Q) Why, in the scriptures, does the Buddha refer to himself as ‘I’? In the Satipatthana Sutta he says of the monk practicing mindfulness of breathing ‘I know I breathe a short breath’ etc. If he teachs the doctrine of ‘No-I’ then why does he still use the first person?

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In this podcast:

• Conventional and absolute truths (samvrti/ paramartha)
• The Doctrine of the Two Truths in early and developed Buddhism
• Different expressions of this truth appear in Samsara/Nirvana, appearance/reality, sun obscured by clouds etc.
• What is the basis of reality in Buddhism? The theory of the dharmas.
• Cinema model of dharma samtana

There are said to be three requirements for Zen training:

1. A Great Root of Faith
2. A Great Ball of Doubt
3. Fierce Determination

In this podcast:

• Faith in the teachings and the lineage, the difference between belief and faith.
• The Buddha’s advice to the Kalamas, fire-walking the test of faith.
• The problem of doubt? A pearl from an irritating grain of sand,
• A determination that moves mountains.

This month’s question,

Why is it suggested that for Zen training we use a timetable? How does this work, in practice?

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In this podcast:

• What is the timetable in Zen practice and what is it for?
• Living beings like structure, but how does it work?
• The difference between what is good for the person and personal preference.
• How does the timetable feed into the practice of ‘giving myself wholeheartedly’?
• The practice of restraint as the revealer of truths.

This podcast is based on an excerpt from a sermon of Master Ta Hui (jp. Daie). You can read the relevant extract here.

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In this podcast:

A short biography of Master Ta Hui

The Mahayana universalises Buddha nature, making Buddhahood available for all

The development of the teaching of ‘Buddha Nature’ from Tathagatagarbha.

How the teaching of the Trikaya (Three Bodies of the Buddha), works in practice.

The relationship between Buddha Nature and the Six Realsm on The Wheel of Life.

This month’s question:

Q) If a person has no soul, what is re-born?

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In this podcast:

• Discussing: soul, psyche, animus - but is this the same as ‘anatman’?
• The Old English notion of ‘soul’.
• The Wheel of Becoming as the essential teachings of the Buddha explaining how beings arise without agent or ‘do-er’ to make things happen.
• The principles of re-birth as rooted in doctrine of karma.
• The Zen koan, Master Zuigan calls to himself three times.
• The ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ of personality.
• Jung and the Shadow.

Continuing the discussion on the fundamentals of Zen training, this podcast examines the importance of ‘form’ in practice.

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In this podcast:

• The two types of form - personal form and the form of places and situations
• The universality of form amongst different species and how it aids in living in-form.
• Sokei-an and the shape of meditation - how form gives dignity and collects the heart.
• The form in behaviour - how to set up a timetable and why?
• Suggestions for practicing ‘good form’.