July 2017

Martha, Martha What is Charity? by Ming Zhen Shakya

by Yao Xiang Shakya
July 30, 2017August 8, 2017

Do you wonder what Buddhist charity is? Or charity itself? Ming Zhen uses an old, familiar Christian story to help us understand.

To What….Do You Ascribe Things? by Fashi Lao Yue

by Yao Xiang Shakya
July 30, 2017July 30, 2017

Who gets the credit? How about the blame? Fashi Lao Yue looks at our common tendency to take the credit and give the blame….and gives some suggestions about practice.

Ask a Master: What is the Most Important Daily Practice for a Zen Monk?

by Yao Xiang Shakya
July 28, 2017August 5, 2017

There is so much to do every day….how do you sort out what is important for your spiritual practice. If you have ever wondered what is important in Zen practice Fashi Yao Xin Shakya gives a bright answer to those who want to know.

The Heart, the Intellect & the Ass by Fashi Lao Yue

by Yao Xiang Shakya
July 20, 2017

“Faith is rarely where your head is at. Nor is it where your heart is at. Faith is where your ass is at! Daniel Berrigan

How many times have you wanted to give up, walk away, quit? Fashi Lao Yue tells us faith is in the ass, not in the head or the heart.

Be Resolute from the Beginning

by Yao Xiang Shakya
July 18, 2017July 18, 2017

While it is wonderful to hear, “I love you,” there’s nothing quite like having someone tell you, “You changed my life.” J.J. Virgin

This essay of our dear Ming Zhen Shakya was the first essay I read by her….and believe me when I tell you, IT changed my life. Lao Yue Shakya

Lunar Communion….Who Knew?

by Yao Xiang Shakya
July 12, 2017

Our Dear Ming Zhen reminds us of the loss of Wisdom in her discovery of holy communion on the moon. Where is Wisdom? Spirituality? Today….in an ever-increasing division when news is ‘fake’ and truth is undermined would she still say bring Wisdom back?

Ask a Master: What are the Most Important Sutras in Chan?

by Yao Xiang Shakya
July 11, 2017July 23, 2017

From time immemorial students have sought out a spiritual adept for direction. In today’s question, a student wanted to know the most sought after sutras in a Chan practice. Our master, Fa Shi Yao Xin Shakya answers in a most Zen manner. See for yourself.

How Do We Find the Field of Emptiness? Of Love?

by Yao Xiang Shakya
July 9, 2017July 9, 2017

Fashi Lao Yue helps us understand the ever present, ever lasting spiritual work before us with a bit of help from Rumi.
“Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a field. … When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’ doesn’t make any sense.”

How to Find God on the Zen Path: The Heart Sutra, The Thread of Love by Fashi Lao Yue

by Yao Xiang Shakya
July 3, 2017July 3, 2017

When a bird gets free it doesn’t return to the remnant on the bottom of the cage. (Rumi) Fashi Lao Yue offers a short intensive on the path of the Heart Sutra.

Avalokiteshvara while practicing deeply with the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore,
suddenly discovered that all of the five Skandhas are equally empty, and with this realisation he overcame all Ill-being.
Thich Nhat Hanh translation.