Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Endless Path Zendo | Roshi Rafe Martin
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Titre
Date
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Part 9 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
27 Jul 2024
00:48:23
Recorded July 27, 2024.
In this teisho, Roshi Martin concludes his reading from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and offers his comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi.
Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties to the Endless Path Zendo's Kapleau-Roshi lineage. As the preface to the new book of his life and teachings "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha" says: “He didn’t travel the world to spread the Dharma.; he just sat in his small temple nestled in the shadow of a little mountain on the outskirts of a fishing town by the Sea of Japan. Yet slowly word of him spread around the world, bringing thousands of people from all continents to practice there.”
Part 8 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
20 Jul 2024
00:49:00
Recorded July 20, 2024.
In this teisho, Roshi Martin continues reading from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi.
Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties to the Endless Path Zendo's Kapleau-Roshi lineage. As the preface to the new book of his life and teachings "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha" says: “He didn’t travel the world to spread the Dharma.; he just sat in his small temple nestled in the shadow of a little mountain on the outskirts of a fishing town by the Sea of Japan. Yet slowly word of him spread around the world, bringing thousands of people from all continents to practice there.”
If we mean to fulfill our life journey, our personal pilgrimage to maturity — which is the point of Zen practice — what we seek can’t be somewhere far off, but must be in our own back — or front — yard.
Gateless Barrier, (Wu-men Kuan, Mumonkan), Case 37: “Chao-chou: The Oak Tree in the Front Garden” goes like this:
The Case A monk asked Chao-chou, “What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West?”
Chao-chou said, “The oak tree in the front yard.”
“Why did Bodhidharma come from the West?” is a traditional Zen way of saying, “What is the highest teaching of the Buddhadharma?” It means, why did Bodhidharma, at an advanced age too, choose to make the difficult crossing from Southern India to China? What was so important that it was worth risking his life to do it? And how does “the oak tree in the front garden” answer this question? Let’s take a look!
May 6, 2024 is the 20th Anniversary of the passing of Roshi Philip Kapleau. Rose and Rafe Martin were his personal disciples. They traveled with him, shared meals with him, watched movies with him, were his attendants for various formal functions, stayed with him by his invitation in Mexico, New Mexico, and Florida. Roshi Kapleau also chose Rafe to be his editor for his two final books.
On May 4th 2024 at our annual 1/2 day zazenkai/memorial for Roshi Kapleau at Endless Path Zendo, a recorded teisho originally presented by Roshi Kapleau’s at a 7-day sesshin at Bodhi Mandala in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico in 1986 (which Rafe attended), was played. The teisho is on case 37 of the Blue Cliff Record, P’AN SHAN’S (BANZAN’S) “THERE IS NOTHING IN THE TRIPLE WORLD and the case is as follows:
"P’an Shan (Banzan) said to his disciples, 'There is nothing in the triple world; where then can Mind be found?'"
Roshi Martin adds: “Roshi Philip Kapleau was a unique man. Former Chief Court Reporter for the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal as well as the Tokyo War Crimes Trials, he came to Zen through a recognition of the horrors to which human beings can sink when lost from their True Nature, as well as through a sense that the Zen he first encountered while in Japan for the trials, offered a doorway to something of great value. We are the fortunate heirs of his determination to find out what that unknown "thing" of great value actually was."
This talk, given by Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin, explores case 35 of the Gateless Barrier: “Which is the True Ch’ien?” This wonderfully creative koan uses a T’ang era ghost tale of a young woman divided from herself, to help us uncover our own real Self today. It’s the old old story of Identity — the essential quest of myth and folklore worldwide — recast as a koan with the power to help us live more fully. [This case is sometimes also known as “Sei and Her Soul Are Separated.”}
This talk, given by Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin, explores case 38 from the Gateless Barrier - "Wu-tsu's Buffalo Passes Through the Window." A most interesting koan! In the case, a buffalo's massive head, horns, shoulders, legs and hooves all pass easily through the latticed window. So, why can't the tiny tail pass through? Impossible! Crazy! -- and yet -- it's a wonderful koan in which the Buddha's most profound wisdom meets the lively wisdom of fairy tales. Zen Master Hakuin called this a nanto koan, meaning that he felt that it was one of the eight most difficult koan cases. Is it? See what you think.
