Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast Being Unborn: The Practice of Non-Objectification
Jun 9, 2025
Hunt Anshin Hoffman, a resident practitioner at Upaya Zen Center, shares his personal journey and insights on spiritual practice. He references Meister Eckhart's wisdom, emphasizing the pitfalls of seeking paths that may distract from the essence of truth. Anshin explores moving beyond traditional frameworks to discover a more intimate, engaging approach to life, highlighting moments of awakening during challenging times. His reflections on self-talk and awareness illustrate the transformative power of contemplative practice.
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Stopping Self-Talk's Power
- Hunt Anshin Hoffman shares a turning point during a lockdown when he suddenly stopped his self-talk and negative thoughts for eight hours.
- This moment gave him a profound direct experience of the present moment beyond thinking.
Turning Attention to Awareness
- The practice centers on turning attention inward from external objects to awareness itself, fostering clarity by halting the mind's wandering.
- This non-conceptual mindfulness links deeply to wisdom traditions emphasizing direct experience over thought.
Delusion vs Awakening
- To carry the self forward and illuminate myriad things is delusion, but allowing myriad things to illuminate the self is awakening.
- True wisdom is receptive and arises from allowing experience to shine on oneself, not imposing self onto the world.
