Shinzan Palma: Stopping and Seeing: The Art of Just Sitting – Fall Practice Period 2022 (1 of 11)

“Silent and serene, forgetting words, bright clarity appears before you. When you reflect it you become vast, where you embody it you are spiritually uplifted.” ~ Hongzhi

Series Description: During this Ango, we will explore the teachings of the Zen Master Hongzhi, study his teachings on Cultivating the Empty Field translated by Zen Teacher Taigen Dan Leighton. Zazen (Shikantaza or Silent Illumination) is the core of our practice. Hongzhi Zhengjue (Japanese: Wanshi Zenji, 1091–1157) was a Chinese Chán Buddhist monk who authored or compiled several influential Buddhist texts. Hongzhi’s conception of “silent illumination” is of particular importance to the Chinese Caodong and Japanese Soto Zen schools; Zen Masters Hongzhi and Dogen established shikantaza firmly in our lineage eight hundred years ago. In these times, there is so much information and various kinds of meditations.  This study brings us back to the roots of our practice, to simplicity, to understand and experience the art of Just Sitting, learning to be intimate with the boundless life as an empty field, beyond duality, and separation. When practicing serenity and silence, the truth reveals itself.

Practice Period (Ango or “peaceful dwelling”) is a traditional intensive training period common to most schools of Buddhism. Ango traces its history to the time of Shakyamuni Buddha and the early sangha. Each year, the community would gather together enabling everyone to deepen their practice and polish their understanding through the indispensable teachings of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Sensei Jose Shinzan Palma gives the opening Dharma talk of Upaya’s Fall Practice Period 2022. He provides a primer on shikantaza, or just sitting, and an introduction to Zen Master Hongzhi and his revitalization of this practice, foundational to the Soto school of zen.

You may have heard that shikantaza is an especially advanced practice, akin to the Tibetan Buddhist practices of Dzogchen and Mahamudra. Shinzan explains how shikantaza is profoundly simple and potentially difficult at the same time, and gives tips on how to approach “just sitting” gradually and as a practice of embodiment.

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Upaya Podcast Series: SPRING PRACTICE PERIOD 2022: Cultivating the Empty Field