"Thank you for the opportunity"

It is customary among certain branches of Buddhism that monks go out on a daily alms round to collect their food for the day. Obviously, the beggar receives money or food for the day. The beggar's gift is that the donor be given the opportunity to practice the Perfection of Generosity (Danaparamita). And for that, the donor should be grateful. The beggar is also grateful not just for the food or money they've received, but also for being able to give the opportunity for practice to the donor. How often is our daily life transactional rather than giving with no expectation of anything in return? Haengdal Citta gives the Dharma talk at One Mind Zen on American Thanksgiving Eve, November 23, 2022.

"Three Circles of Attention"

Robert Koho Epstein tells us about the acting tool called the Three Circles of Attention. The smallest circle is the one that contains the individual, just focused on themselves. The next one contains the the individual and those in close contact. The third and largest circle extends beyond the limits of the physical environment, breaking through the 4th wall into the ten directions and three times.

Sounds a lot like Zen practice to me. Except the practice isn't always round--sometimes it's messy and doesn't stay between the lines. Water takes the shape of the container, the bodhisattva manifests in whatever the situation demands.

"Why Do We Chant?"

At One Mind Zen, we chant because...well, that's what we do. It's part of our regular service, so we do it. But another "why" is the purpose it serves--to get us out of our fixation on our Selves. We chant to join each other in together action, paying attention to each other--the words, the beat of the moktak, but also paying attention to ourselves, that we're working with the others who are chanting. Small I chants to Big I. Myeong Jin gives the Dharma talk from November 9m, 2022.

"If You See Me on the Road"

Two of the most misunderstood things in Buddhism are the Kalama Sutta & Linji's quotes. Don't get them twisted!

"Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, 'The monk is our teacher.'"

"If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha.

If you meet your father, kill your father.

Free of everything, you are bound by nothing.

Live the life that is given to you." - Linji

“When you meet buddhas, you speak to buddhas; when you meet ancestral teachers, you talk to ancestral teachers; when you meet arhats, you talk to arhats; when you meet hungry ghosts, you talk to hungry ghosts. Everywhere you go in your travels through the various lands you teach and transform sentient beings without ever departing from this one moment of mindfulness. Wherever you are, the pure light extends in all directions and the myriad phenomena are one suchness." - Linji