Talks on Zen Buddhism
Talks given from 25/04/78 am to 10/05/78 am English Discourse series
1 The Medicine of the Unborn Undying2 It Ain't Easy!3 This Mountain Echo4 The Flight of the Alone to the Alone5 The Secret of the Drowned Man6 Buddhas With Closed Eyes7 Breaking Through the Bottom8 And the Twain Are Always Meeting9 Simply Stoned on Freedom10 The Bodhisattvas' Merciful Vow11 Waiting For a Sweet One12 In The House of the Moon13 The Real Israel
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 1 The Medicine of the Unborn Undying 25 April 1978 am in Buddha Hall “WE COME INTO THIS WORLD ALONE, WE DEPART ALONE” – THIS ALSO IS ILLUSION. I WILL TEACH YOU THE WAY NOT TO COME, NOT TO GO! WE EAT, EXCRETE, SLEEP, AND GET UP; THIS IS OUR WORLD. ALL WE HAVE TO DO AFTER THAT IS TO DIE. I SHAN’T DIE, I SHAN’T GO ANYWHERE, I’LL BE HERE;...
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 10 The Bodhisattvas’ Merciful Vow 8 May 1978 am in Buddha Hall THE MIND WHICH IS UNATTACHED TO ALL THINGS IN THE WORLD, DOES NOT THINK, DOES NOT FEEL, IS FLUID AND FLEXIBLE. ALL BUDDHAS AND BODHISATTVAS ACHIEVE BUDDHAHOOD AND NIRVANA AS A RESULT OF THE MERCIFUL VOW. THE BUDDHA-NATURE MEANS NON-BIRTH, NON-EXTINCTION; THEN KNOW THAT ILLUSION IS BIRTH, DEATH, REINCARNATION. THOUGH YOU PRACTISE VIRTUE,...
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 11 Waiting For a Sweet One 9 May 1978 am in Buddha Hall The first question Question 1 WHAT IS A NATURAL BUDDHIST LIKE ME DOING LEADING SUFI DANCING? AND A NATURAL SUFI LIKE PRADEEPA DOING LEADING VIPASSANA AND ZAZEN? ANEETA, THIS IS A CRAZY PLACE TO BE. I know it. The day I talked about the natural Sufi and the natural Buddhist, I looked in Aneeta’s eyes and the question was there....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 12 In The House of the Moon 10 May 1978 am in Buddha Hall THE MOON IS THE HOUSE, THE MIND IS THE MASTER IN IT: WHEN WE UNDERSTAND THIS, IT IS ONLY A TRANSITORY WORLD WE LIVE IN HERE. DEEPLY THINKING OF IT, I AND OTHER PEOPLE – THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE, AS THERE IS NO MIND BEYOND THIS MIND. EVERY SPRING WHEN YOU SEE THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS BLOOM,...
< Previous | Contents CHAPTER 13 The Real Israel 11 May 1978 am in Buddha Hall The first question Question 1 LAST NIGHT, IN A DREAM, I FOUND MYSELF ON A GIRDER HIGH IN THE AIR MOVING TOWARDS SOME DOOR OF SAFETY. THEN MY CLOTHES BEGAN TO GET CAUGHT ON SPLINTERS OF IRON, AND NEXT THE GIRDER BEGAN TO SPLIT. I TOLD MYSELF TO KEEP CALM, NOT TO LOOK DOWN, TO FORGET THE DANGER AND JUST DO ONE THING AT A TIME....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 2 It Ain’t Easy! 26 April 1978 am in Buddha Hall The first question Question 1 WHAT IS THE DESIRE FOR PERFECTION? ADHEERA, THE DESIRE FOR PERFECTION is the search for the lost womb. The paradise – lost. The child is utterly happy in the mother’s womb; that memory persists. It is not just a memory in the brain, it is in every cell of the body, every fiber of the body....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 3 This Mountain Echo 27 April 1978 am in Buddha Hall WHATEVER RUNS COUNTER TO THE MIND AND WILL OF ORDINARY PEOPLE HINDERS THE LAW OF MEN AND THE LAW OF BUDDHA. I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER YOU SOMETHING, BUT IN THE DARUMA SECT WE HAVE NOTHING AT ALL. AS IKKYU DOES NOT THINK OF HIS BODY AS IF IT WERE HIS BODY,...
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 4 The Flight of the Alone to the Alone 28 April 1978 am in Buddha Hall The first question Question 1 IT ALL SEEMS SO SIMPLE – I JUST CAN’T UNDERSTAND IT. I KEEP GRASPING AT IT AND IT ELUDES ME, A MUSIC THAT CAN ALMOST BE SMELT, A TASTE THAT CAN ALMOST BE FELT. SOMETIMES I AM ON THE VERY THRESHOLD; OTHER TIMES IT’S NOT IN A MILLION YEARS, NOT FOR ME....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 5 The Secret of the Drowned Man 29 April 1978 am in Buddha Hall MORE FRAIL AND ILLUSORY THAN NUMBERS WRITTEN ON WATER, OUR SEEKING FROM THE BUDDHA FELICITY IN THE AFTER-WORLD. ALREADY, OVER THE HEART NOT A CLOUD IS HANGING, AND NO MOUNTAIN IS THERE FOR THE MOON TO HIDE BEHIND. IN OUR WAY THROUGH THIS WORLD OF BIRTH AND DEATH,...
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 6 Buddhas With Closed Eyes 30 April 1978 am in Buddha Hall The first question Question 1 WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WAITING FOR GODOT AND WAITING FOR GOD? NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL. All waiting is waiting for Godot, because all waiting is in vain. You cannot wait for God, because God has already arrived. God is already the case; God is not in the future....