Treeleaf Zen

( Dogen’s Instructions for the Cook – XVIII) The ordinary is the most wondrous, all things intra-penetrating yet just as they are … Dosho Port (on his blog, wild fox zen) has a wonderful rephrase of the reference to Luling rice … A monk asked, what is the ultimate meaning of the buddhadharma? The master…

( Dogen’s Instructions for the Cook – XVII) This section always reminds me of the old child’s riddle: How do you divide equally 16 apples among 17 people?? Answer:  MAKE APPLESAUCE !! _____________________________ When you return to yourquarters, right away you should close your eyes and clearly envision the numberof individual places in the [sangha]…

The subject of the nature of a teacher and the teachings has been discussed on our Treeleaf Forum recently … FORUM LINK (remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 20 to 35 minutes is recommended) To subscribe to “Treeleaf Zen” click here.

Please join our weekly “Live from Treeleaf” Zazenkai meditation … We start with 3 floor prostrations (or deep Gassho), then chant the Heart Sutra in ENGLISH (see below), then sit about 40 minutes of Zazen, then 10 minutes of Kinhin, closing with the chants of the “Verse of Atonement” and “Four Vows“.Please join in, one…

My old buddy from Florida, Sid, sent me the following … so much of the same cut as Shikantaza,   … so beautifully stated … A few of the subtle points of Buddhist philosophy and Master Dogen aside, it is a lovely description of basic “Just Sitting”. It would be good to read it a few…

I climbed from the bottom to the top of Mount Tsukuba, the famous mountain near Treeleaf (in Tsukuba, Japan) … sat some Zazen … then climbed back down again … A little custom of mine, a climb to no where step by step … Zazen to no where step by step … the scenery always…

( Dogen’s Instructions for the Cook – XVI) A chant heard daily in Zen temples is the “Sandokai“, the “Merging of Relative and Absolute“, by Sekito Kisen, the 8th Zen Ancestor in China. It includes images such as these, speaking of the “light” and the “dark” … conveying the relationship of this world of “relative”…

( Dogen’s Instructions for the Cook – XV) Uchiyama Roshi translates this section in a very nice way … It is vital that we clarify and harmonize our lives with our work, and not lose sight of either the absolute or the practical. Handle even a single leaf of a green in such a way…

When Dogen was in China, he heard this verse that we are all still chanting as we are about to put the Kesa on.  Vast is the robe of liberation  formless robe, field of happiness.  I wear the Tathagatha’s teaching  Liberating all sentient beings.    Dai sai ge dap pu ku,  Mu so fu ku…

DUE TO THE NETCAST EQUIPMENT NOT DOING ITS THING … TODAY IS A RECORDED ‘RE-SIT’ …  THANK YOU FOR SITTING ANYWAY … Please join our weekly “Live from Treeleaf” Zazenkai meditation … We start with 3 floor prostrations (or deep Gassho), then chant the Heart Sutra in ENGLISH (see below), then sit about 40 minutes…

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