Satipatthana: Sati – Attention, Patthana – The Four Foundations of Mindfulness The Four Foundations of Attention is the Buddha’s teaching recorded in the Satipatthana, a set of instructions aimed at activating the mind’s mode of full awareness, or mindfulness, as it is known today. This means living in the present moment, without being distracted by…
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Once upon a time, there was an old Zen master who lived with his community in a small temple deep in the mountains. The emperor, aware of his wisdom, invited him to a grand Buddhist festival where participants recited sutras for several days and enjoyed abundant and exquisite meals prepared by the palace chefs. The…
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What does it mean to say that difference is essence? One day, Sekito read the phrase: “The true sage is one who becomes all the existences of the Universe.” Sekito wondered: how can one existence become all the existences of the Universe? From that day on, this question illuminated his path. The practice of zazen…
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To explain the differences in capacity among his disciples, the Buddha used the simile of the four types of horses. Other masters have also spoken about this. Master Sekito says: “In the ordinary world there are people of different capacities, but in the Way there is no distinction between people from the north and people…
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Buddha-nature is, in itself, impermanence and interdependence. An interdependence with all beings in the Universe. Like Indra’s net, in which each being is a many-faceted diamond, and on each facet it reflects the facet of another diamond. In this way, a net is formed in which all the diamonds are connected to one another by…
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