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A selection of emerging dharma talks from Kynan Sutherland Roshi and Castlemaine Zen
In this talk, we take up the koan “Xitang’s More” from the Record of Empty Hall.
When the old teacher Xitang asks, “Strive, but for what?” we are invited to consider just why and how we practice in a fractured world. In response to Xitang’s question, a monk steps forward and places both hands on the earth, saying “We save each other.”
What does it mean to save? What does it mean to be saved? And how might we touch the earth ourselves, wholeheartedly, in the spirit of “We save each other?”
On the occasion of our Castlemaine Zen Sangha Transmission Ceremony for Kynan Sutherland, Susan Murphy Roshi gave this Teisho on zazen, practice and the importance of sangha in our troubled world (19/11/23)
In the immediate aftermath of the failed referendum on the Voice to Parliament we reflect on what it’s like to be adrift and drowning in a troubled world. This talk was given at the Castlemaine Zazenkai (15/10/23).
Zen is reticent to name what cannot be named. This is our family custom. So in the lead up to Kynan Sutherland’s Transmission Ceremony, we pause to reflect on the nature of Zen and what it seeks to promote and protect (25/9/23)
In this talk we explore deep listening with the help of Kuanyin, Doug Ralph and the great koan from Yunmen, “Golden Wind is manifesting herself.” This talk was given on the first day of the Castlemaine Zen Non-Residential Weekend Retreat (23/7/23).
In this talk we venture into the heart of the goldfields, what the Dja Dja Wurrung call Upside Down Country, in search of true gold. This talk was given on the first day of the Castlemaine Zen Non-Residential Weekend Retreat (22/7/23).
In the lead up to Kirk Fisher’s Transmission Ceremony Kynan Sutherland offered this talk on Zhaozhou’s koan, “Shake the Tree and the birds take to the air, startle the fish and the water becomes muddy.” In it we explore the nature of transmission, the role of a Zen teacher, and the urgency of Zen practice in a vulnerable and startling world (23/4/23)
Castlemaine Zen Zen Practice in the heart of the Goldfields
