The Zen Studies Podcast

Listeners dive into the intriguing moral paradox of why Buddhists aren't universally vegan despite a commitment to non-harming. The discussion unpacks the delicate art of letting go of thoughts, explaining how it differs from mere suppression. Delving deeper, the conversation highlights the interplay between dissatisfaction and motivation, exploring how compassionate actions can stem from both discontent and a profound appreciation for life. Ultimately, it reflects on the beauty of acts driven by empathy in a world of suffering.

Bodhisattva Activity is enacting vows to free all beings as well as yourself. This is an acknowledgment that you are interdependent with all beings and things, and such an aspiration can give a sense of purpose and direction to your whole life. Of course, it’s impossible to fulfill this vow literally, and when you try to put it into action it is no easy matter! It requires tangible engagement with the world, including other people. If you hide out in comfort, you’re unlikely to transcend self-centeredness. If you rely only on your own resources, you’re likely to exhaust yourself and limit your impact. How do you even decide what Bodhisattva Activity to undertake? There is much to be learned by practicing in this Field of Zen, which inoculates you against the delusion that you can attain true peace of mind by ignoring the suffering of others.

In Episode 272, I discussed the third chapter of Zen Master Keizan’s book The Denkoroku, or the Record of the Transmission of Illumination. In the interest of thoroughness, I figured I’d start back at chapter one, with Shakyamuni Buddha’s “I and All Beings.” This text explores the nature of enlightenment and the tension between individuality and non-separation.

The eighth Field of Zen Practice is Realization, gaining a direct, personal experience of the truth. Realization helps you respond appropriately, allowing you to live by choice instead of by karma. Even more importantly, it gives you a larger perspective that can result in equanimity, even joy. There are different levels of truth, and the Dharma – Reality-with-a-Capital-R – is the biggest truth of all. Fortunately, it is a wonderful and liberating truth to wake up to. However, it’s important to understand that there is no “Realization” you can attain that means you know everything. The truth is infinite and there is always more to awaken to and embody.

This episode is the second half of the seventh chapter of my book-in-progress, The Ten Fields of Zen: A Primer for Practitioners. Listen to/read the previous episode (288) first, where I talk about the importance of Opening Your Heart and how that effort is viewed in the Buddhist tradition. In that episode I also discussed the four Brahmaviharas – goodwill, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. I finish the chapter in this episode by covering self-acceptance, practicing with the real, human relationships in your life, and Opening Your Heart in Sangha.

The seventh Field of Zen Practice is Opening Your Heart. Working explicitly to open your heart not only benefits other living beings, it puts you in accord with the Dharma and supports all other aspects of your practice. You work on radical self-acceptance to make Awakening and compassion possible.  You work on real and personal relationships with other beings – overcoming your social fears, becoming more willing to be seen and known, learning to be authentic, and recognizing the Buddha-Nature manifested in others. Ultimately, self and other are not separate; in practice, you seek to manifest and realize this simultaneously.

In a time of political divisiveness, many of us look to the three treasures of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha for solace, strength, and guidance. I offer a few Dharma teachings I have found useful for practicing in tumultuous times.

In the last episode, I offered seven points about the role of Dukkha in our life and practice and discussed the first five points. In this episode I’ll finish the discussion with point #6: Buddhism offers a holistic approach to alleviating Dukkha, including maximizing our overall spiritual health, working with our karma, and curing its ultimate cause, and point #7: Even when our Dukkha is not extreme, it is a sign of lingering false views, so we continue to pay close attention to it and seek to end it.

While physical and emotional pain, discomfort, and longing are an inevitable part of human life, Dukkha is existential angst we add to such experiences, ranging from subtle uneasiness to acute anguish. It drives our unhealthy or harmful behaviors, so we seek to end Dukkha for the sake of self and others. Buddhism offers a holistic approach to doing this, including maximizing our overall spiritual health and working with our karma. However, Buddhism’s radical teaching is that Dukkha is a symptom of underlying spiritual illness caused by false views - so, through practice, our spiritual illness can be cured, and Dukkha ended.

It’s challenging to make our Dharma practice continuous – maintaining awareness and appropriate conduct each moment of our lives. In his essay Gyoji, or “Continuous Practice,” Zen Master Dogen doesn’t offer practical tips for mindfulness and pure conduct in everyday life, but instead challenges our limited ideas about what practice is. In this episode (part 2), I continue discussing four points I think Dogen makes about Gyoji.