Dharma Talks

What is whole-heartedness in practice? As beginners, we often practice for the sake of the self and its suffering. Tozan’s second Cycle of Merit poem (Kokun Goi) invites us into the season of practicing for others. We realize it is not just about the self, but that we are part of a larger flow of practice. Let us go further into the jumbled peaks.

As we let go of our usual pressing forward, our usual dominant mind, we see that something comes to meet us. Form and reflection behold each other. One of the practices of this season is to look, really look, and forget what we know.

Seido invites us into the first of the Kokun Goi—the “Cycle of Merit” poems corresponding to Tozan’s Five Ranks. We are invited to...

In the dark, the darkening of the mind The mind that is spent of its thoughts and stories And the silence envelopes you Something alive...

Tozan’s Five Ranks, or Seasons, are poems describing the flow of practice through absolute and relative truth. Kyogen Carlson talked...