The Buddha's Birth -- What does it mean for us today?
18 Apr 2024
00:45:43
Recorded April 13, 2024.
Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin explores the meaning of the Buddha's birth, which took place roughly 2600 years ago. A birth that is so remarkable prompts us to ask: Where did someone come from who was able to so quickly give up all wealth and privilege, and by devoting himself fully to the great anguish of our common human condition, realize a way of helping all beings? What does his effort and insight mean for us today?
Roshi Martin reads from his recently published book -- "A Zen Life of Buddha" (Sumeru Books, 2023).
Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin shares Case 36 from The Blue Cliff Record "Ch'ang Sha Wandering in the Mountains."
With Ch’ang Sha’s spring time stroll in the hills we discover (and clarify) that ongoing Zen practice means a full life, not isolation. The Buddha got up from under the Bodhi Tree. The point of Zen — if we can speak in such terms — is not to stay forever seated in zazen facing a wall, but to live fully, maturing with family, careers, relationships, interests, ups and downs, sickness and health, activism, citizenship, music and art all as the Way. Ch’ang Sha shows how it goes. Hsueh t’ou, compiler of The Blue Cliff Record, says, “I’m grateful for that answer.” As are we!
Roshi Rafe Martin completes his exploration of the Zen pilgrimage of Te-shan and the things he carried as he matures from youthful firebrand into refined and mature teacher. In this teisho, Te-shan is carrying his bowls to the noon-day meal. Is he early? Is the meal late? What is "the last word"? Does he have it or doesn't he? Does anyone? And how about us -- what is the last word? Can we say?
In this second teisho on the trilogy of Te-shan koans, Roshi Martin looks at Case 4 of the Blue Cliff Record: “Te-shan Carries His Bundle.” In the previous teisho Te-shan set down the backpack of brilliant commentaries on the Diamond Sutra he’d been lugging around. Here he carries his bundle of monk’s gear and, post-satori, seems hardly to know what to do with it.
At the start of this two-day sesshin, Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin delivers the first in a trilogy of teishos on the koans of Te-shan — and the things he carried. Setting down his backpack of brilliant commentaries on the Diamond Sutra, Te-shan personally discovers that even the greatest knowledge is like a drop of water tossed into a vast ravine, compared to realization of his own Mind.
Roshi Martin starts with a short review of the koan practice in our combined Diamond Sangha /Kapleau Roshi lineage.
Pilgrimage to Buddhist India: Dharma Talk by Rose Martin
09 Mar 2024
00:51:42
Recorded on March 9, 2024.
Rose Martin is a lay ordained, senior student of Sunyana Graef Roshi, who is the founder and Abbot of the Vermont Zen Center and a Dharma Heir of Philip Kapleau Roshi (author of The Three Pillars of Zen).Along with her husband, Roshi Rafe Martin, Rose is a personal disciple of Philip Kapleau Roshi, and is presently head of zendo at Endless Path Zendo.
In the Footsteps of the Buddha: A Buddhist Pilgrimage (February 10-23, 2024) was led by tour leaders Buddha Path. Rose writes of the experience: On the pilgrimage we visited sites of deepest significance to Buddhist tradition and history -- the places where the Buddha was born (Lumbini), where he spent his childhood (Kapilavastu), attained full enlightenment, (Bodhgaya), as well as various places where he actually taught, meditated, and finally passed away and entered parinirvana (Sarnath.) We saw the remains of ancient monasteries and stupas as well as temples and villages that have changed little since the time of the Buddha 2,500 years ago. We also visited the Buddhist cave-temples of Ajanta and Ellora with their awe-inspiring paintings and sculptures, (declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO).
Photo credit: Buddha at Ajanta Caves, India, by Rose Martin
Part 7 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
13 Jul 2024
00:48:08
Recorded July 13, 2024.
In this teisho, Roshi Martin continues reading from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi.
Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties to the Endless Path Zendo's Kapleau-Roshi lineage. As the preface to the new book of his life and teachings "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha" says: “He didn’t travel the world to spread the Dharma.; he just sat in his small temple nestled in the shadow of a little mountain on the outskirts of a fishing town by the Sea of Japan. Yet slowly word of him spread around the world, bringing thousands of people from all continents to practice there.”
Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin explores Case 97 from the Blue Cliff Record - "The Diamond Sutra and Being Reviled." In commenting on the koan he uses the 2500 year-old story of the robber, Angulimala, (Grisly-Garland"), to bring alive a Buddhist vision of paying back karmic debts and facing head-on the causes of our own suffering.
The koan itself is as follows: "The Diamond Sutra says, “One who is reviled by others has done wicked acts in former lifetimes which doom him to fall into evil worlds, but because of the scorn and vilification by others in the present life, the transgressions in the former life are wiped out.”
So should you see all of the fleeting world: A star at dawn, a bubble in the stream; A flash of lightning in a summer cloud; A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream. –The Diamond Sutra
Photography: Monju and the Students, by Rafe Martin
The case: One day, the World-Honored One ascended to the rostrum. Manjusri struck the table withthe gavel and said, “Contemplate clearly the Dharma of the Dharma-King! The Dharma of the Dharma-King is like this!” Thereupon, the World-Honored One descended from the rostrum.
"The teisho of the actual body is the harbor and the weir. This is the most important thing in the world. Its virtue finds its home in the ocean of essential nature. It is beyond explanation." - from Dogen's Shobogenzo
Photography: Buddha in the EPZ Shrine Room, by Rafe Martin
The traditionally recognized date of the Buddha's Parinirvana is February 16, which is the date of his complete entrance into nirvana, his death that is understood as a great fulfillment and completion of his life and his vow.
Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin details and explores the meaning of this event to the historical Buddha as well as to our own lives, underscoring the opportunity inherent in committing to the Bodhisattva Vow and the practice of zazen.
I saw in Yoshino's billows of blossoms that long ago time of great passing when the sala trees surrounding him had turned as white as cranes. - Saigyo (1118 – March 23, 1190)
Roshi Rafe Martin explores Case 32 from The Gateless Barrier - A Non-Buddhist Questions the Buddha (also known as The Buddha Responds to an Outsider).
An outsider asked the World-Honored One, “I do not ask for the spoken; I do not ask for the unspoken.” The World-Honored One just sat still. | The outsider praised him, saying, “The World-Honored One with his great compassion and mercy has opened the clouds of my delusion and enabled me to enter the Way.” He then made bows and took his leave. | Ānanda asked, “What did that outsider realize to make him praise you?” | The World-Honored One said, “He is like the fine horse who runs even at the shadow of the whip.”
Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin discusses vows - the vow of the Bodhisattva, our own vows, Zen practice vows, and how vows play out in our lives. In raising the question - where do vows come from - Roshi Martin brings us to the Jataka tales (past lives of the Buddha), explaining how all the Pali tradition Jataka follow from a single mythic vow that arose when Sumeda (a past life of Gotama Buddha) encountered Dipankara (a Buddha of the more distant past).
Photography: Wooden Standing Buddha by Rafe Martin
Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin continued to read and comment on selections from The Heart of Shobogenzo.
Roshi Martin leads into the talk by sharing writings of Blake and Emily Dickinson illustrating how - paraphrasing Hakuin - Zen is something that has always been right here, wherever human beings are.
Referenced:
The Heart of Shobogenzo, translated by Norman Waddel and Mateo Abe
Emily Dickinson's Complete Poems edited by Thomas H. Johnson
Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin offers the first teisho of the new year. He addresses the subject of why we practice and, as lay practitioners, the forms that dedicated practice could take.
Referenced is Case 17 of the Blue Cliff Record (Hekiganroku): A monk asked Kyorin, “What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the west?” “Sitting long and getting tired.”
Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin offers a teisho in preparation for Jukai (taking precepts) that will be done by EPZ community members on New Year's Eve. The talk begins with a selection of winter haiku.
