Dharma Encounter: Dwelling in Refuge

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - Zen Mountain Monastery, 04/02/2023 - Dharma Encounter at the conclusion of the 2023 Founding Sesshin; On passages from Dogen's Fascicle "Undivided Activity" and from the Buddha's teaching in the "Maha-Parinirvana Sutra." - Dogen teaches: "Birth is just like riding a boat, although you control the boat you could not ride without the boat..." And the Buddha teaches: "you are your refuge, unto yourself... there is no other refuge..."; "take yourself as your island..." i.e. you have everything you need within yourself... How do we take refuge within ourselves? How is that taking refuge in the three treasures? Dogen refers to the boat as something of our own making. What is that? How are we to be our own refuge when that 'self' that we turn to can be deluded and unclear or untrustworthy? Shugen Roshi and Ango participants take up these questions.

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The Mountains and Rivers Order (MRO) is a Western Zen Buddhist lineage established by the late John Daido Loori Roshi and dedicated to sharing the dharma as it has been passed down, generation to generation, since the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. Zen Mountain Monastery, the main house of the Mountains and Rivers Order, is one of the West’s most respected Zen Buddhist monasteries and training centers. Nestled in New York’s beautiful Catskill Mountains, the Monastery draws its strength from the ancient tradition of Buddhist monasticism. Since 1980, the Monastery has offered spiritual practitioners traditional and innovative ways to engage the dharma through a wide range of retreats and residential programs that unfold within the context of authentic, full-time Zen monastic training. The Zen Center of New York City: Fire Lotus Temple is the city branch of Zen Mountain Monastery. Supporting home practitioners in the metropolitan area, ZCNYC offers varied practice opportunities within the Eight Gates training matrix.