(Follow this link to see the May 2021 Priory Newsletter where this was published.) Bodhidharma’s “Outline of Practice” starts by saying that we can either enter the Dharma by “reason” or “practice.” Last time I talked mostly about the entry … Continue reading →
(Follow this link to see the April 2021 Priory Newsletter where this was published.) One of my favorite short pieces of Zen Buddhist Teaching is Bodhidharma’s Outline of Practice. In his opening comment to his translation of this work, D.T. … Continue reading →
(Follow this link to see the March 2021 Priory Newsletter where this was published.) Recently I found myself laughing at the thought that, again, it was just not going to be how I wanted it. I can’t even remember what … Continue reading →
(Follow this link to see the February 2021 Priory Newsletter where this was published.) It is said the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara was first a fully enlightened Buddha (called the Tathagata of the Brightness of the Right Dharma); when she saw that … Continue reading →
(Follow this link to see the January 2021 Priory Newsletter where this was published.) (The other day a Dharma friend mentioned that he found that the most difficult things for him to look at were often the most important things … Continue reading →
(Follow this link to see the October 2020 Priory Newsletter where this was originally published.) My teacher used to say that Buddhism is for human beings; it is a religion, or spiritual practice, for regular people. Sometimes though, I have … Continue reading →
(Follow this link to see the September 2020 Priory Newsletter where this was originally published.) Great Master Dogen was a monk who, in his search for a deeper answer to his own spiritual question, traveled from Japan to China around 1225. … Continue reading →
(Follow this link to see the July 2020 Priory Newsletter where this was originally published.) One of my fellow monks, when talking with people of other faiths, will often describe our mediation as a prayer of listening. When we sit, … Continue reading →
(Follow this link to see the June 2020 Priory Newsletter where this was originally published.) Every now and then, Shasta Abbey will be the host for a yearly conference of western Buddhist monastics; at these conferences the community has the … Continue reading →
(Follow this link to see the May 2020 Priory Newsletter where this was originally published.) When I was a novice of maybe two years, there was a time when one of the senior monks was having a very difficult time … Continue reading →
