Most of us have read the story of the Buddha’s life and awakening, but few of us have read a first-person account like the one above.

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As with many other writings, there are always parts that stop us in our tracks. Is it the translation or my lack of understanding?

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Listening to this sermon of Bodhidharma’s is similar to swallowing the ocean in one gulp, overwhelming in some places.  As with floating on the water, rather than struggling to stay up, it’s best here just to relax and let the teachings flow under, over, and through us. 

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Not all Zen teaching is immediately easy to grasp.  This is classic Zen delivered to us by the very famous patriarch of Zen, Bodhidharma.  However, it is like riding through rapids down the River of No Return and holding on for dear life!

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Ah, the grand prize of enlightenment in its ultimate form is highlighted by Dogen in this talk. Who doesn’t begin practice without that goal-less goal of enlightenment?

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The simplicity of this piece, the clarity of expression gives a kind of accessibility that is refreshing and brings a breath of fresh air to our journey.  Who has not felt the balm of compassion?  

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I often marvel at how contemporary the ancient writings sound. You can see how students of all ages fell into the same pitfalls of practice we do. Teachers always seem to talk about students of “today” not having the same intensity or commitment to difficult practice.

Sometimes we are given too much to know what to do with it…sometimes we are given so little, we sit bewildered if we are proceeding “correctly.”

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The “worthies of former times” sacrificed to attain their true insights; it involved more than just hearing and parroting a teacher’s words.  They turned their own inner light onto the great matter at hand.

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Ah, to be able to sit and discourse with someone like Muso!   Suddenly everything is crystal clear…the traps we set for ourselves, the spirited way we manage to fool ourselves, and the limited great insights we have.  

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