Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday 08/29/2021
From the Book of Serenity – Case 21: Ungan Sweeps the Ground
In this concluding talk to Hazy Moon Sesshin, Shugen Roshi explores how we can sabotage our own best efforts in the midst of our practice. We set aside the time to cultivate compassion and clarity in the midst of three treasures, and yet we still get caught in distractions and self-pity. This is why Buddhism has always taught the skillfulness of looking directly at dukkha, dissatisfaction and suffering. They remind us of the importance of practice. “Else we may stray off some dusty road.” Else we may fool ourselves into thinking we can’t be of benefit in the world. Else we may forget how cultivation is inseparable from the world.
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday Morning 08/15/2021
From The Book of Serenity, Case 75 – Ruiyan’s ‘Constant Principle’
Shugen Roshi asks “What is change?”. Impermanence means that nothing stays the same. We want to escape suffering and we crave pleasure. Our very behavior creates suffering as we cling to things that are impermanent and try to escape what is unpleasant. So the question is: “How can we be free from suffering?” Roshi suggests that a first step would be to practice patience.
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday Morning 08/08/2021
From The Blue Cliff Record, Case 56 – Ch’in Shan’s One Arrowpoint Smashes 3 Barriers
Shugen Roshi chose this koan to coincide with the conclusion to our annual kyudo retreat that ran throughout the week at the Monastery. From the standpoint of the practitioner, the three barriers might be the three poisons: greed, anger and ignorance. Or the three marks of existence: impermanence, suffering, and emptiness of self. It could be whatever seems to be posing a problem. When we insist on maintaining our own delusion, including the delusion of our barriers and our separation from true reality, we need to call forth the master within the barrier. This is the one who truly knows, the archer who is not separate from the target.
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday Morning 08/01/2021
From The Book of Serenity, Case 19 – Ummon’s Mount Sumeru
Apologies for the microphone problem during the first 10 seconds obscuring Shugen Roshi’s voice for the first sentence of the koan: “The pointer: I always admire the novel devices of Master Ummon.”
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday Morning 07/25/2021
From Master Dongshan’s Five Ranks
Shugen Roshi teaches that the “Five Ranks” describing stages of realization in Zen Buddhism can seem remote and abstract, but in essence they address the question of how to live fully in the world, peacefully and joyfully, without conflict. They are aspects of the interrelationship of our relative, moment to moment existence, and the absolute nature of reality, and so are never far away at all.
Here, in Part 3, Shugen Roshi takes up the 4th and 5th Ranks: “Arrival at Mutual Integration” and “Unity Attained”.
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Saturday Afternoon 07/24/2021
From Master Dongshan’s Five Ranks
Shugen Roshi teaches that the “Five Ranks” describing stages of realization in Zen Buddhism can seem remote and abstract, but in essence they address the question of how to live fully in the world, peacefully and joyfully, without conflict. They are aspects of the interrelationship of our relative, moment to moment existence, and the absolute nature of reality, and so are never far away at all.
Here, in Part 2, Shugen Roshi takes up the Third Rank: “Coming from within the Real”. Habitually, we experience the World as objects including ourselves and others. All forms seem different and we mistakenly see ourselves as distinct from everything else. How can we shift this perception and see the interdependence of all things? Roshi talks about the importance of zazen in settling into this realization.
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Wednesday Evening 07/21/2021
Dongshan’s Five Ranks
Shugen Roshi teaches that the “Five Ranks” describing stages of realization in Zen Buddhism can seem remote and abstract, but in essence they address the question of how to live fully in the world, peacefully and joyfully, without conflict. They are aspects of the interrelationship of our relative, moment to moment existence, and the absolute nature of reality, and so are never far away at all.
Teachings From Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo: “Continuous Practice”
In this third talk on Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo fascicle “Continuous Practice”, Shugen Roshi asks us to reflect on these questions: How do we embody our potential as enlightened beings? How do we bring forth a life well lived as we’re living it? How can we be at ease within this human body and not be bound by fixed ideas of the self?
Teachings From Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo: “Continuous Practice”
Continuing from his discourse of June 23rd, Shugen Roshi draws from Master Dogen’s fascicle to encourage us to shed confusion and use every opportunity to practice.
Teachings From Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo: “Continuous Practice”
Master Dogen says that our practice affects the entire Earth and the entire Sky in the Ten Directions. Shugen Roshi speaks about this as a responsibility that we as Bodhisattvas take up, of continuous and sustained practice.
Gateless Gate, Case 16 – “The Bell Sound and the Priest’s Robe”
At the conclusion of this month’s introductory “Zen Training Weekend”, Shugen Roshi evokes our Zen path; a path which is not something separate; it’s our life, it’s the whole of what we are.
Monastic Ordination for Yusen Taikyo Gilman and Josen Hokyu Aronson
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Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, 6/6/2021
On June 6th, the Monastery held the first double monastic ordination in our 40+ year history. Shugen Roshi officiated this shukke tokudo ceremony for Suzanne Taikyo Gilman and Hokyu JL Aronson. Tokudo marks the formal taking of monastic vows and, in our tradition, expresses a lifetime commitment to the Monastery. Taikyo was given the monastic name Yusen, meaning Courageous & Devoted River, and Hokyu was given the monastic name Josen, which Shugen Roshi translated as Humble Mystic.
How do we harmonize inner and outer and learn to understand the expression of dualities? As there will always be more for us to learn, how can we go forth knowing that at each stage of our life we are functioning within a degree of ignorance and blindness? Master Ch’ien-feng’s answer is: “With humility”. The mind of the person on the way gets transformed from samsaric hunger to the appetite of a seeker. Shugen Roshi suggests that we can delight in our hunger to know more rather than be distressed by our ignorance. This is not an egotistic process however; we should remember that our seeking must be for everyone.
Blue Cliff Record, Case 57 – Zhaozhou’s “Stupid Oaf”
In the language of the Dharma, how is “the self” a barrier, and how is it different from our true nature? The challenge when hearing an insult is to see into our own suffering——reactivity and delusion——as the stuff which are the barriers themselves. Shugen Roshi asks the question: While our basic nature is good, happy and peaceful, how do we practice when suffering seems all pervasive? How do we investigate our delusions, remembering that all beings have buddha nature?
Blue Cliff Record, Case 58 – Zhaozhou’s Can’t Explain.
As we share this earth with countless other creatures, we easily forget that we come from one primordial source. In the Dharma we can recognize that each being is a manifestation of one great body. So then, Shugen Roshi asks, why do we make it so complicated? From the perspective of our deluded views, everything is separate and apart, but even this view is the path of awakening to our true nature.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi