“Originally there is not a single dharma; Why discuss inspiration and training?” -Song of Mind What does it mean if there’s not a single dharma? Are Buddhist teachings empty and meaningless? What are we even doing? There’s a story from the life of the Buddha that this reminds me of. Some monks were arguing about which of the Buddha’s teachings were the most important. (Yes this even happened when the Buddha was alive) The Buddha approached them and said, “With… Read more
February 23, 2021
The Nature of Mind
February 23, 2021 By Daniel Scharpenburg
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“The Nature of Mind is non-arising, What need is there for knowledge and views?” -Niutou Farong, Song of Mind The text “Song of Mind” starts right away with a heavy teaching. Some other texts start with easier teachings and build up from that. This is like getting thrown into the deep end of the pool. We’ve been attaching to our minds and our thoughts as real, important, solid things.. But are they? Thoughts are fleeting. I have this thought,… Read more
February 16, 2021
Niutou Farong and the Song of Mind
February 16, 2021 By Daniel Scharpenburg
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“No Words Can Explain Enlightenment” – Niutou Farong Niutou Farong lived in the 7th century in China. He was a student of the fourth patriarch, which makes him a dharma brother of Hongren, the teacher of Huineng. Farong’s lineage essentially died out. All of modern Zen comes from Huineng. It’s said that he lived in a mountain forest and spent a lot of time hanging out with animals. It’s said that over 300 followers would eventually show up to study… Read more
February 9, 2021
An Invitation for the Patriarch
February 9, 2021 By Daniel Scharpenburg
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An Invitation for the Patriarch. This is Case 3 from the Book of Equanimity. The ruler of a country invited the 27th ancestor Hannyatara for a meal. The ruler asked, “Why don’t you read sutras?” The ancestor replied, “This poor follower of the way , when breathing in does not dwell in the realm of the skandhas, and when breathing out is not caught up in many externals. I always turn countless rolls of sutras.” Hannyatara was Bodhidharma’s teacher. He’s… Read more
February 2, 2021
Bodhidharma’s Vast Emptiness
February 2, 2021 By Daniel Scharpenburg
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Bodhidharma’s Vast Emptiness This is Case 2 from the Book of Equanimity Emperor Wu asked Bodhidharma, “What is the ultimate meaning of the holy truth of Buddhism?” Bodhidharma replied, “Vast Emptiness. No holiness.” The Emperor asked, “Who stands before me?” Bodhidharma replied, “I don’t know.” The Emperor was baffled. Bodhidharma crossed a river, arrived at Shorin, and faced the wall for nine years. Emperor Wu heard of this renowned Buddhist teacher and invited him to his royal court to give… Read more
January 25, 2021
The Buddha Ascends the Platform
January 25, 2021 By Daniel Scharpenburg
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This is case 1 from the Koan collection called “the Book of Equanimity” Case 1. The Buddha Ascends the Platform. The Buddha Ascended the Platform and took his seat. Manjushri struck the sounding post and said, “When you realize the Dharma King’s Dharma, the Dharma is just as it is.” At that, the Buddha descended the platform. When the Buddha goes up, it means he’s about to give a teaching. Manjushri gives a weird announcement for the Buddha’s talk, and… Read more
January 11, 2021
Reasons We Don’t Meditate
January 11, 2021 By Daniel Scharpenburg
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I have this friend who said, “I really want to come to your event, but I’m terrible at meditating.” I want to talk about how hard it is to meditate, because it is very hard. I don’t do it because I’m good at it, I do it because I want to be better at it. So let’s talk about some common obstacles. There’s a list of traditional obstacles to meditation, and they are laziness, agitation, and ill-will. Laziness Laziness is… Read more
January 4, 2021
Three Kinds of Laziness
January 4, 2021 By Daniel Scharpenburg
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Laziness is a thing that we don’t talk about enough, I think. It’s often something that stops us from being consistent in our practice, but also in anything else that we’re doing for our personal development or self-care. It’s very common, and I think everybody struggles with it some. It’s a powerful force and it gets in our way and regularly stops us from working toward our goals. In Buddhism we talk about three different kinds of laziness. We might… Read more
December 14, 2020
Life Advice From the Buddha
December 14, 2020 By Daniel Scharpenburg
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I think that at times we get caught up talking about the Buddha too much in Buddhism. I think we need to remember that this isn’t about his spiritual journey, it’s about yours. At the same time, I was thinking about how I’m going to talk about where all of this comes from and I can’t really side-step talking about the Buddha. So I’m going to talk about him, but more importantly I’m going to talk about what he figured… Read more
December 7, 2020
The Buddha and the Truth About Suffering
December 7, 2020 By Daniel Scharpenburg
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Today I’m going to talk to you about the Buddha. I think that at times we get caught up talking about the Buddha too much in Buddhism. I think we need to remember that this isn’t about his spiritual journey, it’s about yours. At the same time, I was thinking about how I’m going to talk about where all of this comes from and I can’t really side-step talking about the Buddha. So I’m going to talk about him, but… Read more
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