Dharma Talks
given at Gaia House
2011-04-21
An Ordinary Person's Life
60:49
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Stephen Batchelor
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The story of Ch'an Master Teshan; through Ch'an (Zen) the Chinese make Buddhism their own - a similar challenge faces us in the West today; the practice of 'What is this?' is the practice of the First Noble Truth: dukkha; how Zen fits into the context of the Four Truths; the Four Truths and the Four Great Vows; the self who practices the path is neither existent nor non-existent; Layman P'ang: chopping wood and carrying water.
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Gaia House
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The Zen Retreat
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2011-04-19
Where the Mind has Nowhere to Rest
65:42
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Stephen Batchelor
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Hui-neng's definition of sitting meditation; the middle way as the avoiding of the 'deadends' of existence and non-existence; the Greek philosopher Pyrrho as an example of a similar attitude; Hui-ko asks Bodhidharma to 'set his mind at rest'; the infinity of things; emptiness as the unfindability of things; to question 'what is this' is the practice of such emptiness that neither affirms nor denies anything.
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Gaia House
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The Zen Retreat
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2011-04-17
Coming to Terms with Birth and Death
49:09
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Stephen Batchelor
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Reflections on the nature of 'religion'; the Buddha's awakening as a resolution of the questions posed by life itself; Zen as a 'direct pointing to the heart, independent of scripture'; the aim of Buddhist practice is the achievement of autonomy; towards the possibility of a 'secular religion'.
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Gaia House
:
The Zen Retreat
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