Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast Silent Illumination and the Practice of Wonderment (Part 2)
Sep 1, 2025
Guo Gu, a Zen teacher known for guiding the embodiment of silent illumination, leads listeners through a transformative experience focusing on posture and presence. He takes participants on a guided meditation that enhances body awareness and relaxation techniques, emphasizing the importance of mindful sitting. The conversation explores self-massage as a way to deepen mindfulness and grounding in the moment. Guo Gu shares gratitude for community and the Bodhisattva vows, fostering a sense of connection within the practice.
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Use Self-Massage To Reawaken The Body
- After sitting, do self-massage to awaken and integrate bodily sensation before moving.
- Rub palms, cover eyes with warm hands, massage scalp, neck, shoulders, chest, and limbs to enliven the body.
Groundedness Outlasts Form
- As body relaxation deepens, parts of the body can 'disappear' while groundedness remains prominent.
- That shift reveals the persistent field of embodied experiencing beneath transient sensations.
Investigate The Juncture Before Thought
- Silent Illumination is wakeful, non-discursive experiencing that investigates the juncture before thought arises.
- The practice is a nonverbal, curious questioning into 'what is this?' at the point of raw experience.