Geoffrey Shugen Arnold

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 6/21/26 - The sense of separation — from life, from happiness, from anything we feel apart from — lies at the root of what brings many of us to a spiritual path. The Buddha taught that suffering arises from the duality created by conceptual thinking. To truly end our troubles, and the troubles we create in the world, we must see into this directly. Shugen Sensei explores how we can deepen the practice of seeing the mind and experiencing our true nature. Through mindfulness, wisdom, and compassion, we can discover that we are not separate; we were never separate at all.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 6/7/26 - How Buddhism uses the term "attachments" is often misunderstood as being something bad, which should not happen, but our sense of self is made up of a series of attachments: to identity, position, and so on. When we see through these many ideas of who we are, we can eventually settle our minds and experience our true nature. Using an ancient koan and the words of Henry David Thoreau, Shugen Roshi explores the world of attachment and how to bring clarity by exploring the inner wilderness to find the true nature of the self. (From the Gateless Gate, Case 44 - Basho's Stick.)

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 5/31/26 - Mundane truth, enlightened truth, from the beginning are all together one. But there are snags that grab us, some of them repeatedly. Hongzhi describes our original mind this way: “from the beginning it is fundamentally all together complete, undefiled, clear down to the bottom.” In this Dharma Encounter with the sangha, Shugen Roshi asks: how do each of us use our difficulty, troubles, heartache and anger to relieve our suffering? How do we heal? The sangha shares the many ways we turn, rather than heaping on destruction, and practice reality with a heart of wisdom and compassion.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 5/30/26 - Zen is filled with koan stories asking this question: do they see it or not? Do you see “it”? Shugen Roshi says that we see only as far as our penetrating vision can reach at any time. And yet that is plenty. Our present experience invites us to look further and not solidify our moment to moment experience. The Path is not linear in the usual sense, although there is practice and realization, much more valuable is learning to ask, to get curious, and to practice every aspect of our lives. (From the Book of Serenity, Case 51 - Fayan's "Boat or Land".)

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 5/24/26 - Shugen Roshi asks: “When you’re thinking of the thinking mind, what do you find there? And where will you go from there?” At the heart of bodhicitta — the wish to bring suffering to an end — are the questions: What are we contributing? What kind of environment are we creating through our thoughts, words, and actions? Cultivating bodhicitta is how we make our freedom real and, ultimately, what we are able to offer to others. (From the Book of Serenity, Case 32 - Yangshan's "Mind and Environment")

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 5/21/26 - Are the words you are about to speak true? Verify them first through your own experience. Are they of benefit? Are they agreeable or disagreeable? Know your intentions and consider carefully before speaking. Drawing from the early teachings, Shugen Roshi offers the Buddha’s guidelines for practicing right speech in ways that bring an end to conflict and suffering and offer a path of liberation. (Dharma Discourse during the May 2026 Fusatsu Ceremony at ZMM)

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 5/3/26 - The middle way between indulgence and denial is not obvious for any of us beginning on our practice path. How could we know where the “middle” might be? We need to stumble and make mistakes to learn how to embrace a wholesome and sustainable balance, through practice. Building a sanctuary, a monastery, or a livable life takes effort, reflection, atonement and renewal. Our own enlightened nature is ready at any time to support what can be of benefit to all beings. (From the Book of Serenity, Case 4: The World Honored One Points to the Ground)

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 4/22/26 - From the Book of Serenity, Case 97 - Emperor Tongguang's Hat - Paying attention to how things unfold, we always benefit from skillfully navigating our reactions, our tendencies to mistrust and avoid. Skillfully, we can trust that our true nature is always present, clear and undivided. How do we teach ourselves to trust, to “know without knowing,”  and relinquish the tendency of our powerful tendency to divide, separate, disconnect? “In clarity, wonder exists,” says Hongzhi, and Shugen Roshi encourages us to continuously turn toward that clarity.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 4/19/26 - Living a simple life in the Buddhist tradition is a skillful means which supports the development of clarity and flexibility, so we are not weighted down by things, by situations, or by our own thoughts. Free of unnecessary complications, we can “respond appropriately” to all changes we encounter. This pivot moment, as Master Hongzhi taught, allows us to respond to all the things that come our way.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 3/29/26 - Prajna Paramita is the wisdom of the other shore, encompassing all of the paramitas and expressing the non-duality of wisdom and compassion. As the theme of this Dharma Encounter, Shugen Roshi invites sangha members to present their understanding and their questions about Prajna Paramita, as well as “turning words” which express the heart of this theme, the non-duality of wisdom and compassion.