Recorded on December 9, 2023 during the final day of the EPZ Rohatsu sesshin.
Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin shares the story of the Buddha's great enlightenment - the moment when "after life times of effort, [and after] six very intense years of practice, he glanced up at the morning star and realized the falling away of all self centeredness; the universe itself entered and awoke."
Part 6 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
29 Jun 2024
01:00:43
Recorded June 29, 2024.
In this sixth teisho, Roshi Martin continues reading from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi.
Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties to the Endless Path Zendo's Kapleau-Roshi lineage. As the preface to the new book of his life and teachings "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha" says: “He didn’t travel the world to spread the Dharma.; he just sat in his small temple nestled in the shadow of a little mountain on the outskirts of a fishing town by the Sea of Japan. Yet slowly word of him spread around the world, bringing thousands of people from all continents to practice there.”
Recorded on December 3, 2023 during the second full day of the EPZ Rohatsu sesshin.
Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin starts with a discussion of how to engage with teisho. He then moves to an exploration of the deep realization that emerged from the Buddha's leaving home and koans as an expression of that teaching.
Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin reads and comments on Zen Master Dogen's extraordinary "One Bright Pearl" (Ikka Myōju) from The Heart of Shobogenzo, translated by Norman Waddell and Masao Abe.
Note: A few of the Chinese names in this talk may sound a bit similar; to see the text, use the link above and go to page 31! - Hsüeh-feng I-ts'un was the teacher of Hsüan-sha Shih-pei (whose given name was Hsieh). Hsüan-sha's teaching was "All the universe is one bright pearl."
Roshi Martin looks at the nature of ghosts in Buddhist tradition and how this relates to our own practice of being a genuine human being (and not a ghost). Includes three brief retellings of Jataka tales, illustrating the way of the Bodhisattva - a being choosing to go beyond unconscious, habitual clinging to concepts of self centeredness.
Case 41 from the Gateless Barrier, Bodhidharma and Peace of Mind
The case: Bodhidharma faced the wall. The Second Ancestor stood in the snow, cut off his arm, and said, “Your disciple’s mind has no peace as yet. I beg you, Master, please put it to rest.” Bodhidharma said, “Bring me your mind, and I will put it to rest.” The Second Ancestor said, “I have searched for my mind, but I cannot find it.” Bodhidharma said, “I have completely put it to rest for you.”
Recorded on October 17, 2023, the 4th and final teisho of the annual Jataka Sesshin held at the Vermont Zen Center.
Roshi Rafe Martin explores the Kuddala Jataka (#70 in the Pali Jataka), the Spade Sage.
Jatakas are stories told by the Buddha 2500 years ago of his past lives. They were one of his central ways of teaching. Through these tales he resolved complex issues in his Sangha by revealing root causes and demonstrating the working of cause and effect.
Image: Buddhist mythology and legends depicted at a Vipassana Meditation Center, Ms Sarah Welch, CC0, via Wikimedia Commonsfrom Wikimedia
2023 Jataka Sesshin - Day 3: The Buddha as a Child of an Ogre
16 Oct 2023
00:31:31
Recorded on October 16, 2023; the 3rd day of the annual Jataka Sesshin held at the Vermont Zen Center.
Roshi Rafe Martin explores the Padakusalamanava Jataka (#432 from the Pali Jataka) in which the Buddha is born as the child of an ogre.
Jatakas are stories told by the Buddha 2500 years ago of his past lives. They were one of his central ways of teaching. Through these tales he resolved complex issues in his Sangha by revealing root causes and demonstrating the working of cause and effect.
Image: Buddhist mythology and legends depicted at a Vipassana Meditation Center, Ms Sarah Welch, CC0, via Wikimedia Commonsfrom Wikimedia
Recorded on October 15, 2023; the 2nd day of the annual Jataka Sesshin held at the Vermont Zen Center.
Roshi Rafe Martin explores the central role of trees in many Jataka tales. Tales shared:
Bhadda-Kunala Jataka (#465), the Rajovada Jataka (#334), and the Ganatindu Jataka number (#520) in the Pali Jataka in the of 547 such past-life tales
Jatakas are stories told by the Buddha 2500 years ago of his past lives. They were one of his central ways of teaching. Through these tales he resolved complex issues in his Sangha by revealing root causes and demonstrating the working of cause and effect.
