Introduction to Zen Part 2 – The Practice of Zen
The second part of John’s three part talk on the origins, practice and rituals of Soto Zen, focusing on the practice and posture of Zazen.
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Introduction to Zen Part 1
Introduction to Zen Part 1 – A Historical Perspective
The first of my three part talk on the origins, practice and ritual of Soto Zen.
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Introductions to Zen Meditation
I will be running a series of three introductory classes on 21 and 28 November and 5 December 2021, 16.00-17.30 UK time on Zoom
I will endeavour to give a thorough introduction to the history, background, principles and practice of Soto Zen Buddhism.
It’s free.
If you’re interested in participating, please email me at glasgowzengroup@gmail.com
The introductions will hopefully be helpful to newcomers, to people who have joined the Group during lockdown, and people who have a general interest in Zen Buddhism.
John Fraser
Teacher, Glasgow Zen Group
In this video, John talks about how the Chinese tally is sometimes used as a metaphor in Buddhism. The tally was an object broken into two parts which would then fit back together exactly; they were used in transactions.
Using this metaphor, we can think of our relationship to a sutra or a teacher. In the fitting together, a dynamic wisdom is created, now.
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Zen Master Zongmi
In this video, John talks about the commentary Master Zongmi wrote about the seven Zen schools of his time. It gives helpful explanations of how each school understood the common but confusing metaphor of the ‘bright jewel’.
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The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment
In this video, John talks about the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment. This describes three approaches to meditation: Samatha, Samapatti and Dhyana. We can look at these as three different practices. We can also look at them as being three aspects, although not the only aspects, of our own practice.
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Everything is your Ally
In this video, John talks about Dogen’s view on attaining the Buddha’s truth. Dogen says that since this truth is reality, in order to avoid it one has to resolve not to attain it. Without this intention not to pursue the Buddha’s truth then
everything is your ally
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Taking the backward step
In this video John talks about non-separation and what Dogen describes as ‘taking the backward step’. This can be described as ungrasping in terms of each of the five skandhas.
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A handful of jewels
In this video John explains what we need to understand about the purpose of a teacher: it is to wake us up from the dream of the self. And that our teachers’ incompleteness and our incompleteness and the incompleteness of all things is the hand that opens and reaches out to all things.
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Becoming singing
In this video John talks about Dogen’s Shobogenzo Dotoku. With this he was recasting Buddhist practice by changing what we think our idea of practice is. Rather than struggling through a storm to an imagined tranquillity, we are to see ourselves and all beings as ‘expression’.
But Dogen’s idea of ‘expression’ is not to view it as an attribute of the self. If we ungrasp from the grip of the self, even what we understand to be delusion, is in itself expression.