Posts tagged ‘true self’
Aug 2 08
Mar 19 00
Tying a Rotten Rope to a Cloud
Talk given at the opening ceremony for Kye Ryong Sahn International Zen Center/Mu Sang Sah, on March 19, 2000.
[Raises Zen stick over head, then hits table with stick.]
This point means open is closed, closed is open. Everything is changing, changing, changing. This is the world of impermanence,…
Read More...Oct 1 99
The Birth of Zen
Excerpted from a workshop at the 5th Whole World is a Single Flower Conference held at Providence Zen Center in October 1999.
One day, 2500 years ago, the Buddha sat on the peak of Vulture Mountain with a vast assembly of more than 1200 monks who were waiting for Buddha…
Read More...Aug 1 99
Zen Stick Swallows Universe
Question: If you see a lot of blame in your life and very little praise, and you feel a lot of pain and very little pleasure, and you hang on to this then you suffer a lot. So you always say put it all down. I ask you:…
Read More...Jun 1 98
Happy Buddha’s Birthday
When Buddha was born, he sprang out of his mother’s hip, walked seven steps, said, “Heaven above, earth below, only I am holy.”
[hits table with zen stick]
When you and I were born, we sprung from our mother’s uterus, dropped into the doctor’s arms, and screamed, “WAAAAAAAAH!”
[hits table…
Read More...Oct 5 96
Become One
This is an excerpt from a talk given by Zen Master Dae Kwang on October 5th, 1996 at the Whole World is a Single Flower Conference. The gathering was held at the Sixth Patriarch’s temple on T’ao Che Mountain in southern China, about 200 miles north of Canton.
Twenty-five…
Read More...Oct 1 95
True Alchemy
“Alchemy” is one of the most commonly used metaphors for spiritual transformation. The turning of dross into something valuable and useful is something which has forever obsessed the human imagination. Unfortunately, people often become attached to the surface meaning of religious metaphors and thereby miss their true meaning.
This doesn’t…
Read More...Sep 1 93
Illness Helps Your True Self
Our physical body is not our true self. What is our true self, our true I? Every human being must find their true I. If you find the answer to this question then freedom from suffering and freedom from life and death appears.
Don’t be afraid of your sickness.…
Read More...Oct 1 83
What Have We Got to Hold Onto in this Life?
This talk was given during a retreat at Providence Zen Center, October 1983.
Adeline: I have a friend named Terry who is missing. She was in a small plane that crashed in the sea. So everyone assumes she died. But if she is dead, where is she?…
Read More...Jun 1 81
Kill or Not Kill – That’s a Big Question
Dear Bobby,
I am writing with many questions, and also bringing greetings however! First, my questions…
I’ve been confronted with the problem of what course of action to take in the event of a military draft or a war: to fight or not to, which comes down to…
Read More...Jul 26 77
Wild Dharma Scenes and Broken Precepts
July 26, 1977
Dear Soen Sa Nim,
I hope you are well. Please, as much as possible, try to take care of your body.
I have not seen you in awhile. I, too have been traveling around teaching the Dharma. How is the family on the East…
Read More...Dec 9 76
Everything is a Dream
Everything is a DreamThe following exchange took place after a Dharma Talk Zen Master Seung Sahn gave at the New Haven Zen Center on December 9th, 1976.
Student: Do you dream about different kinds of things now that you are a Zen Master?
Soen Sa Nim:…
Read More...Aug 20 76
Aug 1 76
True Meditation
At a recent Dharma Talk, Zen Master Seung Sahn was asked what elements contribute to make a meditation practice strong and clear. He answered:
“True meditation comes from true cognition; true cognition comes from true meditation.
There are many schools of meditation in the United States. Some meditations use breathing…
Read More...Apr 20 75
The Spring Geese are Flying North
A Dharma Speech given by the Zen Master Seung Sahn at the opening ceremony of the International Zen Center of New York on April 20, 1975
(Holding up his Zen stick and hitting the table, slowly, three times)
Is this closed? Is this open?
If you say…
Read More...Jun 1 74
The Great Way is in Front of the Door
On June 16, 1974 we held an opening ceremony for our new home. On this occasion Zen Master Seung Sahn delivered the following Dharma message:
(Striking the table) Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.
(Striking the table) No form, no emptiness.
(Striking the table) Form is form, emptiness is emptiness.…
Read More...Feb 1 74
What is that Rock Saying?
One Sunday night at the Providence Zen Center, Seung Sahn Soen-sa told the story of Su Tung-po’s enlightenment. Afterwards he said to his students:
“What do we learn from this story? That Zen teaches us to cut off all discriminating thoughts and to understand that the truth of the universe…
Read More...