Scheduled Events
Monday afternoons zazenkai at 3:00-5:00 p.m. approx. Pacific time in the BHZ Zoom zendo.
Friday mornings zazenkai at 8:30-10:30 a.m. approx. Pacific time in the BHZ Zoom zendo.
You may generally find out about or join with a Zoom event directly from the calendar.
Monday Afternoon Rotation:
1st Mondays: Topic
2nd Mondays: Koan*
Dipa Ma and the Thief
Hidden Lamp, page 322
A student of Depa Ma had his radio stolen from his car, something that had happened to him several times before. When he told Dipa Ma, she burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” the student asked.
Dipa Ma answered, “You must have been a thief in a former lifetime. How many more times do you think you will need to have your radio stolen? What did you do? What was your reaction when the car was broken into?
The student replied, “I was really angry because it’s happened so many times.”
She looked at him in amazement. “You mean you didn’t even think about the man who took your radio – how sad his life must be?”
She closed her eyes and started chanting quietly to herself, offering metta for the thief.
Questions:
How do you remember that someone who hurts or angers you does so out of his or her own suffering?
How is life different if it is lived with that view?
Book of Serenity
Shinji Shobogenzo
Blue Cliff Record
Gateless Barrier
Iron Flute
Steps for working with the Hidden Lamp
3rd Mondays: Tonglen practice
4th Mondays: Metta practice
5th Mondays: Topic
