This moment is something we talk about. It has no dimension to it. It is there, a useful concept or structure to bring us into the mandala of realizing what this is, fundamentally. You realize you’ve always known this, innately, deeply. It is not even a when, it tends to happen outside of time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO4eFdrJ2I8

“Bad neighborhoods”. This is a metaphor to help people see more quickly the way they get into an area that has kind of a suction to it, but if you can stay away from that, then you may not end up in trouble. It’s a little easier to avoid a physical bad neighborhood in that you can avoid it. When the bad neighborhood is a physiological habit like addiction that compromises intelligence, it may be a more difficult situation. Sokuzan talks about working in the realm of these neighborhoods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo0TL3lbuwg

When you see anything, start with something simple like the color red, instead of going immediately to the thought process about it you could back up a quarter of an inch and ask, “Who sees that red? Who sees that color before you even name it red? Who perceives that? Just before anybody perceives that, who’s there?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HUnI0YqhGU&t=31s

This moment is something we talk about. It has no dimension to it. It is there, a useful concept or structure to bring us into the mandala of realizing what this is, fundamentally. You realize you’ve always known this, innately, deeply. It is not even a when, it tends to happen outside of time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO4eFdrJ2I8

“Bad neighborhoods”. This is a metaphor to help people see more quickly the way they get into an area that has kind of a suction to it, but if you can stay away from that, then you may not end up in trouble. It’s a little easier to avoid a physical bad neighborhood in that you can avoid it. When the bad neighborhood is a physiological habit like addiction that compromises intelligence, it may be a more difficult situation. Sokuzan talks about working in the realm of these neighborhoods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo0TL3lbuwg&t=2s

Whatever you’re involved in, your everyday commotion--errands, errands, errands--just step back from your activity a little, without stopping that activity, and recede. Drop back. Hold still. Just notice the fundamental nature of everything, just the colors and shapes without naming anything. Recede slightly from the conceptual part, take some energy away from the naming area that keeps establishing the false basis that things are separate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp6VG2ObiQQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr8bdkHrYbM

When an emotion arises, it could be triggered by some event, it could be something simple like someone took the dish soap and let you down, we abandon the emotion and go toward blame or rationale. We can’t handle being in just the feeling. But if you can stay in the feeling, and this is not a maintenance or fixation because the emotion is still moving around, if you can stay with it, this is an incredible dharma gait.

Practice strengthening the awareness by holding still and observing or receiving what’s happening in your mind. If you don’t to this you will be at the mercy of the areas of your mind that are unexamined and are impulsive, reactionary and are based on hope for good things and fear of bad things and are constantly going back and forth between the two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y69sH7DCv9I

Sokuzan interacts with students as an example of dokusan, a Zen word that is used to describe a private interview between student and teacher for question and response.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nnuf43Vb8U

“Noble silence”, or “functional speech” creates a standard to live up to. It is about control. You may go to a retreat and never get a chance to relate to others who are practicing. We are quiet when we sit down, hold still and look. When we get up off of the cushion, it is important for sangha to talk to each other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seeM5uCYJQw