On the life-giving, natural practice of listening well, the core of poetry and the inextricable ties between Buddhism and true shamanism.
On The Shamanic Bones of Zen and the practice of zazen as a portal for wisdom. A conversation addressing the importance of ritual and ceremony in connection with our self and ancestors.
6:15 – The Naked Nothing – Joy in just sitting. Being awake to life. 8:10 – Discovering poetry. Being a conduit, writing the essence of something, and finding a voice in writing poetry. 12:05 – Letting go and finding new words. “Explaining magic strips the ocean of its waves.” 14:45 – Who will show up in an inner monastery for poetic solitude? Rituals and Ceremonies are to be lived. 17:00 – Recognizing the parallels and merging of the shamanism and zen. The power of ritual and ceremony. 19:25 – The daily devotion to things unseen. ‘Zazen is good for nothing.’ Not looking to gain anything, but seeing deep into life. 24:45 – Becoming completely intimate with yourself. Through this intimacy, the possibility of intimacy with another arises. 27:00 – Chanting spells – In transporting the breath the inhalation must be full… 29:20 – The practice and purpose of zazen. Zazen is a portal for wisdom. Chanting gives you the rhythm that goes along with the stillness and silence. The indigenous bone is the voice of the drum. 32:15 – Celebration and initiation rituals; speaking to the ancestors is part of many earth based traditions. The ancestors are inside of us, we are them. 36:20 – Taking the vows; standing at the gateway of freedom; making the vow to live a particular way; receiving a new dharma name. 40:40 – The Gate of Sweet Dew; To engage the body and mind in ritual and ceremony will reveal the soul and spirit of your own life. 51:10 – You cannot achieve Buddhist teachings. There’s nothing to show that you have become accomplished, but there is a way of seeing how life is experienced through each other.
