Bernie Glassman at Upaya

Part 5: “I live my life according to experiences, not according to the commentary.” This last half of the final panel traverses: projection in student-teacher relationships; how Roshi Joan’s and Bernie’s relationship has changed over the years; whether it’s true that “you can’t be friends with your students;” distinctions between resilience and “getting over yourself” in caregiving work… Source

Part 3: Dialogue ensues! The question of feeding hungry spirits what they want versus feeding them what they need engages many voices. This leads on to: what is the difference between bearing witness and the reflex to get rid of, to “heal?” In Bernie’s opinion Bearing Witness retreats are all about fear, going to what’s scary. In the Gate, we repeat the final Dharani so as to call out yet once… Source

Part 1: An open-hearted overhaul. Bernie spins a lively history of the Gate of Sweet Nectar liturgy, from an early version (mythically attributed to Shakyamuni) to Menzan’s tantric innovations to his own open-hearted overhaul. Maezumi Roshi gave Bernie remarkable permission to remake the Gate (and by extension Zen) in an American grain: “He didn’t try to get me to be like him — he wanted me to be… Source

Part 7: Q&A. The teachers complete the Q & A session. Roshi Bernie Glassman More from this speaker Hozan Alan Senauke More from this speaker Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD Abbot Roshi Joan Halifax, Ph.D. is a Buddhist teacher, Founder and Head Teacher of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a social activist, author, and in… Source

Part 5: The practice of zazen. Concluding the third session of the retreat, Roshi Bernie continues his dialogue with retreatants, answering questions about the stages of “bearing witness,” telling stories from the “Bearing Witness Retreats,” and discussing the practice of zazen. Roshi Bernie Glassman More from this speaker… Source

Part 3: Listening without preconception. In the second part of the session, Roshi Bernie talks about the actualization of an “Indra’s Net” connecting impoverished communities by responding to the various groups’ needs by listening without preconception and acting on what arises within and between. Among other cases of skillful means, he cites his own work with the homeless, near-homeless… Source

Part 1. Nonduality. Bernie-Roshi reflects on three periods of his life, each marked by stepping beyond limited “clubs” into ever wider and less sure circles of caring engagement. He speaks of nonduality as not-knowing, freedom to think and feel outside grooved categories — a state provoked both by Zen koans and by “plunges” into deeply unfamiliar circumstances. He takes several questions from the… Source

Being on the street. This session continues where the previous left off, with Roshi Bernie taking a number of questions from the participants. The first question concerns Indra’s net, which leads Bernie into a discussion on the possibility of escaping the space-time continuum. The next question concerns “going deeper and deeper.” Which for Bernie means going “broader and broader in that energy… Source

Bearing witness retreats. In this session, Roshi Bernie answers questions from the audience. Questions include: “Are there Bearing Witness Retreats in Hiroshima or Nagasaki?” “What is the status of the Lakota Retreat?” “How should one work with a person that has a tremendous amount of guilt over their past actions?” “What is the hardest thing you personally had to face at Auschwitz? Source

Honoring the interconnection of life. During the second half of the final retreat session, Roshi Bernie invites the gathered retreatants to share what they will take away from their time together. Retreatants then share thoughtfully and movingly on the transformations that have taken place for them over the past two days. Roshi Bernie then wraps up the retreat by drawing attention to our ability… Source

Householders and sanghas. Roshi Bernie Glassman grills the audience on what one might mean by being a “householder” or by participating in a “sangha.” He then illustrates his understanding of householders and sanghas by reflecting on his long training at the Zen Center of Los Angeles, telling the story of the values he inherited, questioned, and evolved to fit the needs he saw in America and in… Source

The Three Tenets of the Peacemaker Community. Roshi Bernie, with contributions from Roshi Joan Halifax, applies the practice of training in the Three Tenets of the Peacemaker Community to the current ecological crisis. Bernie also takes questions from the audience, including questions about sexual ethics in the Zen community and how to bear witness while understanding our own conditioning. Source

Attachment. Roshi Bernie talks about attachment in relation to meditative states and in relation to preferences and opinions. He also considers how to be in relationship with those of differing opinions, particularly family members. Roshi Bernie Glassman More from this speaker… Source