Rev. Vivian is an American monk of our order and is usually resident at Still Flowing Water Hermitage in California. The hermitage is located in Dutch Flat, a tiny village in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 25 miles east of Auburn, California. Rev. Vivian visited the temple for a few days in August 2023 and kindly gave this Dharma Talk at the Festival of Great Master Dōgen.
Continue reading →Rev. Master Daishin, the former abbot of Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey, visited the temple in July 2023 and gave a Dharma Talk on Zazen.
Continue reading →Bodhidharma meets Emperor Wu . The Emperor asks him what merit he has accrued from his widespread support of Buddhism, and Bodhidharma replies, “No merit”. The Emperor then asks, “What is the most holy teaching”, and Bodhidharma replies, “There is nothing holy”.
When the Emperor asks who it is that is facing him, Bodhidharma replies, “I don’t know.” Following this meeting, Bodhidharma headed north to the neighbouring Kindom of Wei, where he sat in silent meditation at Shaolin Monastery.
This talk discusses Bodhidharma’s meeting with the Emperor, and the very direct answers which he gives to the Emperor’s questions. These discuss the nature of giving and merit, and reveal Bodhidharma’s understanding of what Buddhist practice is.
Continue reading →This talk is an introduction to the Sandōkai. It is based on the translation used within the OBC, but also refers to two other translations.
The title of the Sandōkai is often translated as something like The Merging of Difference and Unity. The scripture discusses two seemingly different ways of seeing the world: seeing things as separate entities, and seeing the unity of all things. It uses the image of darkness and light to show how these two go together.
Continue reading →Rev. Aiden Hall, Turning Wheel Buddhist Temple This talk was given at the Festival of Great Master Dōgen at Turning Wheel Buddhist Temple. Great Master Dōgen was a thirteenth century Japanese monk. He has a very important place in our tradition, as he brought the Sōtō Zen school of Buddhism from China to Japan. The talk focusses on the following sentences from the opening section of Dōgen’s Sushōgi: “The most important question for all Buddhists Is how to understand birth … Continue reading →
Rev. Aiden Hall, Turning Wheel Buddhist Temple This talk was given at the Festival of Achalanatha Bodhisattva at Turning Wheel Buddhist Temple. Achalanatha, whose name means the “immovable one”, is shown sitting in meditation in the midst of the flames of greed, hate and delusion. Through meditation we begin to see the importance of coming to know the nature of these flames, as it is only by knowing how we feed them that we can come to let go of … Continue reading →
Rev. Aiden Hall, Turning Wheel Buddhist Temple This talk was given at the Festival of Manjusri Bodhisattva at Turning Wheel Buddhist Temple. Manjusri is the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. An important aspect of the wisdom that Manjusri points to is the practical wisdom to understand the ways in which we cause harm and suffering, and to refrain from these. It can seem to us as though we have a “bodhisattva” aspect – we want to live well and to benefit beings … Continue reading →
Rev. Aiden Hall, Turning Wheel Buddhist Temple The Buddhist Precepts are the moral and ethical framework of Buddhism. The life of the Precepts is the life of Buddha, and if we are serious about Buddhist practice then this necessarily involves committing ourselves to living by the Precepts. This commitment comes from within, and doesn’t require any validation or acknowledgement from outside. However, it is extremely helpful if we do publicly commit ourselves by taking lay ordination, as this helps and … Continue reading →
Rev. Berwyn Watson, Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey Rev. Berwyn is a senior monk at Throssel Hole and visited the temple recently. He gave this talk at the Precepts Morning on the 12th March 2016. Rev. Berwyn: “Training seems to me to involve choosing a certain way of living or relating to the world. It’s the choice to be a consumer of the world; hoping to get something out of it OR – to open up to what existence IS and … Continue reading →
Rev. Aiden Hall, Turning Wheel Buddhist Temple This talk was given at the Festival of the Buddha’s Renunciation at Turning Wheel Buddhist Temple in March 2016. Renunciation, or letting go, is central to Buddhist practice, and the story of the Buddha’s Renunciation is a way of conveying the importance of this. In the story, the Buddha makes a big change in his circumstances by leaving his family. Is this what we each need to do? Is the story really about … Continue reading →
