Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 9/15/24 - There is a difference between the isolated feeling of loneliness and the calm presence of solitude, and it’s important to nourish in ourselves the stability of letting things be as they are, full and alive. At the same time we have to understand how to genuinely be present with others, with things just as they are. Then we can come home to the moment, letting the mind be “like trees and stones,” just as it is, without qualms and without adding extra.

- From The Blue Cliff Record, Case 26 - Pai Chang's Sitting Alone on Ta Hsiung Mountain

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 9/8/24 - Live words in Zen practice are at the center of koan practice, emerging from deep inquiry but not bound by the conceptual, thinking mind. No matter what your practice—breath, “just sitting” or koans—using meticulous effort in your practice develops the concentration necessary for deep realization. Let go of everything, open the door and put on your straw sandals, and then travel some more.

- From the Book of Serenity, Case 89 - Dongshan's "No Grass"

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 8/31/24 - From the Book of Serenity, Case 99 - Yunmen's "Bowl and Bucket" - Striving to realize our true nature, without tying ourselves into knots of grasping, are skills we have to practice. Being able to investigate where we stick to our habits and confusion is to help us develop concentration. As Shugen Roshi says, with the essential skills of mindfulness and concentration we can discover who “this unbounded one” really is, and then we can really be of benefit in the world.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 9/1/24 - Shugen Roshi introduces the theme of the Ango: "Going Straight on an Ever-Twisting Path: The Bodhisattva Path and The Paramitas."

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - 9/1/24 - Hojin Sensei introduces the theme of the Ango: "Going Straight on an Ever-Twisting Path: The Bodhisattva Path and The Paramitas."

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 8/25/24 - From The Blue Cliff Record, Case 98 - T'ien P'ing's Travels on Foot - Cause and effect are fundamental teachings of the Dharma: the dependent arising of all phenomena, and the karma of cause and effect. So how can the practice of seeing our minds as they function—creating realities by grasping at what we want or don’t want—become something we stop stumbling over? When we let go and see things as they are, we begin to practice the true freedom of mind: to act in accord with compassion and wisdom.

Degna Chikei Levister, MRO Senior Lay Student - ZCNYC - 8/25/24 - Chikei talks about the subtle shift in perspective brought about through her Zen practice and the big difference that has made in her life.

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 8/18/24 - A Hidden Lamp Story: "The Old Woman's Relatives" - Hojin Sensei looks into loneliness... How do we understand it, respond to it? What's at the root of it? Can we experience the richness of it?

Prabu Gikon Vasan, Senior Lay Practitioner - 8/18/24 - The Buddha’s early teachings often focus on the nature of suffering to help us become aware of the ways that this state is created by our thoughts, words and actions. With a deeper understanding of how this process repeats itself, as senior lay student Gikon says, we can pivot, making real change by turning our thoughts, words and actions in the direction of freedom from suffering and it’s causes.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 8/11/24 - Habits of mind, which in the beginning of practice seem untameable, can be grounded through awareness, and that’s just the start of learning to be at ease with the mind. We come to appreciate our own ability to settle and to realize our capacity to experience the inherent steadiness of mind. With help from Shantideva and the contemporary Buddhist monk-scholar Anālayo, Shugen Roshi outlines ways to practice, and seeing into the nature of all reality.