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…
True Belonging
Zen Master Dogen says that “Enlightenment is the intimacy of all things.” Every moment and everything is included in it. Of course, this means all the things and people that we love. Right now, I love summer in Vermont! The intimacy of all things…
Just Paint Spring
“When you paint Spring, do not paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots – just paint Spring.” ― Dōgen The giant and ancient willow and dozens of wise old apple trees that bear witness to our practice here at Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community are bursting open with life. Taking…
Mountain peak. At the height of winter. Lucid serenity.
Soen Nakagawa, winter 1957 Dear Sangha, I write with the hope that you are enjoying the height of winter with what Soen calls in his haiku, “lucid serenity.” I’ve been enjoying reading his extraordinary works recently, which influenced so may western socially engaged Zen practitioners, including…