A Story of Lay Training: Yeh-lu Ch’u-ts’ai (1189 -1243).

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(Follow this link to see the May 2024 Priory Newsletter where this was recently published.)

– Rev. Master Koten Benson, Lions Gate Buddhist Priory, CANADA

(This article orignally appeared in the Autumn, 1990 issue of the Journal of Order of Buddhist Contemplatives. It appears here with the permission of the author and the Journal.)

To do something by ourselves, without copying others, is to become an example to the world and the merit of doing such a thing becomes the source of all wisdom: do not criticise; accept everything. (1)

A photograph of a yard in spring, surrounded by vibrant plants and wooden trellising. The right hand side has a wooden arbor with wisteria in bloom.

May Blossoms.

In the 13th century the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan conquered most of Asia. Whole cities were destroyed in the space of a week, entire states were devastated and the world was turned upside down.

In 1215, after a ten-month siege, the capital of the state of Chin in northern China fell to the Mongols. A month of looting followed in which thousands were killed and a great part of the city was burned to the ground. All the treasure of the capital, as well as the civic leaders, was rounded up and sent off to Genghis Khan in Mongolia. Among them was a young man Whose family had served the Chin for generations although they had originally been enemies. His name was Yeh-lu Ch’u-ts’ai.

Yeh-lu had been born on August 3rd, 1189, in that city now in ruins. His father having died when he was two years old, he was raised by his mother, a scholar, who personally took care of his formal education. He entered the civil service and held various minor posts. Deeply affected by the suffering of the siege, he had sought out the great Ch’an Master Wan-sung Hsing-hsiu, (2) had become his lay disciple and Continue reading →

Perfect Faith

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(Follow this link to see the April 2024 Priory Newsletter where this was recently published.)

– Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett

The following is Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett’s closing lecture to trainees attending the Denkoe or Transmission of the Lamp retreat in the spring of 1980.

During her earlier talks, Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett spoke of Great Master Keizan’s Denkoroku (Record of the Transmission of the Light) as “that by which the perfection of faith may be clearly understood.…It is a series of road maps with signposts. As a result of having perfect faith, even for only a fraction of a second, the road map will appear.”

She pointed out how perfection of faith requires going beyond the opposites:

“I am saddened by the number of times I am asked, ‘How do I get beyond the doubt? How do I get beyond the fear?’ The day that I shall really rejoice will be when people ask, ‘How do I get beyond the certainty and freedom?’

Doubt and certainty are just as much opposites as are fear and freedom; and certainty and freedom, although they sound so desirable, are mere opposites.…The Denkoroku tells us not merely how to live beyond the opposites but how to find the perfection of faith, how to see all things as absolutely possessing Buddha Nature — man or animal, animate or inanimate.”

Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett’s talk of May 18th, 1980, appeared first in the Journal of the OBC in a slightly edited version with the above introduction. It appears here with permission. 

Homage to the Buddha,
Homage to the Dharma,
Homage to the Sangha.

During this Denkoe the one very important point I have been endeavouring to make clear is the difference between perfect faith and absolute faith. Far too many people feel that, if you come to a monastery, you have to give up your will and blindly follow everything you are told. Perfect faith, however, does not require this. What it does require is that you Continue reading →

Thich Nhat Hanh On the Art of Embracing Loneliness

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(Follow this link to see the March 2024 Priory Newsletter where this was recently published.)

– Thich Nhat Hanh

This short teaching about embracing loneliness is part of a talk Thay gave on the 13th of December 2012, during the winter retreat in Plum Village. Loneliness has been a constant presence in our lives during these restrictive pandemic times, and Thay’s teachings on this topic should provide much needed comfort and understanding.

Here is a link to the video of the talk on Youtube (it is well worth watching!): You can watch the short teaching here.

This transcript has been edited for readability and was originally published on the Plumvillage.app website on April 2, 2021. It is used here with permission.

Last time we spoke about home. We know that once we are home, we no longer feel lonely. If you’re at home, you feel warm, comfortable, safe, fulfilled. So home is a place where loneliness disappears. But where is home?

The Buddha said very clearly that home is in us, and that there is an island that you have to go back to: the island of self. This is a practice, not a theory.

Loneliness is the ill-being of our time. We feel very lonely, even if we are surrounded by many people. We are lonely together. There is a vacuum inside of us, where you don’t feel comfortable. We try to fill the vacuum by connecting with other people.

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Continue reading this article on the Plumvillage.app website or you can watch the short teaching here.