Thursday, January 19, 2012

Koan study at PasaDharma

The PasaDharma Zen group has begun a weekly koan study group as part of its regular Thursday night meditation regime. A reading and discussion precede sitting and walking meditation sessions. Roshi Jeff Albrizze leads a stimulating and insightful Dharma experience reminiscent of Yokoji Zen Mountain Center (ZMC) and Zen Center Los Angeles (ZCLA), where he lived and trained for years. Zazen ("just sitting") is accompanied by a small amount of traditional chanting and utterance of the bodhisattva vows.


FOOTNOTES:
1. The five spoke wheel of sentient existence, the Five Aggregates or "heaps" (Sanskrit, skandhas): form, sensations, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness.
2. Hanshan (Kanzan) and Shide (Jittoku) are a legendary pair of friends in Zen literature. They were mountain hermits in China who lived on Cold Mountain. Hanshan is associated with Manjushri (wisdom), whereas Shide is associated with Kanzeon (compassion).

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