Bright Way Zen

Based on finding a potential new Zendo property, plus the recently successful fundraising effort, Domyo describes our shared vision and the role of trust through the eyes of Dharma. Sangha members express their feelings of community support, connection and gratitude as we navigate toward owning a place where we can go - "where everybody knows your name."

Pamela Ayo Yetunde writes in Casting Indra's Net: Fostering Spiritual Kinship and Community: "Mobbery is a process that centers on anger, energy, and power—it is the aggregation of personal anger into a collective anger that develops a power far beyond that of individuals. Mobbery entails using the energy of anger to find people who are angry about the same things you're angry about, then together harnessing this anger in ways that place blame on others. By taking no responsibility for soothing one's own anger and projecting blame collectively onto groups identified as "other," a new shared reality is created and allowed to harden. The more that angry people gather and strengthen one another, the more their sense of power intensifies. Those identified as others are vilified and attacked, and this is repeated over and over again. This dynamic builds momentum while demonstrating how the power of anger can be exerted on others and how such acts can be interpreted as victories."

In a Koan from Hongzhi's Book of Serenity, two Dharma brothers engage in a conversation. As one sweeps the ground, the other challenges him, observing: "Too Busy!" This feeling of "busyness" is a state that is relatable to many of us. In this talk, Sangha members share what characterizes busyness, and also what characterizes activity without a sense of busyness.  How can we be still even in the midst of all of our commitments, activities, and challenges?

Humans evolved to look out for our own interests but also developed the capacity for completely selfless action when we closely identify with a group. When we feel as much concern for another's wellbeing as we do for our own, you might call this a sense of "kinship." The Buddha taught us to practice extending Metta, or loving-kindness – just as a mother would feel for her only child – to all living beings without discrimination. We will discuss the evolutionary psychology perspective on human altruism, ways that our sense of kinship gets activated, and the implications for the way we operate in the world.

Our teacher reads from Thich Nhat Hahn's book "Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm" the conviction that transforming fear into fearlessness is possible through deeply acknowledging one's fears and their sources. Domyo invites Sangha members to openly express what they are most afraid of, and then share what ideas and practices help ground them and give them strength. A generous and courageous discussion follows.

Buddhist practice is wonderfully liberating because it empowers you to let go of your suffering regardless of your circumstances. However, we can also get stuck in the fallacy that conditions don't matter, thereby making it seem like helping beings (including ourselves) experience things like safety, health, freedom, justice, prosperity, and love are outside of the realm of Buddhist concern. Are we only interested in "spiritual" well-being, as if that can be separated entirely from conditions? Or do we work for the happiness of beings without worrying about distinctions like "material" or "spiritual?" You might also see this is a tension between "internal" and "external" practice. How do we balance internal work with working to make conditions more supportive and life-affirming for ourselves and others?

Mick shares his challenges to keeping a committed and confident practice at home, and reads from the Shobogenzo Zuimonki. Are we "vessels of the Dharma" even in our perceived inadequacies or difficulties? Is the big "E" attainable even if we feel too small for it?  Dōgen's radical idea is that practice and enlightenment are not separate. It's when we return to this place, here and now, and simply do our practice that we can find that thing that we're looking for.

The Buddha famously said, "Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule." How do we really manifest this, even when standing in opposition to what we think is wrong? Can we see through our own sense of self-righteousness? Jonathan Haidt writes in The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion: "This book explained why people are divided by politics and religion. The answer is not, as Manichaeans would have it, because some people are good and others are evil. Instead, the explanation is that our minds were designed for groupish righteousness. We are deeply intuitive creatures whose gut feelings drive our strategic reasoning. This makes it difficult—but not impossible—to connect with those who live in other matrices, which are often built on different configurations of the available moral foundations."

Self-care can be defined as regenerative activity, free from a sense of entitlement, that supports healthy functioning. In this context, does Zazen qualify as "self-care"? What can Zazen do for us, and what is its true purpose? 

David Hinton makes the following argument in his book "China Root: On Taoism, Ch'an, and Original Zen" - that when Buddhism arrived in China from India, it was fundamentally reinterpreted and reshaped by Taoist thought, and then the resulting amalgam of Ch'an, or Zen, is so transformed by Taoism that it is scarcely recognizable as Buddhism at all.  Our guiding teacher explores this idea in the context of how original Buddhist teachings combined with Mahayana features such as inherent Buddha nature, interdependence, thusness, "sudden" realization, and radical nondualism to manifest as the Ch'an or Zen that we recognize. A lively discussion follows.

Join us for a ten-week journey as we ask ourselves how to manifest our Zen ethics and precepts beyond the personal realm. Traditionally, Buddhism and Zen have focused on individual practice aimed at relief of individual suffering. However, there are many teachings that point us beyond our small selves toward our relationships: We should care for all beings without distinction, practice generosity without limit, actively work for the welfare of others, and accord with the truth of Interbeing – that we aren't fundamentally separate from anything. In the first week of this 10 week discussion series, Rev. Domyo Burk leads the Sangha through a discussion of excerpts from David Loy's A New Buddhist Path: Enlightenment, Evolution, and Ethics in the Modern World.

In this episode Rev. Domyo Burk discusses with the sangha the fifth field in the teaching of her Ten Fields of Zen, The Precepts.  Domyo speaks about the The Precepts as our moral guidlines in Zen and how they play a large role in our practice.

As Rohatsu Sesshin begins for many Zen Buddhists all over the world, Rev. Domyo Burk discusses Sesshin (a silent multi-day residential retreat), addressing the challenges, and describing why it is important and central to Zen practice

In this episode "Dharma Study: Wrestling with the Teachings," Rev. Domyo Burk discusses field 4 in the series on her Ten Fields of Zen - the role that Dharma study and engaging critically with the teachings plays in our practice.

In her third field Rev. Domyo Burk discusses the important role of Mindfulness in our Zen practice.

During this class discussion, Rev. Domyo Burk discusses the second field, Zazen, and its role in our practice as Soto Zen Buddhists. This is the third episode in the ongoing series of Domyo Burk's Ten Fields of Zen.

This Dharma talk, inspired by the regretful story of a dedicated monk who carried significant trauma, but was then instructed by his teacher to "snap out of it –  you know how to meditate!", Domyo advises that Zazen and formal Buddhist practices can't completely heal every wound, nor address all different kinds of psychological challenges alone. Three types are outlined, (trauma, attachment wounding, and narcissistic wounding) and we discuss aspects of our practice which can help create a Sangha environment of mutual awareness and care.

In this episode, Rev. Domyo Burk continues to lead her Sangha through a fall series of the Ten Fields of Zen, taken from her upcoming book "The Ten Fields of Zen: A Primer for Practitioners". In her first field, she discusses Bodhicitta: The Mind That Seeks The Way - focusing on the practical aspects of how to go about exploring the first field in our everyday lives. 

In this class discussion, Rev. Domyo Burke introcuces her Ten Fields of Zen. Over the next ten weeks she will guide the Sangha through discussions around each of her Ten Fields. Have you ever wanted to be sure you are covering all the essential aspects of Zen practice? Domyo created the Ten Fields of Zen to give you a sense of the potential breadth of your practice and help you envision the many different ways it can manifest: Bodhicitta, Zazen, Mindfulness, Dharma Study, Precepts, Opening Your Heart, Learning the Self, Realization, Bodhisattva Activity, and Connecting with the Ineffable. As we work our way through Domyo's new book The Ten Fields of Zen: A Primer for Practitioners, the emphasis will be very practical: How do you go about exploring this field, and making it part of your life? We'll hear from other Sangha members as well as Domyo.