What Is Practice?

In the Tenzo Kyokun, Dogen’s Instructions to the Cook, Dogen quotes an exchange with the cook. “What is practice?” he asks. The cook replies “There is nothing in the world that is hidden.” Such a simple statement. How does it guide us in practice? Well, we certainly...

Our Refuge

These words are reprinted with kind permission of their author, Senkei Robertson. What becomes clear over time is how thoroughly Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha in particular, pervade everything we do in this practice. We enter by bowing and sit silently with presence and...

Metta for Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a good time to offer metta (lovingkindness) to all who are suffering with samsaric conditions without the support of the Dharma. You may do this by setting aside a time to light a candle and some incense. Then offer aloud and from your heart,...

Talking To Ourselves

I came across a quote in one of the on-line Dharma sites, “We should pay close attention to how we talk to ourselves.” How true this is. Dharma teachings always refer to body, speech, and mind as our instruments for expressing our clarity or delusion. Paying attention...

Deepening Our Practice

A number of you are signing up to receive the first five precepts and several will also be receiving the full sixteen. Precept practice is one leg of the whole of a life of practice. Precepts help us live the Bodhisattva Way. They are a promise and a guide — to stay...