#FOUR ELEMENT TRAINER SERIES#

At Zen River, besides daily morning services there are also midday and evening services during Ango training periods and sesshin. Looking at it from another angle, we could also say that in zazen we are in a prime position to receive Buddha wisdom, whereas in ritual we have an opportunity to give back freely. This corresponds with the basic tenet of Mahayana Buddhism that we all can realize buddhahood but need the help and vision of the bodhisattvas. For example, whereas zazen cultivates our independence and our individual responsibility, in ritual the emphasis is more on our dependency on the Buddhas and ancestors for their instruction and also on our interdependency with all sentient beings.

#FOUR ELEMENT TRAINER SERIES#

The complete curriculum transmitted in the White Plum Lineage involves a series of introductory koans, the collections of the Mumonkan, Hekiganroku, Denkoroku, Shoyoroku, Tozan’s Five Ranks and The Precepts.Ģ) Ritual is seen as an essential counterpart to meditation they complement each other in many ways. More advanced koans deal with the apparent variety within this unity, the inseparability of these two aspects, and the way we can express this paradox in loving speech and beneficial action. Nonrational in character, the koan cuts through dualistic thinking and allows students to experience themselves and the world as one undivided whole. The teacher gives the student a koan as a question and expects a lively response in dokusan (private interview).

In actual practice they are used as meditation devices. These are recorded dialogues between masters and students of old that express the teaching in a nutshell. Koans have proven to be very helpful in this respect. This wonderful ability can be experienced on many different levels, and is for most people hard to appreciate fully without actively questioning conditioned patterns of thoughts and feelings. By turning our own light inward we find more space for people and situations to speak to us directly, so that our responses become more natural and fitting. In its simplicity it is the most natural and at the same time the most difficult practice. In shikantaza one learns to stop interfering with the natural functioning of the mind and to become aware of the basic goodness inherent in all of us. This combination has the advantage of providing a broad range of methods so that the needs of individual students can be met. That means that besides shikantaza, koans are practiced extensively. The lineage that Tenkei Roshi and Myoho Sensei represent belongs to the Soto school of Zen, but is also influenced by the training methods of other schools.

Most obviously they stand for the face-to-face relationship between teacher and student (Buddha), the actual training that is required (Dharma), and a close association with other practitioners (Sangha).Īt Zen River the Three Treasures are articulated in Four Elements of Training:ġ) Meditation, 2) Ritual, 3) Study and 4) Bodhisattva Activity.ġ) Meditation is the main focus of Zen River and serves as a base for all other elements. They are intricately interwoven and can be appreciated on many different levels. Most effective when addressed together, these Treasures are reliable buoys in the sea of confusion. In order to follow through on this grand vision, Buddhist practitioners take refuge in the Three Treasures - the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The joy and happiness found within can naturally bring about an unconditional love for all life and inspire us to contribute to the welfare of others. In Zen training we learn to recognize our Buddha nature and to allow it to manifest freely in everyday-life situations.

Four element trainer