The Way of Chan with Guo Gu

“I vow to glorify the qualities of all the Tathagatas.” Samantabhadra

“In the moment in which you are solidifying and reifying someone into a ‘thing,’ look at it and put it down…that is the way to praise the Tathagata…when we practice the dharma.” Guo Gu

There are 10 honorific titles of the Buddha that reveal the merit, honor and wisdom of the Buddha. Guo Gu uses these 10 names to steer us deeper into our practice, beginning with the first, Tathagata, meaning “thus come, thus gone.” In Buddhism it refers to things as they are. It’s an honorific that encapsulates the Buddha’s teachings challenging the dualistic ideas with which we try to reify things. All beings have this Buddha nature within, and the challenge is to transcend the ways in which we try to pigeonhole our experiences into having/lacking, coming/going, arising/ceasing and existing/not existing and attain the freedom of no self. Like "a bird that is flying in the vast open sky or a fish that swims in clear limpid water. The bird does not question the sky. The sky is its home, and water is the domain of the fish." Such freedom. We are all swimming in the freedom of our domain.

The Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, outlined in the Avatamsaka Sutra, are profound principles for those on the path to Buddhahood. These vows represent a complete path of dedication, compassion, and commitment to benefiting all beings. They provide a framework for practice that not only transforms the self but also brings wisdom and compassion into the world.

The Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra

1. To pay homage to all the Buddhas
2. To glorify the qualities of all the Tathagatas
3. To make ample offerings to all the Buddhas
4. To confess and repent of all one's misdeeds
5. To rejoice in the merits of others
6. To always request the preaching of the Dharma
7. To entreat enlightened beings to remain in the world
8. To always study the teachings of the Buddha
9. To always respond to sentient beings according to their various needs
10. To dedicate all merits to sentient beings that they may achieve Buddhahood.

Join the Tallahassee Chan Center online for live meditations and discussion Monday through Thursday, at 7:30 PM EST. Learn more at https://tallahasseechan.org/events/.

“I vow to pay homage to all the Buddhas.” Samantabhadra

“The worst thing that we can do is deny other people the possibility of change.” Guo Gu

In the Avatamsaka or Flower Ornament Sutra, in what has been called The Perfect Teaching, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva emphasizes interdependence and the infinite perspectives inherent in reality, guiding us away from dualistic and self-centered ways of seeing other people and the world. Recognizing the potential Buddha in everyone not only transforms our relationships but also reshapes our understanding of the world, rooting us in compassion and wisdom. In his teaching, Guo Gu offers us a way to begin this practice and set ourselves on the path to awakening.

The Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, outlined in the Avatamsaka Sutra, are profound principles for those on the path to Buddhahood. These vows represent a complete path of dedication, compassion, and commitment to benefiting all beings. They provide a framework for practice that not only transforms the self but also brings wisdom and compassion into the world.

The Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra

1. To pay homage to all the Buddhas
2. To glorify the qualities of all the Tathagatas
3. To make ample offerings to all the Buddhas
4. To confess and repent of all one's misdeeds
5. To rejoice in the merits of others
6. To always request the preaching of the Dharma
7. To entreat enlightened beings to remain in the world
8. To always study the teachings of the Buddha
9. To always respond to sentient beings according to their various needs
10. To dedicate all merits to sentient beings that they may achieve Buddhahood.

Join the Tallahassee Chan Center online for live meditations and discussion Monday through Thursday, at 7:30 PM EST. Learn more at https://tallahasseechan.org/events/.

“We are all Samantabhadra.” Guo Gu

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, revered as “Universally Worthy” or “All Good,” holds a central place in Mahayana Buddhism, embodying the vast Bodhisattva path of compassion and wisdom. Alongside Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of wisdom, Samantabhadra is seen as a protector of the Lotus Sutra, which is significant for its inclusive teaching that all beings have the potential to attain Buddhahood. His teachings emphasize the interdependence and interconnectedness of all beings, urging practitioners to recognize the Buddha-nature in everyone. Through practicing the Lotus Sutra’s teachings, one can cultivate a view of all beings as “future Buddhas,” fostering compassion and respect in every interaction.

The Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, outlined in the Avatamsaka Sutra, are profound principles for those on the path to Buddhahood. These vows represent a complete path of dedication, compassion, and commitment to benefiting all beings. They provide a framework for practice that not only transforms the self but also brings wisdom and compassion into the world.

In his talk tonight, Guo Gu lays the groundwork for a series of talks on these vows.

The Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra

1. To pay homage to all the Buddhas
2. To glorify the qualities of all the Tathagatas
3. To make ample offerings to all the Buddhas
4. To confess and repent of all one's misdeeds
5. To rejoice in the merits of others
6. To always request the preaching of the Dharma
7. To entreat enlightened beings to remain in the world
8. To always study the teachings of the Buddha
9. To always respond to sentient beings according to their various needs
10. To dedicate all merits to sentient beings that they may achieve Buddhahood.

Join the Tallahassee Chan Center online for live meditations and discussion Monday through Thursday, at 7:30 PM EST. Learn more at https://tallahasseechan.org/events/.

“Having no obstructions there is no fear and departing far from confusion and imagining they reach ultimate nirvana. All past, present, and future Buddhas, relying on prajnaparamita attain annuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Therefore, know that prajnaparamita is the great mantra of power, the great mantra of wisdom, the supreme mantra , the unequalled mantra, which is able to remove all suffering. It is real and not false.Therefore recite the mantra of prajnaparamita, Gate. Gate. Paragate. Parasamgate. Bodhi Svaha.” The Heart Sutra

“Gone. Gone. Gone beyond. Completely gone beyond. Expedite awakening.” The Heart Sutra Prajnamita Mantra

“The main point of the Heart Sutra is Put It Down.” Guo GuIn his final talk on The Heart Sutra, Guo Gu discusses how the sutra encompasses all aspects of human existence, including our world and relationships, and the attachments we struggle to let go of. By releasing these obstacles, we can access the full potential of our inherent freedom, empowering us to embrace the path to awakening.

More information can be found at: https://tallahasseechan.org/heart-sutra

“There is no wisdom or any attainment. With nothing to attain, bodhisattvas relying on prajnaparamita have no obstructions in their minds.” Heart Sutra

“The wisdom of no self resolves suffering.” Guo Gu

Guo Gu’s teaching emphasizes the idea that the root of obstructions or vexations in our lives stems from the presence of a self. When we view experiences and situations through the lens of a fixed, concrete self, we tend to grasp at external things like fame, wealth, power, status, influence, or sensual pleasures. These external attachments serve to reinforce the self, creating further suffering and vexation.

By becoming aware of when and how we are reifying this self through our grasping and attachments, we can begin to loosen that hold. As we learn to identify these tendencies and stop feeding the self, we gradually liberate ourselves from the cycle of desire and suffering. Chan Masters throughout history have coined phrases to describe this more spacious and open way of being:

Be like a zombie – Master Gaofen Yuanmiao

Every day is a good day – Master Yunmen Wenyan

Be an idiot – Master Linji Yixuan

When vexations come, put your feet up – Master Linji Yixuan

Be like a tree stump – Master Yuanwu Keqin

Be like an incense burner in a dilapidated, rundown temple – Master Yuanwu Keqin

Don’t make a thing out of it – Guo Gu It’s all good – Guo Gu

This video is a continuation of a series of commentaries by Guo Gu on "The Heart Sutra", one of the shortest Mahayana scriptures that expound the core message of Buddhism. The Heart Sutra is also one of the most important scriptures in the Chan/Zen tradition. The series will continue every first Monday of each month throughout 2024. Each talk will be independent, but we encourage you and your friends to attend all sessions. During these Monday sits, we will begin with a short period of meditation followed by the Dharma talk. There will be opportunity to ask questions and to socialize a bit after the talk.

More information can be found at: https://tallahasseechan.org/heart-sutra

“There is no wisdom or any attainment. With nothing to attain, bodhisattvas relying on prajnaparamita have no obstructions in their minds.” Heart Sutra

“The essence of dharma practice does not lie in successful meditation or blissful experiences.” Guo Gu

The root of our suffering is grasping - our strong sense of self. In this powerful talk Guo Gu shows us all the many ways the self manifests, both internally and externally. He offers clear guidelines for recognizing how we are identifying and fortifying ourselves. With these tools, we can then begin the process of exposing, embracing, working with, and ultimately letting go of the self.

As the Buddha said at his enlightenment, "I’ve seen you, house-builder! You won’t build a house again! ... My mind, set on demolition, has reached the end of craving." (Source: Dhammapada, Dhp 154, translated by Bhikkhu Sujato)

This video is a continuation of a series of commentaries by Guo Gu on "The Heart Sutra", one of the shortest Mahayana scriptures that expound the core message of Buddhism. The Heart Sutra is also one of the most important scriptures in the Chan/Zen tradition. The series will continue every first Monday of each month throughout 2024. Each talk will be independent, but we encourage you and your friends to attend all sessions. During these Monday sits, we will begin with a short period of meditation followed by the Dharma talk. There will be opportunity to ask questions and to socialize a bit after the talk.

