This talk is part of Shohaku Okumura Roshi's ongoing commentary on the modern classic Opening The Hand of Thought written by his teacher Kosho Uchiyama Roshi.  This talk focuses on what happens in our minds during zazen - how should we handle the unstopping flood of thoughts?  It was originally given at Sanshinji in Bloomington, IN on March 21, 2010.
 
Please consider supporting Okumura Roshi's teachings and the activities of Sanshin Zen Community by making a contribution on this podcast's page (http://sanshin.podomatic.com) or at Sanshin's home page (http://sanshinji.org/home/)

Letting Go of Thoughts

Sanshin Zen Community is an international Buddhist sangha founded in 1996 by Shohaku Okumura, a Soto Zen priest and respected translator of the thirteenth-century Japanese Zen master, Eihei Dogen Zenji. Based at Sanshin-ji, in Bloomington, Indiana, Sanshin exists to provide intensive practice of zazen in the style of Kosho Uchiyama-roshi, informed by thorough study of Dogen's teachings and communal work. Sanshin offers opportunities for daily practice, weekly Dharma talks, monthly retreats, and a three-month ango (intensive practice period). Activities are open to all Buddhist practitioners, as well as anyone with a sincere interest in the practice of Zen.

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This talk continues Shohaku Okumura Roshi’s commentary on Dogen Zenji’s Tenzo Kyokun – Instructions for the Zen Cook. (Covering the third paragraph on page 37).
In the previous paragraph of Tenzo Kyōkun, Dōgen said we should see things not with our common eyes, but we should see things with the dharma eye or Buddha’s eye; and here he’s saying: anyway, we do have a competitive mind. How can we use this competitive mind for our practice? First he said: “If you’re resolute in your intention and are most sincere, you will vow to be more pure-hearted than the ancients and surpass even the elders in attentiveness.”
So he said that instead of competing with the contemporaries, the people around you, you should compete with the ancient masters, or elders. This is kind of a tricky thing, an interesting thing. Dōgen said when we really, sincerely want to work as a tenzo, in order to develop or improve our ability to make better dishes, somehow we need to compete; compete with ourselves and compete with others. How can we use this competitive mind to become better?
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This talk was originally given at Sanshinji in Bloomington, IN on September 26, 2007. Please consider supporting Okumura Roshi's teachings and the activities of Sanshin Zen Community by making a contribution on this podcast's page (http://sanshin.podomatic.com), at Sanshin's home page (http://sanshinji.org/home/), or at the Dōgen Institute website (http://dogeninstitute.org/home/donate/).

Tenzo Kyōkun 7 – Putting the Mind of the Way to Work

This talk continues Shohaku Okumura Roshi’s commentary on Dogen Zenji’s Tenzo Kyokun – Instructions for the Zen Cook. (Covering the second paragraph on page 37). 

Beginning with the passage studied in this podcast, Dōgen describes the most important point in the attitude of the tenzo. The meaning of Dōgen’s admonition is very clear: don’t complain. The tenzo receives food ingredients from storage, and whatever the tenzo receives, they don’t complain, they just accept things as they are and work together with those things to make them into the best food or dish possible.

But if we carefully read the expressions and sentences, what Dōgen is saying is not so simple. Of course, the meaning is to avoid “like and dislike.” But the reason for that attitude is very deep and important within the essence of Buddhist teaching. In the English translation alone, we cannot see that connection.

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This talk was originally given at Sanshinji in Bloomington, IN on September 12, 2007.

Please consider supporting Okumura Roshi's teachings and the activities of Sanshin Zen Community by making a contribution on this podcast's page (http://sanshin.podomatic.com), at Sanshin's home page  (http://sanshinji.org/home/), or at The Dōgen Institute  (http://dogeninstitute.org/home/donate/) website.

Tenzo Kyokun 6 - Seeing Things With a Buddha Eye

This talk continues Shohaku Okumura Roshi’s commentary on Dogen Zenji’s Tenzo Kyokun –  Instructions for the Zen Cook. (p. 36). 
Okumura Roshi speaks about the tenzo’s attitude toward his work in the kitchen: the importance of not judging the quality of the ingredients that are provided. Just prepare them carefully, paying attention to the three important things in cooking: quality, quantity, and timing. 
 The tenzo’s life is at the intersection between discrimination and non-discriminating. He receives the food with no judgment and then makes determinations about the best way to use it. This is mind (as subject) and things (as object) working together as zenki – total function.
This talk was originally given at Sanshinji in Bloomington, IN on September 9, 2007. 
Please consider supporting Okumura Roshi's teachings and the activities of Sanshin Zen Community by making a contribution on this podcast's page, at Sanshin's home page, or at the Dōgen Institute website.

Tenzo Kyokun 5 -  Receiving our life

This talk continues Shohaku Okumura Roshi’s commentary on the modern classic Opening The Hand of Thought written by his teacher Kosho Uchiyama Roshi. (Section 4, p.66).
Okumura Roshi continues the theme of his previous talk, offering a description and examples of “self-power” and “other power” in both Pure Land Buddhism and Zen.
 There is no separation between self-power and other power; other power includes self-power. Yet the individual determination or personal ability of self-power cannot reach the deeper power; we need to awaken to the larger context, the interconnectedness of self and other beings, in which we are living as an individual.
This talk was originally given at Sanshinji in Bloomington, IN on November 28, 2010.
Please consider supporting Okumura Roshi's teachings and the activities of Sanshin Zen Community by making a contribution on this podcast's page, at Sanshin's home page, or at The Dōgen Institute website.

The bankruptcy of self-power

This talk continues Shohaku Okumura Roshi’s commentary on Dogen Zenji’s Tenzo Kyokun (p. 35).
Okumura Roshi discusses the importance of cooking the rice carefully and returning the kitchen utensils to their appropriate places. In this way, we can study dharma in our everyday lives—by attending to and valuing things without discriminating mind.
This talk was originally given at Sanshinji in Bloomington, IN on June 20, 2007.
Please consider supporting Okumura Roshi's teachings and the activities of Sanshin Zen Community by making a contribution on this podcast's page (http://sanshin.podomatic.com), at Sanshin's home page(http://sanshinji.org/home/), or at The Dōgen Institute (http://dogeninstitute.org/home/donate/) website.

Letting Go of Thoughts

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