Forest City Zen Group

10/04/2023

Zazen and Dharma Talk by special Guest, Thursday, 26 October, 7:30 pm.

Soto shu in Japan will be commemorating the 700th anniversary of Keizan Zenji's passing in April 2024 in Japan. Keizan Zenji is considered one of the two founders of the Soto Zen School in Japan, alongside Dogen Zenji. In Japan, Keizan is recognized as the main contributor to the spread of Dharma ac...

04/14/2023

23 April: Kuden Paul Boyle will be giving a Dharma Talk at 9:40 am after one period of zazen (starting at 9:00 am). The topic of the talk will be "Non-duality". See:

Kuden Paul Boyle will offer some commentary on what is meant by the term “non-duality” — how is it used in Buddhism and how approach this teaching in zazen practice.

03/26/2023

Here is a link to the latest FCZG Dharma Talk. The topic is 'Dizang's "Not Knowing is Most Intimate"'.

There is a famous exchange between Fayan and Luohan Guichen, the abbot of Dizang monastery which was recorded in The Transmission of the Lamp and goes like this:1

03/18/2023

Sunday, 26 March: Kuden Paul Boyle will give a Dharma Talk at 9:40 am after one period of zazen (starting at 9 am). The topic will be "Dizang's, 'Not knowing is most intimate." See:

Kuden Paul Boyle will offer some commentary on the famous exchange of Luohan Guichen, abbot of Dizang monastery, and Fayan. The exchanges goes:

02/26/2023

Here is a link to the Dharma Talk I gave earlier today at the Forest City Zen Group:

Tung-shan is credited with being one of the founders of Soto Zen. After his death The Record of Tung-shan was compiled which includes excerpts from lectures and exchanges with monks. One of the exchanges1 reads,

01/14/2023

Tomorrow's "Zazen and a Dharma Talk" will be an online event. Zazen starts at 9:00 am and the talk will start at 9:40 am. Please see this link for the event Zoom invite:

Topic: “Anutpittikadharmaksanti”This talk will be given as an online talk via Zoom. The talk will be an introduction to anutpattikadharmakshanti (translated as “the tolerance of unproduced dharmas”) and how this teaching manifests in Soto Zen practice. This invite for the Zoom talk is:https:...

10/23/2022

Here is a link to the Dharma Talk I gave simultaneously to the FCZG (in-person) and the Chapel Hill Zen Center (via Zoom).

Today, I would like to talk about practising with the Bodhisattva Precepts from a conventional point of view. For those of you who are not familiar with the precepts, they constitute the ethical base of Zen practice. In Soto Zen, we follow the sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts. These are divided into thr...

09/19/2022

I'll be giving a Dharma Talk on Sunday, 25 September at 10:30 am. This will be both an in person talk at the FCZG as well as a Zoom talk given to the Chapel Hill Zen Center. If you want to attend via Zoom, here is the invite: www.zoom.us/j/85659804526

The title of the talk is "Purity and the Sacred".

COVID Protocol for in person attendance: Please wear a 3-ply surgical mask (or better) and please be prepared to show proof of full vaccination (full set of shots plus booster).

08/07/2022

Here is a talk I gave on Zazen instruction. It was an in person talk at the Forest City Zen Group and it was presented via Zoom to the Chapel Hill Zen Center in North Carolina.

When I give zazen instructions, I find myself saying the same or similar things most of the times. It occurred to me that I could take what I usually say during zazen instructions and try to fashion the instructions into a Dharma talk. This is what I’ve come up with based on that idea; I will disc...

11/27/2021

Here is a compilation of a series of five talks on Dogen's "Bodaisatta Shishobo" (The Bodhisattva's Four Methods of Guidance) which I gave last fall.

The activity of a Bodhisattva is characterized by the practice of the Six Perfections and the fulfilling of the Four Bodhisattva Vows. Both teachings are both broad and deep. It is good practice to work with these teachings in all of their inconceivability. However, it is also good to work with them...

02/21/2021

Here is the text to the Dharma Talk given (via Zoom) to the Forest City Zen Group. http://forestcityzen.org/rakusu-and-the-precepts

Other talks can be found here: http://forestcityzen.org/dharma-talks-1

For those of you who are newer to Zen or Buddhism, the precepts are the ethical guidelines in Buddhist practice. Some practitioners decide they want to “receive the precepts” as part of their practice. For me, precept practice points to the same thing at which zazen points, and a lot of what we ...

11/29/2020

The Forest City Zen Group practising outdoor socially distanced zazen with falling snow. Dress properly and sitting zazen in colder weather is possible and even comfortable!