Image: Buddhist mythology and legends depicted at a Vipassana Meditation Center, Ms Sarah Welch, CC0, via Wikimedia Commonsfrom Wikimedia
Recorded on October 14, 2023; the 1st day of the annual Jataka Sesshin held at the Vermont Zen Center.
Roshi Rafe Martin explores the Campeyya Jataka (#506 in the Pali collection).
Jatakas are stories told by the Buddha 2500 years ago of his past lives. They were one of his central ways of teaching. Through these tales he resolved complex issues in his Sangha by revealing root causes and demonstrating the working of cause and effect.
Image: Buddhist mythology and legends depicted at a Vipassana Meditation Center, Ms Sarah Welch, CC0, via Wikimedia Commonsfrom Wikimedia
Roshi Martin share the last chapter of his forthcoming book - A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas - on the subject of the zen of failure - a necessary part of the Bodhisattva path...and of growing up! Each failure offering new opportunities to improve, mature, and understand.
Image: Teeny Tiny Tower, photo is by Ariya Aladjem Wolf (Ariya Martin)
Part 5 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
22 Jun 2024
00:48:01
Recorded June 22, 2024.
In this fifth teisho, Roshi Martin continues reading from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi.
Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties to the Endless Path Zendo's Kapleau-Roshi lineage. As the preface to the new book of his life and teachings "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha" says: “He didn’t travel the world to spread the Dharma.; he just sat in his small temple nestled in the shadow of a little mountain on the outskirts of a fishing town by the Sea of Japan. Yet slowly word of him spread around the world, bringing thousands of people from all continents to practice there.”
Dogen's "Fukanzazengi", Koans, and the Lord of the Rings
09 Sep 2023
00:56:01
Recorded on Saturday, July 9, 2023.
This talk marks the first zazenkai of the fall. Roshi Martin starts with perspectives on koan practice from Merry and Pippin - "You can't live long on the heights, but what a difference it makes." Then moved to reading and comments on Dogen's Shobogenzo (from The Heart of Dogen's Shobogenzo, translated by Norman Waddell and Masao Abe)). Background on Shobogenzo is followed by reading and discussion of the opening fascicle - Fukanzazengi.
Altar image from the Endless Path Zendo, photography by Rafe Martin
Recorded Saturday, July 29, 2023. (Last teisho before August break.)
Case 14 from the Gateless Barrier (The Wu-Men Kuan | Mumonkan) - Nan-ch’üan Kills the Cat
The case: The priest Nan-ch’üan found monks of the eastern and western halls arguing about a cat. He held up the cat and said, “Everyone! If you can say something, I will spare this cat. If you can’t say anything, I will cut off its head.” No one could say a word, so Nan-ch’üan cut the cat into two.
That evening, Chao-chou returned from outside and Nan-ch’üan told him what happened. Chao-chou removed a sandal from his foot, put it on his head, and walked out. Nan-ch’üan said, “If you had been there, the cat would have been spared.”
Zen Bodhisattvas: Maitreya - The Dream Within a Dream
24 Jun 2023
00:46:59
Recorded on June 24, 2023.
Roshi Martin shares a chapter from the forthcoming book - The Zen Life of Bodhisattvas - on Case 25 of the Gateless Barrier, Yang-shan’s Sermon from the Third Seat.
The case: Yang-shan dreamed he went to Maitreya’s realm and was led to the third seat. A senior monkstruck the stand with a gavel and announced, “Today, the one in the third seat will preach.”
Yang-shan arose, struck the stand with the gavel, and said, “The truth of the Mahayana isbeyond the Four Propositions and transcends the Hundred Negations. Listen, listen.”
Image: Manjushri, photography and art by Rafe Martin
Zen Bodhisattvas: Bodhisattva of Wisdom and the Young Woman
19 Mar 2023
00:42:59
Recorded on March 19, 2023.
