Category: Teachings

In this video John continues his exploration of the concept of ‘expression’ in Buddhist practice.
“From the perspective of duality there is self and world, there are objects, there are forces which act on those objects there is interaction between object and so on. So from the perspective of duality expression is either not seen at all or is thought of as something peripheral.
However from the perspective of non-duality, expression is all there is, there is not a pre-existing world comprised of ‘things’ which interact and of which expression is a minor part, there is simply this dynamic expressive whole, constantly creative and constantly vivid”

In the Vimilakirti Sutra, the Buddha announces that this world is a Buddha field. Sariputra takes issue with this and notes that when he sees the world, he sees a world full of suffering. The Budha then touches the Earth with his big toe and the Earth is magically transformed into glittering diamonds and precious stones.
In this video John discusses this passage, and shows how the story is a poetic description of Zazen.

Master Joshu said to his monks: If you remain in this monastery, practice Zazen assidiously for five years, ten years, even if you say nothing, nobody can say you are without expression.

In this video John examines what is meant by ‘expression’.

Kanzeon is the Japanese name for the Bohdhisattva of compassion, known more commonly as Avalokiteshvara or Kwan Yin. She is usually depicted as having many hands and eyes: the eyes see the suffering of living beings, while the hands work to relieve that suffering. In this video, John examines the imagery used to depict Kanzeon, and the deeper and more subtle meaning that is being conveyed.

One of the core ideas of chinese buddhism is that all living beings have buddha nature. This derives from a number of sutras, the pre-eminent one being the Tathagatagarbha sutra. In this video, John examines the concept of buddha nature using the evocative imagery of the word ‘tathagatargarbha’ [buddha womb/embryo] itself, to help clarify the concept .

In this video John examines a poem by Uchiyama Roshi:

though poor, never poor,
though sick, never sick,
though ageing, never ageing,
though dying, never dying:
reality prior to division,
here lies unlimited depth

The buddhist state has nothing to do with thinking or willing. We’re not spiritual warriors.We are not on a hero’s journey. Yet because thinking and attempting to grasp reality with our minds is so much a part of who we are as human beings, buddhist teachers will use expedient means.
In this video John discusses expedient means and examines the parable from The Lotus Sutra of the burning house, which famously illustrates this concept.

More on Expedient means can be found in the links below:

157. Expedient Means

254. Practice buddha

276. Labelling a Thought

On the altar there are usually three objects: a statue of Manjushri, some flowers and a stick of incense, held in an incense bowl. In this video John discusses how these can be evocative symbols that express something heartfelt about our practice and our lives.

What are we actually engaged in when we sit in Zazen? Unlike other meditation practices, there is no given object to focus our attention on, and no graspable instructions telling us what we should be doing.
In this video the practice is clarified not so much in terms of an activity of the ‘mind’,  or the consideration of an ‘object’ of meditation, but as something physically enacted which involves the whole of us, and thus a ‘fall’ into the space of zazen.

In this video John examines one of Dogen’s Dharma Hall Discourses, which expounds a very different view of both time and expression to our habitual sense.
This view can wake us up to the urgency of living right now, of being alive together with all beings, that all of our life, all the now-moments within, no matter how mundane they seem, are part of something bigger and more alive than we can currently see, have meanings for others that we cannot fathom, hold significance beyond our imagination, and have causes and repercussions that extend in all directions. Therefore, we should be attentive and grateful, even when doing the washing-up.