‘Student L [Katherine Thanas]: Docho Roshi: When does my life express the Dharma and when does it not? SR: When it does not? There is no time when it doesn’t. It always expresses the Dharma. Student L [Katherine Thanas]: But sometimes better than others? SR: Don’t think in that way. Always expressing. You are always […]
We have tipped into the second half of the year now, and locally, we had a shift in the weather to go with it: from fog and wind last week, to warm clear skies – and wind – this. Sometimes the wind feels exhausting, especially on a bike, but the sense of movement it signifies […]
‘ I think there is a time when one settles down in faith and never doubts anymore. What does this mean? According to our common sense, we firmly believe that our own thought is absolutely correct and the only measure of all things. But instead we settle ourselves in this fait, and never doubt that […]
‘We’re only human. But we’re also more. We’re by nature aspirational beings. Our imaginations are unlimited. We can’t be satisfied simply with the world as it appears. Presented with that, we will do what we have always done – distract and destroy. We will be deeply, narcissistically, self-protective and dissatisfied, and out of that uncomfortable […]
‘The dharma that I would come to taught me everything I already knew about life – that it is indeed suffering, and the path of liberation is paved with pain and joy but always near when you know you’re just looking to return to you and have to leave the home of Me behind. Enter […]
‘In the practice of charity, Buddhists distinguish three kinds of gifts: material, emotional, and spiritual. Material gifts include such things as food and clothes and medicine. Emotional gifts include comfort and protection. And spiritual gifts include guidance and instruction. In terms of their benefits, material gifts put an end to greed; emotional gifts but an […]
‘You should know that we unquestionably lack nothing of unsurpassed bodhi, but although we receive and use it endlessly, because we cannot fully accept it we mindlessly make our arising views habitual and think of this [buddha-dharma] as an object, thus vainly stumbling on the great way.’ (Bendowa)
‘Certain people would like to use technology to live longer, or forever… To such people I humbly propose a far more parsimonious way to live forever: to exit the trajectory of productive time, so that a single moment might open almost to infinity. As John Muir once said, “Longest is the life that contains the […]
‘Although a great bell is impressive, it makes no sound unless it is rung. Nor does a sage respond in isolation.’ (Commentary on the Diamond Sutra) Which reminds me of how Buddha frequently refered to himself as a physician, curing ailments according to the condition.
‘Dharma helps us develop a relationship to the nature of the thing itself. So when people and communities are saying “We’re all ultimately the same; there’s not such thing as race,” ultimately of course, that’s truth, and you want to thank them for their dharma teaching. We all need to be reminded of that, but […]
