“Modern science–quantum physics–will never prove Buddha Dharma, but Buddha Dharma might validate their work.” Excerpt from a Dharma Talk given by Nyogen Roshi at the Hazy Moon Zen Center.
Affirmations
In this new Teisho, Nyogen Roshi connects his renewed emphasis on affirmations with some of the fundamental insights of the Shurangama Sutra. “This is the place where it’s easiest to work on enlightenment,” Roshi says. “The whole process is evolvement of consciousness. If you don’t get that, you’re going to miss the most amazing journey.” […]
Making Peace With Yourself
At the start of a weekend sesshin, Nyogen Roshi reminds us why meditation retreats are so valuable. ”When you begin to quiet down and you stop looking for something out there, then the Buddha-Mind manifests. And then you begin to experience the wonder of what you are.”
Holding Up the Living Word
In this excerpt, Nyogen Roshi recounts some of the key moments in his relationship with Maezumi Roshi and reflects more broadly on the student-teacher relationship, lineage and transmission. “Transmission isn’t something that you can think your way into,” Nyogen Roshi says. “It is profound. And it has come through 81 generations down to here.”
There is Enlightenment
“The thing I most want you to experience is that the teaching of Buddha Dharma is real. Some of you still play with this as a conceptual game. But real transformation is absolutely possible.” Excerpt from a Dharma Talk given by Nyogen Roshi at the Hazy Moon Zen Center.
The Eyelash of Doubt
As Nyogen Roshi reminds us, the notion of belief always carries with it the shadow of doubt. It also implies a host of intellectual assumptions that only serves to obscure the pure state of being that we’re working to realize in our practice. “We cannot simply think ourselves into this state of samadhi,” Roshi says. […]
A Practicing Buddhist
Nyogen Roshi touches on the key points in our practice in a talk prompted by a question about the actions of Buddhist monks in Myanmar. “What does it mean to be a practicing Buddhist?” Roshi asks. “Does it mean that I follow some doctrine, dogma, or a set of rules? No! To be a practicing […]
Ikkyu’s Letter
Ikkyu, a 15th century Rinzai poet-monk, was born the son of the Japanese emperor and was exiled from the royal court along with his mother when he was still a young boy. Both mother and son became ardent students of Zen. In the letter she left for him upon her death, Ikkyu’s mother urges him […]
Doing Non-Doing
Prompted by a student talk that touched on caring for the dying, Nyogen Roshi discusses the urgency of cultivating samadhi by “doing non-doing.” If we ignore or trivialize this imperative, we contribute to the pain and suffering around us. But if we engage in the hard work of Zen practice, we transform ourselves and our […]
Buddha Dharma is Real
In this Teisho inspired by Dogen Zenji’s fascicle on self-realization samadhi, Nyogen Roshi reminds us that Dogen’s writing–in fact, the teaching of all the past masters and Buddhas–is pointing directly at the mind of the individual practitioner. “The whole point of Buddha Dharma is the evolution of your consciousness,” Roshi says. “Realizing this is relatively […]
Embrace the Suck
In a riveting talk weaving together Navy SEALs survival strategy, admonitions from the Avatamsaka Sutra and insights from physicist Tom Campbell, Nyogen Roshi reminds us that if the demands of true practice are difficult, the rewards are immeasurable. “Always it is only you,” he says. “And all the players on this great stage are you. […]
What is Prajna?
“There is much confusion” about the definition of prajna, Nyogen Roshi tells us in this Dharma talk. “And yet it is the simplest, most direct experience of actualized Buddha Dharma.” The reason for the confusion? Prajna simply can’t be understood, because “there is no understanding to the manifestation of great prajna.” Listen as Roshi clarifies […]