More information can be found at: https://tallahasseechan.org/heart-sutra

“There is no suffering, no cause of suffering, no cessation of suffering and no path.”The Heart Sutra

“Suffering can be experienced as possibilities, change, or even new beginnings. “Guo Gu

The Heart Sutra, a key text in the Prajnaparamita genre, offers profound teachings on the nature of things. Guo Gu has often emphasized throughout his series of talks that the Heart Sutra critiques the early Buddhist materialistic understanding of the world, where words and language solidify phenomena. In this evening’s discussion, he delves deeply into this critique, ultimately illustrating how suffering transforms into liberation and how the causes of suffering can become the path to liberation.

This video is a continuation of a series of commentaries by Guo Gu on "The Heart Sutra", one of the shortest Mahayana scriptures that expound the core message of Buddhism. The Heart Sutra is also one of the most important scriptures in the Chan/Zen tradition. The series will continue every first Monday of each month throughout 2024. Each talk will be independent, but we encourage you and your friends to attend all sessions. During these Monday sits, we will begin with a short period of meditation followed by the Dharma talk. There will be opportunity to ask questions and to socialize a bit after the talk.

More information can be found at: https://tallahasseechan.org/heart-sutra

“There is no ignorance and there is no ending of ignorance through to no aging and death and no ending of aging and death.” The Heart Sutra

“Our fundamental ignorance is the progenitor of the 12 links of dependent origination…a temporal analysis, a process-oriented description of the ways in which we create suffering.” Guo Gu

Guo Gu deftly guides through the causes that lead to our selfing and othering, and subsequently our suffering. He does this from the temporal perspective of the 12 links of dependent origination, beginning with ignorance through to aging and death. On one level we are concerned with the links in our present life, but Guo Gu reminds us that the Heart Sutra was written by a bodhisattva, and dives into the perspective of continual birth and death, called Dependent Origination of the Three Times. This is the way of the bodhisattva, never leaving the cycle of birth and death in order to benefit all beings.

This video is a continuation of a series of commentaries by Guo Gu on "The Heart Sutra", one of the shortest Mahayana scriptures that expound the core message of Buddhism. The Heart Sutra is also one of the most important scriptures in the Chan/Zen tradition. The series will continue every first Monday of each month throughout 2024. Each talk will be independent, but we encourage you and your friends to attend all sessions. During these Monday sits, we will begin with a short period of meditation followed by the Dharma talk. There will be opportunity to ask questions and to socialize a bit after the talk.

More information can be found at: https://tallahasseechan.org/heart-sutra

"In voidness there is no form, and no sensation, perception, volition or consciousness; no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; no sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, thought; there is no realm of the eye all the way up to no realm of mental cognition” The Heart Sutra

“We need to experience the world through relationships.” Guo Gu

Guo Gu elaborates on the 18 Realms of Consciousness, consisting of the six sense organs, the six sense objects and the six sense consciousnesses. As he pulls apart our experience, he reveals how we exist only in relationships.

This video is a continuation of a series of commentaries by Guo Gu on "The Heart Sutra", one of the shortest Mahayana scriptures that expound the core message of Buddhism. The Heart Sutra is also one of the most important scriptures in the Chan/Zen tradition. The series will continue every first Monday of each month throughout 2024. Each talk will be independent, but we encourage you and your friends to attend all sessions. During these Monday sits, we will begin with a short period of meditation followed by the Dharma talk. There will be opportunity to ask questions and to socialize a bit after the talk.

More information can be found at: https://tallahasseechan.org/heart-sutra

Guo Gu on The Heart Sutra

“Form is not other than emptiness and emptiness not other than form.” — The Heart Sutra

“The whole Buddhist project is about building new relationships with the world.” — Guo Gu

This video is a continuation of a series of commentaries by Guo Gu on "The Heart Sutra", one of the shortest Mahayana scriptures that expound the core message of Buddhism. The Heart Sutra is also one of the most important scriptures in the Chan/Zen tradition. The series will continue every first Monday of each month throughout 2024. Each talk will be independent, but we encourage you and your friends to attend all sessions. During these Monday sits, we will begin with a short period of meditation followed by the Dharma talk. There will be opportunity to ask questions and to socialize a bit after the talk.

More information can be found at: https://tallahasseechan.org/heart-sutra.

Join the Tallahassee Chan Center online for live meditations and discussion Monday through Thursday, at 7:30 PM EST. Learn more at https://tallahasseechan.org/events/.