วีดีโอ

This is very helpful and timely. 🙏

Thank you. Happy to spend this time with you this morning. 🙏

my Son hanged himself 4 Weeks ago in the forest... I showed him ALL those "techniques" no way to reach him... Anxiety racing to panic can be suicidal unstoppable Life is difficult enough without “panic”

I appreciate the details and specificity... Thank you.

Thank you Stephen - a potent meditation 🖤

Hi Stephen. Appreciate your videos.🙏Do you have instructions for 4 Elements Meditation?

Waking up Like falling asleep Surrendering to Nowhere to go

Great meditation but it doesn't work if you are continually interrupted by adverts.

Nice to see some Theravada/Zen syncretism. I've always wondered why, if many of the practices of Theravada and Zen were not that dissimilar, one would emphasize the non-dual quality of it while the other did not. To me, as someone with a mere intellectual interest, that suggests that the phenomenology of the states are shaped by the expectations of the traditions. As someone who has studied both, have you seen evidence of the expectations of the tradition informing the experience of the practitioner?

Mind Soul God are mythological concepts the body brain is real. There is lower and higher consciousness Higher consciousness is awareness of the myth of Mind Soul God. Lower consciousness is a by product of functional brain.

He typically misses out the Bharatian origins and that Japanese and Chinese people are Aryadharmic not CCP

Now you're referencing those loops, which in some of my musical pieces I do avoid. It's all over the media. We think, for example, of Nationalities in terms of rugby or cricket matches, we fail to see the Evil around us, and we fail to see how we're all in this. Whenever a new dungeon is discovered in Perth, someone in Poland maybe will say "we're better, this doesn't happen here." And they are wrong, of course. The rat kind is in the underground, infesting everything, we common mortals need visas and a whole lot of money to travel everywhere and contemplate the Evil.

No. That's the thing. A Koan maybe. "There's gifts in store for everyone that has respect." :)

The short answer is this, and it is true. Perhaps Tricky wants to see more, before he's giving you the gift. Don't worry too much. I probably read a book and half, maybe?? :))

Yet, once Enlightenment comes in, one serves. And they continue to serve. That's the thing. It's not that they serve, whether they want it or not, they want to serve very much :))

In my understanding "no-self" means the subject is not one bit preoccupied about their own person. The self isn't there, therefore.

Well, the first question to ask, immediately, after the previous statement was accepted is the following. Why are we here right now, and not in The Pure Land?? I am afraid I do not know the answer to this one... :))

Regarding the distinction between Heaven and Earth. As I said previously. When anybody's got any form of doubts, they should remember The Pure Land as a true fact, in whatever way, shape or form they imagine a true fact to be. The Pure Land is a true fact!

Gassho!

Thanks Mugen!

Thank you for this teaching on Shikantaza and also for publishing the guided Shikantaza videos which I found to be very helpful. I heard a very similar explanation of the stages of Silent Illumination while studying Chan in the past. I wonder whether these stages correspond directly to different jhanas or would they be now considered different teachings?

I found this meditation very healing and moving. Powerfully held by love. Thank you Stephen 🤍

🙏🙏🙏

Thank you Stephen I LOVE this meditation!💗

It seems than that the cessation experience is total opposite from the Absolute and that implies Duality again. I have always struggled to reconcile my Buddhist practice and my faith in the Absolute and you are the only who has talked about both them existing. Can you please clarify on my first point. Thank you so much for your videos Stephen 🙏

Thank you for your commitment to realizing the bodhisattva path for our benefit 🙏

I think you are correct about those fears generated by the mind regarding surrendering into peacefulness. Do you find it helpful to develop a counter narrative about how our goal is to seek that peace and allow ourselves to be open to it? Cultivating a desire for peace seems like it may help overcome our hesitancy about it.

🙏 Thank you.

Thank you

This is a wonderful talk!

Thank you! 🙏 Very interesting! Very helpful!

Shikantaza is probably the hardest form of zazen. My teacher would rarely recommend someone should start with shikantaza. He advised that one start with zazen. The counting of the breaths. After a time came koan practice. Then when one breaks through came shikantaza. Kind of one learning to walk before learning to run situation. Of course there no absolute rules of progression are there?🙏

In phase 1, until the unity starts, to form are we in open awareness (this is when I have experienced the unity) or the unity can happen if we focus on the breath as well ? In phase 2 ( inner / outer separation ), when we no longer feel missing parts on the body, ( ie lower body) would you have pointers as to how move our awareness to that area? Typically in other meditations our awareness goes to a point where we do feel something ( eg the hara ). in terms of what's common to do in practice, do we do Zazen with focus on the breath first and them move to phase 1, or a calming meditation pre-step is not really common?

I'd say Live Dharma Talks aren't allowed. Neither live Dokusan. I'm 110% on Dokusan, there's room for discussion on Dharma Talk.

I've had Panic attack over the past 4 years. I tried different forms of meditation but i got nowhere. Could you help me please?

Thank you! I am grateful for these short, focused talks. They allow me to easily fit them into my day, elevating my perception of reality and noticing how the topic naturally arises throughout my day. 🙏✌️💛

I don't know why such a precious channel has few subscribers. Even in pursuit of meaning, people need entertainment!

This is a perfect example of Stephen's take on a guided Shikantaza practice. This 30 minute edit and the original 43 minute one are definitely ones to Save for repeated practice with this style of meditation. The guided part is about 2/3 of the time which leaves around 10 minutes to just sit after he's guided you to a deep state of peaceful awareness. Nice.

There is no benefit to get. When we understand this…how wonderful! Emaho !

Great video. What is the meaning of the circle painting?

I love this one. It is great. Thanks Stephen!

Thank you 🙏

Simple and powerful

Valuable, grounding and appreciated discourses Stephen, thank you.

Is that state sustainable, sir? Or is it a big, life-altering explosion of knowledge/perception that lasts for weeks or maybe months, and then goes away, leaving us "orphan", but profoundly changed?

Profoundly fascinating discourses Stephen. Reconnecting with Stillness in adulthood was like the greatest, beyond description coming home for me. Deeply healing in ways and also consciousness altering. Afterward this putting down the personality seemingly completely for periods of time but also still returning to familiar subconscious habit patterns, mostly interpersonal, a kind of suffering of seesawing between "spirit" and my humanity, confusing. Anyhow earlier this year something like a falling through the egoic mind occured where many of these patterns and sources became apparent, but yes a deep seated unworthiness is there and in fact a bad conscience in regards to feeling this which I could not see with much clarity. Finding some more pieces of the puzzle in your videos here... Thank you.

Great channel! Thank you for taking the time to share this info.

Another great guided meditation session! 🙏

Lovely and inspiring! Thanks!

Thank you for posting this, I have been studying buddhism for almost a year now, of which I have begun mahayana buddhism and now zen buddhism studying. Koans struck me as confusing and I never had anyone to share with me the purpose. They say you need the teaching behind the koan, not just the koan itself to achieve true enlightenment