Sokukoji Buddhist Temple Monastery

In this five minute excerpt of Sokuzan's full talk, he explores the idea of "I don't know." All Sokuzan - no Q&As. Please let us know if you are enjoying these short talks and whether they are of value. We listen to and appreciate your feedback! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUWOYJ5Ry0k

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Zen master Seung-Sahn talked about “only don’t know mind.” This whole area is very powerful if it comes out of your awareness. Knowing and not knowing is something the egoistic mind creates. It is necessary to go into not knowing first and not to panic into your ego with, “I know.” The grasping mind will not allow an open dimension. In the area of consciousness that is without form, your knowledge will begin to crack apart. Depending on your attachment to intellect, you may eventually have to come to this “I don’t know” bardo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq5quljRvV0

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Specifically edited for listeners who have only ten minutes to listen. This abridged version of Sokuzan's full talk contains 7 minutes of Sokuzan's teachings and 3.5 minutes of Q&A time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fgWemQzr4I

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche talked about working with the negativity that arises in your mindstream as making friends with your ego. This is the area that we judge, that’s embarrassing, that we want to do away with. We try to stop it based on thinking it’s real. Just observe the the circularity of passion, aggression and ignorance. What’s being suggested here is that befriending ego is not likely to occur without a strong practice of sitting meditation, realigning our attitude to receive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOWl7wphOwA

Specifically edited for listeners who have only ten minutes to listen. This abridged version of Sokuzan's full talk contains five minutes of Sokuzan's teachings and five minutes of Q&A time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWb6ASjRtrw

Through the sitting practice of meditation, you can retrain your mind to observe what’s arising rather than what you think is there. The idea is to see clearly and deeply what is arising so you know fundamentally what it is. You don’t have to stop covering up, just be aware of it. If you don’t cover it up, ego finds its own space in the form of dependent origination. If you see what this is, all the warfare stops. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9O3l_3ePyI&t

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What is the observer that can’t be seen as content? That aspect of consciousness which is just receiving and processing does not have a spacial dimension or a time reference. It doesn’t have an identity, particularly. You could call it tathagatagarbha, jnana, prajna or wisdom. Even calling it an aspect is going too far. This and other questions from sangha are addressed in depth in this talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln_M-9lv_-Q

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This is something I often say when someone runs into difficulty. It’s not an order, it’s something to consider. True devotion is not about obedience. If someone is trying to get control of you, red flags should go up everywhere. There’s only one authority and you’re it. Progress is materialism, and on the spiritual path progress is invisible. The idea is to encourage you to proceed, to help you be who you are, be genuine. Do it anyway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MtnaKvr5Zk

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Constant chattering fills up the space with phrases, protecting the body-mind complex we think we are. Even if the conclusions are relatively correct, it’s still a disturbance as far as the spiritual path is concerned. Before the story there’s just not much going on. The leading edge of the story is your opportunity because it is still texture until we start constructing something about it. There’s nothing to correct. Just receive, just intend and return to the vow. Anything that shows up as being other we can fight with or ignore, but if you see what it is, you’re not separate from it. End of story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw7vW13FD10

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It’s not what you know that’s the issue; it’s the knower, the mistaken identity that’s the problem. Whatever shows up in your mind stream, you know that. The first arising is free from a knower. Then you leave the immediacy for what you think about it. The issue is not the feeling that comes up, it’s trying to stop it, fight with it or blame someone for it. It’s called samsara. Liberation doesn’t mean this all goes away, but you’re no longer put upon by it. It’s like leaves falling from a tree. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqDY9MPD_m8

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Your basic instruction is to sit down, hold still without being rigid, and intend to see what’s moving. If it’s a daydream, then observe that. There’s nothing to correct. Whatever arises, that’s the path. Don’t maintain it and don’t fight with it. Notice the tendency to do something with it. If you want to do something with it, enjoy it. Allow it to be just that, as it is. It’s not separate in the first place; it just looks like it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzsCChF1DvI We are currently working on improving our sound recording quality, and apologize for any difficulty in understanding Sokuzan's teachings. Thank you for your patience.