Forty-nine or Fifty? Bearing Witness to Every Life Lost
June 18, 2016 In the days following the terrible mass shooting in Orlando there were vigils and protests all over the country. We were remembering the 50 people who died, as reported in the headlines of the New York Times on Sunday morning. I…
A Zen approach to food and community in Rutland
Zen community serves the homeless By Shudder Hurd-Burnell Correspondent Rutland Herald A man walks into the kitchen with a loud, “Thank you, ladies!” as he hands off his plate to a woman at the sink. “Did you get enough, Dave?” she asks. “Did you…
Plunge In and Open Wide
A Street Retreat Reflection by Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community resident, Willie Kunert Departing out of Penn Station on the train, as I rushed through the crowds to catch the train, I found myself wondering, “Who am I?” There are whiffs of an eerie…
Everybody eats
Every Thursday, Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community residents and volunteers, several from the Rutland sitting group, gather at the yellow house at 197 West Street in Rutland for an “everybody eats” community meal. The food is wholesome, hearty, and delicious. It is cooked with…
Power and Superpowers
I’ve been thinking about Power and Superpowers lately. It comes from studying the Lotus Sutra while I’ve been at Upaya this month leading the spring practice period. The Lotus Sutra, which is so important in our Soto Zen tradition, is a fantastical piece of…
Dharma talk Joshin on the Four Great Bodhisattva vows (part 2)
In this episode, Sensei Joshin Byrnes lists and speaks about the six factors of delusion. These include karmic inheritance, objects or things, the influence of people and culture around us, the following of false teachings, habits, and mistaken conceptualizations. He also discusses different ways in which we…
Dharma talk Joshin on the Four Great Bodhisattva Vows (part 1)
Watch the video of the dharma talk Joshin gave at Upaya on Wednesday January 9.
Interview with Joshin by Ian White Maher
Listen to the interview of Ian White Maher with Joshin Byrnes Joshin Byrnes, Sensei
WE VOW TO REALIZE ITS TRUE MEANING
The following is an excerpt from Joshin on the Street Retreat he did in Albuquerque. Dear Brothers and Sisters, This is just a gentle reminder to all of you to practice good self care in these days of transition out of street retreat and back…
Embrace of the Bodhisattva
To our modern ears the word “embrace” might seem a bit sentimental. But I like that Dogen used it back in 1243 to talk about the four ways a Bodhisattva caringly engages with suffering in her midst.To embrace something means to encircle, surround, and…