Showing results by author "John Daido Loori Roshi" in All Categories

Zen Buddhism emphasizes meditation as the means to study ourselves and understand who we truly are. Dharma talks are an essential aspect of Zen training, and the talks offered here were given at both the Zen Mountain Monastery and the Zen Center of New York City.

It is a constant practice to not get stuck in the language or forms of Zen training. The precepts, wisdom, higher states of meditation - these are all concepts that need to be let go of. Don’t turn your Zen practice into a nest, a workshop, a medicine cabinet or a make-up kit. True realization is traceless. It has nothing to do with your ideas about it. Even at the top of a hundred-foot pole, there’s nowhere else to go but forward.

Our world is full of words, whether we are listening to others, watching T.V., or talking to ourselves. In a religion like Zen Buddhism, where so much emphasis is placed on silence and meditation, what is the place of words and literature? Zen practice doesn't mean abandoning language, but rather using it to our advantage. The truth isn't found in either words or silence; it encompasses both.

Sooner or later, we all confront situations with no easy way out. For human beings, sickness, old age, and death, either our own or someone else's, seem like insurmountable barriers. We all struggle to avoid these things, and the media encourages our pursuit, offering plastic surgery, exercise routines, and all manner of pills to achieve eternal youth. But sooner or later, we need to realize that old age and suffering are not going to magically dissolve.

There is a music in us, an inner voice which is audible to our teachers, but not always to us. We can’t express this music using other’s words or other’s ways of seeing things. Yet the expression of it is the vital thing; it’s not enough to embody it - we have to be able to communicate that truth. Daido Roshi encourages us to "let our bones dance", to respond, and to sing with others in such a way that it creates a voice that doesn’t belong to anyone - our collective voice. That is true expression, true intimacy.

Dogen said: Suchness is the real form of truth. Our life is constantly changing, our minds are constantly changing. This can make us feel helpless and lead us to ask: On what can we rely? Or, this flux can be used to practice and deepen our awareness. To ask what is suchness is to ask how all things exist. Through this question we can become truly intimate, but we have to trust the question, trust the process, and trust ourselves.

The moment a child is born, a parent is created; you can't have one without the other. Daido Roshi explores the love between parent and child, and the complete intimacy that exists between the two. We see this intimacy in the way children mirror their parents, the way children reflect how we use our body, speech, and mind.

The world is teaching us all the time. Teachings come from rivers, rocks, and mountains, and teachings come from pollution, AIDS, and starvation. But how much of these teachings do we actually hear? Roshi says that we can't possibly experience the world around us if our senses are dulled. Zen practice shows us that it is possible to experience life in a new way, a way that allows us to hear with the whole body and mind.

People think of Zen as a humorless religion, but like Christianity, Judaism, and other faiths, Zen has a long tradition of clowns and pranksters. In this enjoyable and thought-provoking talk, Zen master John Daido Loori Roshi tells anecdotes about various ancient and modern Zen teachers who were known for playing the fool.

Zen Buddhism emphasizes meditation as the means to study ourselves and understand who we truly are. Dharma talks are an essential aspect of Zen training, and the talks offered here were given at both the Zen Mountain Monastery and the Zen Center of New York City.

Everyone has experienced life's classic dilemmas: Should I do this, or should I do that? Should I buy this, or should I buy that? Should I be here, or should I be there? We tend to resolve these questions by analysis and rationality, but when we look carefully we see that our choices usually aren't rational; more often they are a decision of the heart.

Zen Buddhism emphasizes meditation as the means to study ourselves and understand who we truly are. Dharma talks are an essential aspect of Zen training, and the talks offered here were given at both the Zen Mountain Monastery and the Zen Center of New York City.

Zen Buddhism emphasizes meditation as the means to study ourselves and understand who we truly are. Dharma talks are an essential aspect of Zen training, and the talks offered here were given at both the Zen Mountain Monastery and the Zen Center of New York City.

Zen Buddhism emphasizes meditation as the means to study ourselves and understand who we truly are. Dharma talks are an essential aspect of Zen training, and the talks offered here were given at both the Zen Mountain Monastery and the Zen Center of New York City.

When we are confronted with worries and challenges, it can be difficult to get in touch with our spiritual center. Barriers are a fact of life, and no matter how challenging our everyday life we all possess an inherent spiritual light.

How much of your daily life is taken up by fantasy? The reality is that most of us go through our entire day, indeed, our entire lives, caught up in make-believe stories. Although fantasy seems more compelling than everyday tasks like sewing, sweeping, or cooking, it's an incredibly wasteful activity that takes us away from the vivid world of the present moment.