“How do we create the conditions to become more free?”
We are here because of those who came before us. In this talk, Koshin Sensei gratefully reminds us that our continuing practice and commitment have deep roots going back eighty eight generations through ancestors from India, China, and Japan. From teacher to student, or from ‘warm hand to warm hand,’ in the heartening phrase from Jisho Warner, Soto Zen carries on in the awakening path. Rooted, expansive, free.
While our individual bodies are ‘essential flesh’, we must always keep the larger view in mind. As Koshin says, “There is something very beautiful about going beyond what we think we are to realize that we are moving toward buddha, awakening.” Like those who preceded us on this path, seeing things through and practicing together offers a way to actually see through things, even ourselves, to experience what it is to be fully grounded, spacious, and free.
ZENTALK NOTES
Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year.
MUSIC
Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji – Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.
NYZC PUBLICATIONS
- Untangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
- Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
- Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL
CONNECT WITH US
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
