In this episode, Michael will be covering the precept: “I Vow to Refrain from Intoxicants”. This vow is one that is often misunderstood in its scope and purpose. How is this core vow in Buddhism practiced in our everyday lives?
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Letting Go of Resistance
Hiro offers a short talk on Letting Go of Resistance. Often what weighs on us most is not the situation itself, but our resistance to it. Resistance is not something we need to fight, but something we can meet with awareness and compassion. The aim is not to manipulate experience, but to access a dimension of being where resistance is already absent.
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Liberative Constraints
The theme for the talk is Liberative Constraints. This is a topic Eli brought up at the recent Young Urban Zen retreat at Tassajara. In a world shaped by constant choice and digital customization, Zen practice offers a radically different kind of freedom, the kind that arises from structure, rhythm, and restraint. We will talk about the liberating power of intentional constraints, and how forms like zazen, silence, and schedule can support presence, belonging, and internal spaciousness. Eli reflects on what it means to live unedited.
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Taking the Monastery Home
The theme for this talk is Taking the Monastery Home. First, what brings us to the temple and to practice? What kind of experiences can we have at the temple that can help us in our lives? If we get the opportunity to visit and stay at a monastery, what do we take with us? If not, can we build a sacred space within ourselves and in our homes?Kōgetsu Mok discusses the various ancient forms practiced in the temples that have real practical meaning and can be a frame for our home practice.
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Taking What Is Not Given
Michael McCord discusses ‘taking what is not given’, essentially, the precept around stealing. However, just like all the precepts, this one goes quite deep in regards to relationships and our expectations/ demands for how we want others to show up for us and the capacities we expect. And like all the precepts, the antidote is what we focus on most of the time. For not stealing, the antidote is generosity and not acting from a stance of scarcity. Michael looks at behaviors that support this way of going through the world as well as habits, mentalities, and outlooks that can work against it.
Young Urban Zen is a group under the auspices of the San Francisco Zen Center, with a particular focus on those between 20 and 40. It meets on Tuesday evenings for meditation and discussion about Zen practice. People of all experience levels are welcome.
Netherlands