by Abby Mushin Terris | May 20, 2023
Sitting on the altar in front of the back zendo windows is a brightly tessellated Buddha that you may not have noticed. To Buddha’s left on that altar is Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of Great Wisdom, who sits on a lion and holds a sword that cuts through delusion. On...
by Abby Mushin Terris | May 6, 2023
When our happiness is entirely dependent on conditions, we experience the suffering that Mother Teresa described as a poverty of spirituality. In our Buddhist spiritual tradition, we examine how our lives are shaped by causes and conditions. Causes and conditions...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Apr 30, 2023
When we come to Dharma with our ordinary mind, we tend to be a language fundamentalist. We take the words of the teachings to be real and concrete, forgetting that they are intended to turn us back in the direction of our own intimate, all-embracing embodiment right...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Apr 22, 2023
During the Koan Dreaming and Zen workshop this week-end we’re looking into a koan that brings up the importance not only of being able to access quiet, open awareness, but also to bear witness to all conditions in the day-to-day round that help us to awaken in our...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Apr 15, 2023
Around this time each year we begin to look ahead to precept study. The precepts are an essential practice in the life of a person of the Way. They guide us towards what is most essential for living an awake life and are an important expression of commitment in...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Apr 8, 2023
How we experience and enact our lives is always by means of our body, speech and mind. Realizing this is a tool for grounding zazen practice. They are where we turn awareness to. When we first sit down, we attend to how we arrange the body. In a grounded posture on a...
