The Basic Teaching Of The Buddha teaching Feb 01, 2024

The basic teaching of the Buddha was that if you want happiness, don’t go chasing after the things that you want or like, and don’t push away the things that you don’t like. It's chasing after what you want and the resisting of what you don’t want that causes suffering....

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Great Meaning To The World jason quinn jdpsn teaching Jan 26, 2024

When we see the impermanence of this world and discover who we truly are, we can realize a truth that goes beyond impermanence. The truth is something every human being can perceive intrinsically and is already clear in every moment. It is acknowledging the difficulties and dissatisfaction in our...

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The Heart Of Zen Practice teaching Jan 11, 2024

This sitting, being with ourselves, and wondering who we are is the heart of Zen practice. Teachers can guide us, but we have to sit there with ourselves, we have to sit and wonder. I say with ourselves, but who is it that we’re sitting with? Once you use this kind of language suddenly...

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Experiencing the Dharma teaching Dec 28, 2023

The dharma can be taught. You can speak the words and learn about it, but the only real value it has in our lives is if we have some experience of it. Otherwise, it's just one more competing theory that exists in this world and there are enough competing theories already. We really don't need...

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The Meaning of Meditation Dec 14, 2023

Zen literally translates as, “meditation,” so meditation is the heart of zen practice. Meditation in the dharma room, meditation when you're driving, meditation when you're sitting at the dinner table with your families, all of it. Meditation means asking the question, "What am I?",...

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What Kind of World Do You Want? Nov 30, 2023

All of us are involved in situations, with ourselves, other people, other animals, other beings, the whole planet. All day long, every day. How do we decide what to do?
 
One way to decide: If we go into the situation with the direction of helping the situation, then that’s the way we...

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Bodhisattva Path Nov 16, 2023

Zen Master Seung Sahn used to say, “Life has no meaning, no reason, and no choice.” His next line was, “No meaning, no reason, and no choice is great meaning, great reason, and great choice.” Ultimately there is no meaning, but what do we do with the moment that we have?

...

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What Is Clear Mind? Nov 02, 2023

Clear mind is like the full moon in the sky. Sometimes clouds come and cover it, but the moon is always behind them. Clouds go away, then the moon shines brightly. So don't worry about clear mind: it is always there. When thinking comes, behind it is clear mind. When thinking goes, there is only...

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Why We Are Unhappy teaching Oct 26, 2023

Buddhist practice is about coming back to the source and finding a way to find that stability so that we're not pulled and pushed around so much by everything that we like and everything we don't like. The Buddha simply said we suffer because we don't have what we want. Or we have what we want,...

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Don't Look Outside Of Yourself Oct 19, 2023

The Buddha's enlightenment was about realizing what we already are. The Buddha's enlightenment wasn't about finding something outside of ourselves that suddenly now make us complete. It's finding and connecting to what we already are. We already have it. It's not something that we need to create,...

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Enlightenment Is Just An Idea teaching Oct 05, 2023

The advise that Master Wu Kwang gave is "Pay your rent on the 1st, pay your taxes on the 15th of April, and everything will work out."  He didn't say HOW they will work out.  We all think "work out" means, "Oh everything will work out well for me." That's what goes in my head, and I...

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Poem for Founderā€™s Day Sep 28, 2023

Founder’s Day celebrates the legacy of Zen Master Seung Sahn, founding teacher of the Kwan Um School Of Zen

Poem by Marshall White JDPSN

Wind through leaves
The tree speaks.
Wind through throat
Words appear:
Tree, wind, voice

Wind across water
Ah! Waves!
Wind across ear drums
Ah! Voices!

Wind...

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