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brief teachings
  • Tricycle Community 11 comments

    Participate Fully Paid Member

    By Janet Jiryu Abels
    When we just function, just act, just work, with no idea of a “me” that is functioning or acting or working, the dharma is fully expressed, for then there is no separation. Although things are accomplished in the relative sense (cause and effect), there are no results in the absolute sense (no cause and no effect), for functioning is simply the pure expression of that which we call “it” or “thusness.” This is one of the most difficult truths to grasp, much less to carry out, and it is why work practice is such an essential part of Zen training. More »
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    Mindful Work Paid Member

    By Franz Metcalf and BJ Gallagher
    Life is easy for the shameless, cunning, Corrupt, brazen, nasty, and betraying. But for one who’s honest and insightful, Trying to pursue purity, it’s hard. —Dhammapada 244–245 Why do so few people follow the path of mindful work? Because it’s hard. The Buddha levels with us. Living a life of integrity is hard work. Following the path of spiritual growth is hard work. Awakening and staying mindful in each moment requires constant honesty. It’s exhausting (though sometimes also exhilarating), but it expands through all your relations and creates a lasting legacy. The benefits of integrity and wisdom compound over time. More »
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    From the Canon: Anger Paid Member

    An angry person is ugly and sleeps poorly. Gaining a profit, he turns it into a loss, having done damage with word and deed. A person overwhelmed with anger    destroys his wealth. Maddened with anger,    he destroys his status. Relatives, friends, and colleagues avoid him.    Anger brings loss.    Anger inflames the mind. He doesn’t realize that his danger is born from within.    An angry person doesn’t know his own benefit.    An angry person doesn’t see the dhamma. A man conquered by anger is in a mass of darkness. He takes pleasure in bad deeds as if they were good, but later, when his anger is gone, he suffers as if burned with fire. He is spoiled, blotted out, like fire enveloped in smoke. More »
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    Feathers are Harmless Paid Member

    By Tsoknyi Rinpoche
    As we go through life, we accumulate layers of ideas about who we are and what we’re capable of achieving. As these layers accumulate, we tend to become increasingly rigid in our identification with certain views about ourselves and the world around us. Gradually, we lose our connection to the basic openness, clarity, and love that is the essence of our being. Our awareness is overwhelmed by hundreds of different thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Some we latch onto because they’re attractive fantasies or scary preoccupations; some we try to shove away because they’re too upsetting or because they distract us from whatever we’re trying to accomplish at the moment. More »
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    Finding Your Place Paid Member

    By By Eihei Dogen Zenji Translated by Robert Aitken and Kazuaki Tanahashi
    A fish swims in the ocean, and no matter how far it swims there is no end to the water. A bird flies in the sky, and no matter how far it flies there is no end to the sky. However, the fish and the bird have never left their elements. When their activity is large their field is large. When their need is small their field is small. Thus, each of them totally covers its full range, and each of them totally experiences its realm. If the bird leaves the air, it will die at once. If the fish leaves the water, it will die at once.Know that water is life and air is life. The bird is life and the fish is life. Life must be the bird and life must be the fish.Besides this, further steps can be taken. Thus there are practice and enlightenment, which encompass both eternal life and limited life. More »
  • Tricycle Community 1 comment

    Creating Space Paid Member

    By Kyabgon Phakchok Rinpoche
    These days we have so many things to think about: our health, our family, our work, our dharma practice. When we don’t know how to deal with them, these worries can make our minds start to slowly shrink, becoming more and more narrow, and as a consequence more and more negative. Sometimes things start to overwhelm us and we feel trapped physically. A small problem can come to seem so big that we can’t deal with it at all. A good way to deal with this is to create space mentally. It helps relieve the tension and uptightness in your mind and in your body as well. Creating space is a very simple method. This is a technique we can apply to give ourselves space and freedom and relief from all our worrisome thoughts. More »