you are far from it. But I think everybody here is starting to sense it…
Undivided Activity
Weaving some of Maezumi Roshi’s commentary into a talk on Zenki—”undivided activity”—Nyogen Roshi reminds us that all the Buddhist teachings are pointing directly at the individuals who receive them. “What is Buddha?” Roshi asks. “Buddha is awake! Who is awake? Is there anyone there but yourself?”
This Very Point
Those of us who practice are lucky when we encounter difficult times. Before that, we coast along in a comfort zone, thinking that bad stuff will be taken care of and the good guys will win and everyone is going to live happily ever after…
Awareness
In a powerful talk that touches on the six perfections in Buddhism as well as Dogen’s writing on samsara and nirvana, Nyogen Roshi exhorts us to cultivate selfless awareness through our practice…
Right View
After a particularly beautiful period of meditation, Nyogen Roshi is prompted to share his inner experience of zazen. Though setting aside striving and expectation can be difficult, the rewards are beyond measure. “You relax and release,” Roshi tells us, “then at a certain point, you begin to feel good, and the sitting itself becomes rich. You experience the wonder of what you truly are.”