This talk features a chapter from the recently published book by Roshi Martin - The Zen Life of Bodhisattvas on the Bodhisattva Manjushri. The talk explores Case # 42 in the Gateless Barrier.
The Case Once Mañjuśrī went to a place where many Buddhas had assembled with the World-Honored One. When he arrived, all the Buddhas had returned to their original dwelling place. Only a young woman remained, seated in samādhi, near the Buddha’s seat.
Mañjuśrī addressed the Buddha and asked, “How can the young woman get near the Buddha’s seat when I cannot?”
The Buddha replied to Mañjuśrī, “Awaken this young woman from her samādhi and ask her yourself!” Mañjuśrī walked around the young woman three times, snapped his fingers once, took her to the Brahma Heaven and exerted all his supernatural powers, but he could not bringher out.
The World-Honored One said, “Even a hundred thousand Mañjuśrīs cannot awaken her. Down below, past twelve hundred million lands, as innumerable as sands of the Ganges, lives the Bodhisattva of Delusive Wisdom. He will be able to bring her out of her samādhi.”
Instantly the Bodhisattva of Delusive Wisdom emerged from the earth and made bows before the World-Honored One, who gave him his imperial order. Delusive Wisdom stepped before the young woman, snapped his fingers once, and at this she came out of samādhi.
Roshi Martin explores Case 35 from Blue Cliff Record - The Dialogue of Manjusri and WuCho
Manjusri asked Wu Cho, "Where have you just come from?" Wu Cho said, "The South." Manjusri said, "How is the Buddhist Teaching being carried on in the South?" Wu Cho said, "Monks of the Last Age have little regard for the rules of discipline." Manjusri said, "How numerous are the congregations?"5Wu Cho said, "Some three hundred, some five hundred." Wu Cho asked Manjusri, "How is it being carried on here-abouts?" Manjusri said, "Ordinary people and sages dwell together; dragons and snakes intermingle." Wu Cho said, "How numerous are the congregations?"9 Manjusri said, "In front, three by three; in back, three by three."
Part 4 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
16 Jun 2024
00:46:44
Recorded June 16, 2024.
In this fourth teisho recorded at the June 4-day sesshin (June 12-16, 2024) at Endless Path Zendo, Roshi Martin reads from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi.
Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties to the Endless Path Zendo's Kapleau-Roshi lineage. As the preface to the new book of his life and teachings "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha" says: “He didn’t travel the world to spread the Dharma.; he just sat in his small temple nestled in the shadow of a little mountain on the outskirts of a fishing town by the Sea of Japan. Yet slowly word of him spread around the world, bringing thousands of people from all continents to practice there.”
Part 3 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
15 Jun 2024
00:54:14
Recorded June 15, 2024.
In this third teisho recorded at the June 4-day sesshin (June 12-16, 2024) at Endless Path Zendo, Roshi Martin reads from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi of Bukkoji.
Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties to the Endless Path Zendo's Kapleau-Roshi lineage. As the preface to the new book of his life and teachings "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha" says: “He didn’t travel the world to spread the Dharma.; he just sat in his small temple nestled in the shadow of a little mountain on the outskirts of a fishing town by the Sea of Japan. Yet slowly word of him spread around the world, bringing thousands of people from all continents to practice there.”
Part 2 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
14 Jun 2024
00:45:16
Recorded June 14 2024.
In this second of the four teishos recorded at Endless Path Zendo's June 2024 four-day sesshin (June 12-16th), Roshi Martin continues to read from and comment on “Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" the stirring autobiography and profoundly inspiring teachings of Tangen Harada Roshi of Bukkoji.
Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties to the Endless Path Zendo's Kapleau-Roshi lineage. As the preface to the new book of his life and teachings "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha" says: “He didn’t travel the world to spread the Dharma.; he just sat in his small temple nestled in the shadow of a little mountain on the outskirts of a fishing town by the Sea of Japan. Yet slowly word of him spread around the world, bringing thousands of people from all continents to practice there.”
Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
13 Jun 2024
00:50:18
Recorded June 13, 2024.
Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties to our Kapleau-Roshi lineage. As the preface to the new book of his life and teachings "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha" says: “He didn’t travel the world to spread the Dharma.; he just sat in his small temple nestled in the shadow of a little mountain on the outskirts of a fishing town by the Sea of Japan. Yet slowly word of him spread around the world, bringing thousands of people from all continents to practice there.”
In four teishos recorded at the June 4-day sesshin (June 12-16, 2024) at Endless Path Zendo, Roshi Martin reads from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi.
This is the first of the four teishos offered. It opens up Tangen’s autobiography from his earliest childhood and his mother’s sacrifice of her own life in bringing him into this world, through the announcement of end of the war just as he was about to get into the cockpit and take off on his first — and last — kamikaze flight. And the subsequent dedication of his life to the welfare of all.
The Challenge of Lay Zen Practice and the Essence of Renunciation or "Letting Go."
08 Jun 2024
00:54:16
Recorded June 8, 2024.
The first 18 minutes of this recording are the “teisho proper,” focusing on the essential worth — and challenge — of ongoing lay Zen practice.
If you stop there you’ll have a short and direct teisho. But the rest of the recording adds resonance. Roshi Martin then reads Kipling’s, “The Miracle of Purun Bhagat,” a tale that presents the essence of renunciation, the ancient traditional path of maturing beyond self-centeredness. We modern lay Zen practitioners must do the same, too BUT — and here lies our challenge —we must leave home without literally leaving home. For us, family, work, national and planetary citizenship are central to our path of maturing as whole human beings. Yet the fundamental awareness of what lies at the core are the same. The tale gives us a sense of that core.
In response to this teisho a senior Zen student wrote: ‘. . it is nice to leave the world of sesshin-style exhortation and just settle back into a good story whose connections with the first part are not explicit. The first part of the teisho is so forceful. The second part is like falling under a subtle mesmerizing spell.’
Roshi Martin comments on case 41 in The Gateless Barrier — “Bodhidharma and Peace of Mind,” the core of which is as follows:
Bodhidharma sat facing the wall. Huike, the Second Ancestor . . . said, “Your disciple’s mind has no peace as yet. I beg you, master, to please put it to rest.” Bodhidharma said, “Bring me your mind, and I will put it to rest.” The Second Ancestor said, “I have searched for my mind, but I cannot find it.” Bodhidharma said, “Then I have completely put it to rest for you.”
Buddhist practice is not simply a matter of study, of amassing learning, of finding psychological nuance, or of gaining “merit.” At its core where Zen resides is the practice of realization, actually awakening to Mind itself. Bodhidharma’s Zen was and is radical – in the primary sense of aiming for the root.
The Zen brought to life by Bodhidharma, shifted the Buddha’s teaching from the cosmological/philosophical to the practical. It’s aim remains to help us come to the end of suffering and realize Peace. At some point we all recognize the difficulties and challenges of this life, and are anguished by them. This is where we begin. To find Peace all we need do then, as Bodhidharma insisted, is bring forth our troubled mind so it can be pacified. That shouldn’t be too hard should it? What do you think?
Zen History -- D.T. Suzuki and the Transmission of Zen to the West
21 Sep 2024
00:53:13
Recorded September 21, 2024.
Roshi Martin reads from (and comments on) "A Zen Life: D.T. Suzuki Remembered" focusing on the important, indeed, seminal role Dr. D.T. Suzuki (NOT Shunryu Suzuki) played in the transmission of Zen to the West. In his reading aloud from the book he focuses on the chapters written by his own teachers -- Philip Kapleau and Robert Aitken -- as well as the chapter by Gary Snyder, all of whom reveal that Suzuki was absolutely central to their own personal turn to the actual practice of Zen. It made for an inspiring morning, putting our own connection with Zen tradition within a larger context.
Roshi Rafe Martin speaks about the deep meaning of the 11-headed, many-armed Bodhisattva of Great Compassion and his/her relevance to our own lives and times right now.
Referenced: "The Record of Lin-chi" Ruth Fuller Sasaki (translation and commentary) "A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas" by Rafe Jnan Martin