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Description
Daily Zen has been a contemplative haven for online visitors since 1998 offering a unique blend of Eastern quotes for each day of the year, Zen-inspired e-cards, and a meditation room where at any moment a visitor may be meditating with any one of our companion Wayfarers each day. The Journal, called On the Way, is published once a month and this podcast has been created to turn those Journals into an auditory experience allowing listeners to contemplate its ideas in another way.
161 Episodes
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Perhaps we should begin at the beginning, where Buddhadhasa starts with the fundamental principles in the first chapter of this teaching, because in the above piece, he alludes to the handful of teachings that are all we need, but what are they?
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There is something for everyone in this profound teaching. We don’t know who the questioner is, but really it is us. Who hasn’t asked these questions in their own time? And how many have had the Fourth Patriarch to hang out with and ask questions to?
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Nothing much to grab onto here, not even instructions to meditate! However, we realize that a Zen master is teaching meditation; how else does one learn to turn the light around and look inside?
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Each journal presents a way into a larger perspective, and each piece speaks to us uniquely. There are teachers we easily connect with, and others that demand more of a stretch to understand their style.
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It is rare to hear in Zen anyone state exactly what meditation is; there are a lot of questions asked, and a little technique discussed, but originally, students just sat and found out for themselves.
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In Zen, there are many styles of meditation taught through the various schools; each person has to find the approach that strikes a chord within them, one they can spend enough time to realize the fruits of their efforts.
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Fall and Spring are both potent times to evaluate our practice; without judgment, just look to see if there are any adjustments to be made.
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As with any translation of a very ancient teaching, and one that was passed on orally rather than written down, we are often stopped wondering what was actually transmitted.
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If the questions seem to flow too precisely and neatly along, it is because this is a format Hui Hai used to communicate these principles.
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This was the last teaching of both the Buddha and Dogen before they died. For Dogen, it was part of his intention to rewrite all his work, and he had completed 11 chapters prior to this new piece.
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The stubborn intellect can be crafty and tends to want “answers” and concepts to hold onto, and naturally, as students, we would appreciate a little help here. However, our idea of help and a true teacher’s is rarely the same.
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Making the Altruistic Vow…serves to focus on our intentions and purpose here and now. What have we committed to? What better time of year to contemplate this lofty vow than now?
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Constancy – it has a lovely ring to it and actually is similar to one of the paramitas in Buddhism. Seeking the right phrase or word to express any spiritual concept can be challenging.
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This piece is profoundly deep and vast in its scope. It’s as if all the true essentials of Buddhism and Zen are laid out right before us.
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Muso is touching on points we have covered many times over the years. It is so easy to fool ourselves with our understanding. Too often, there is confusion in thinking that knowing the meaning of a word equals the experience and manifestation of that principle.
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The ability to stay focused on a train of thought, a task that takes days to complete, or a conversation that goes beyond things right in front of us is becoming a lost art in our times.
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The sheer beauty and simplicity of this piece speak for itself. Especially now when the times seem so extreme, and we are overstimulated to react, to be able to pause and remember to practice always returns us to center.
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Depending on how long one has practiced, at some point, we all realize the dead end of intellectual understanding. That doesn’t mean there is no value in “words and letters.” What is criticized above is the substitution of meditation time with what can become the distraction of reading one more teacher’s instructions, one more sutra, and how about that new school of Zen?
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Most of us have read the story of the Buddha’s life and awakening, but few of us have read a first-person account like the one above.
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As with many other writings, there are always parts that stop us in our tracks. Is it the translation or my lack of understanding?
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