Category: zazen talk
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“Awakening to the Unobstructed Path: The Mystery of Our Taku’s 無礙之一道 (Muge no Ichido)
By Kaz The Sound That Awakens When you join us for zazen, one of the first things you’ll notice is a clear, distinct sound at the beginning of our meditation. This sound is the taku. The taku originated in China and Japan’s Zen tradition, used in temples to mark the start of activities—especially meditation—so that…
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Empty is a Fuel: Finding Clarity in Stillness
By Jing S I sat quietly in the Hakone Gardens today, watching as sunlight filtered through the Japanese maples. It was there, surrounded by carefully placed stones and the gentle ripple of koi ponds, that I reflected on my journey with emptiness. For the longest time, I misunderstood emptiness. When I felt empty inside, I…
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The Freedom of the Heart and Mind
Shared by Reni Stephen Batchelor introduces us to modern-day Buddhism in contemporary life. He published multiple books on Buddhism after he studied Tibetian, South Korean and European Buddhism he culminated his own way of Secular Buddhism. In his younger age he visited India where he was introduced to Tibetan Buddhism and he chose to take…
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Thankfulness
Aaron led a discussion of thankfulness. ‘In this week where Americans are celebrating a holiday by gathering with friends and family for a meal and to express thankfulness I was reminded of a family tradition we haven’t observed in a while – going around the table and having each person share something for which they are grateful. Today I want to…
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Omotenashi おもてなし
Shared by Kaz Omotenashi has been part of Japanese culture for a long time. Omote means front, nashi means nothing. Omotenashi means from the bottom of the heart, sincere. Omotenashi is an important concept from the tea ceremony which is closely related to zen. The host who is serving tea and the guest are treating…
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Empathy
Oscar talked about empathy. With the current state of the world and our country, I find myself feeling angry at myself and feeling useless and powerless for nothing being able to make any changes. Through meditation I found out that the difference I can do is to reduce hate in the world. But how do…
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breathe in – still alive, breathe out – let it go
Peter had sciatica nerve pain due to Herniated Discin in March 2020 when the COVID lockdown started. This was extremely painful for Peter. He wanted to get treatment, but physical therapy and doctors were not immediately available due to the lockdown. He was frustrated and angry as nothing was helping his pain. His mind was…
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Keisaku 警策
This is the recording of talk about Keisaku from 2017. Kugyo san talked about how Keisaku is used at zendo. Also here is the link to twiki for more info. Here is a picture of the garden, starting to bloom.
Hakone Zendo 