When launching the Buddhist Poetry Festival in 2018, David Hinton was one of the first writers who came to mind and it was no accident that we scheduled him to open up the event on the first morning. Hinton bridges past and present, distinguishing himself as one of the foremost translators of ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy working today. His translations strive for accuracy while coaxing the aesthetic potential out of each phrase. The results are fresh takes on early Daoist and Buddhist literature, inviting us into the heart/mind of practitioners who lived centuries and even millennia before today.
After many years of publishing highly lauded books of translations and essays about translation, Shambhala Publications recently brought out an original collection of Hinton’s own poetry, influenced by the hermits, scholars, and monastics of antiquity that he’s studied so deeply. At the Buddhist Poetry Festival, he read from that new collection, Desert, on the cusp of its release. He also read from No-Gate Gateway, a recent translation of Master Wumen’s koan collection, and from Mountain Home, an anthology of ancient Chinese poetry that helped cement Hinton’s reputation when it was first published in 2002.
Following the reading, festival director Hokyu JL Aronson sat down with David Hinton for this live conversation that also included the festival audience.
A video of the reading, featuring Achong Jusan Chen reading some of the poems in their original, classical Chinese:
Learn more about David Hinton on his website, or click here to visit the festival’s website.
In September, Zen Mountain Monastery hosted the biannual conference of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association for three full days of practice, discussion and exploration. Close to 70 ordained priests and transmitted teachers joined the conference, representing dozens of training centers and sitting groups throughout North America. Following the conference, we spoke with Tenku Ruff who serves as the president of the SZBA Board of Directors and was very involved in the organization of the event. CLICK HERE to see photos from the conference. (more…)
Bear Gokan Bonebakker, Senior Monastic and Dharma Holder
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday 01/29/2023
From Zen Master Hakuin’s “Song of Zazen”
At the conclusion to our New Year’s sesshin, Mn. Gokan explores “Song of Zazen,” an 18th century poem by Master Hakuin Ekaku. This text has served as an inspirational touchstone for generations of practitioners and is even chanted at some Zen temples as part of their daily liturgy. “The gateway to freedom,” Hakuin promises, “is zazen samadhi.” Gokan explains this as having complete investment in our practice, which means in any activity we’re engaged in. He encourages us to develop “enthusiasm for meeting the rigors of practice” with a “joyful effort” and goes on to summarize that effort—and Hakuin’s intent—with the following prescription: “Don’t grasp, don’t crave, don’t push away, relax the mind, stop fighting with yourself; be gentle.”
Robert Rakusan Ricci, Senior Monastic
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Thursday 01/26/2023
Acting with reverence and devotion, acting with faith, with a willingness to be open to whatever arises in our experience… Is this all prayer? Inspired by a Ken McLeod essay, “Where the Thinking Stops”, and drawing on a song of Leonard Cohen, “Lady Midnight”, and the teachings of the mystics, Rakusan encourages us to keep going above and beyond ourselves and see how and where prayer fills our lives.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Wednesday 01/25/2023
From The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana (traditionally attributed to Asvaghosa)
What does Faith mean and what does it encompass in our Buddhist tradition? In this 3-part series, based on this text, Shugen Roshi talks about the Aspiration to Awakening Through Faith and it’s many aspects which are the essentials of Buddhist teachings and practices.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday 01/22/2023
On this auspicious day, Shugen Roshi officiated the shukke tokudo ceremony for Jeffrey Kien Martin. Tokudo marks the formal taking of monastic vows and, in our tradition, expresses a lifetime commitment to the Monastery. Kien was given the monastic name Jogo, the meaning of which Shugen Roshi beautifully explains near the end of the ceremony. In short, it can be interpreted as “Steady Strength.”
Degna Chikei Levister, MRO Senior Lay Student
Zen Center of New York City, Fire Lotus Temple, Sunday 01/15/2023
This talk is part of a special Sunday morning program commemorating the life and teachings of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Fire Lotus Temple and Zen Mountain Monastery.
Senior student Degna Chikei Levister draws from Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and gives voice to his compassionate, courageous words and actions. Chikei connects Dr. King’s teachings to Buddhist teachings, expanding on his lived message to “attack forces of evil, not persons doing evil” when addressing racism and other forms of oppression.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday 01/08/2023
From Master Dogen’s 300 Koan Shobogenzo (The True Dharma Eye), Case 105 – “The Hands and Eyes of Great Compassion”
In this New Year’s season of reflections and resolutions, Shugen Roshi encourages us to turn our attention toward the great Bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara, and to look incisively into how they operate within our own lives.
Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei
Zen Center of New York City, Fire Lotus Temple, Sunday 01/08/2023
Hojin Sensei speaks about the simple and profound practice of breathing. The breath, she shares, brings us into the body and into the present, gradually unifying body and mind.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Saturday, New Year’s Eve 12/31/2022
Teisho during the Rohatsu Sesshin Fusatsu Ceremony
Shugen Roshi reflects on the vitality of actualized vows in the context of the Paramitas, and urges us to recognize and nurture the basic quality of kindness in our intentions and actions.
Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei
Zen Center of New York City, Fire Lotus Temple, Saturday, New Year’s Eve 12/31/2022
Dharma Talk during the New Year’s Eve Fusatsu Ceremony
Hojin Sensei welcomes in the new year with a Fusatsu at Fire Lotus Temple. She invokes the power of vows and the importance of choosing them well.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Friday 12/30/2022
From the Book of Serenity, Case 67 – The Flower Ornament Scripture’s “Wisdom”
Shugen Roshi talks about the Scriptures as the Body of Wisdom. That’s not simply a metaphor; that’s the wisdom of direct experience over the ages. Each and every one of us are intimately included in that living body. We make it whole.