The Gift of Fearlessness | Koshin Paley Ellison
About this episode
Koshin Paley Ellison discusses the Buddha's teachings on generosity and the importance of ongoing practice and self-reflection.
“Faith is not blind belief, but confidence born of seeing what's actually possible—the willingness to plant a seed without yet seeing the fruit.” In this recent talk given on a snowy Sunday morning, Koshin Sensei explores the Buddha's teaching on three forms of generosity: giving out of faith, material generosity, and the gift of fearlessness (abhaya dana). Drawing on Suzuki Roshi's gardening metaphor, Koshin asks: Are you just planting a seed and walking away, or are you tending to it day after day? Do you evaluate your practice after one visit, one year, even ten years or do you give yourself fully to the ongoing work of showing up? Koshin also reflects on his own journey: after ten years of steady practice, he realized he was still deeply self-involved, lazy in zazen, and “one of those people you wouldn't want over for dinner”; lecturing everyone about veganism and Buddhism until a friend finally told him, “you're being an asshole.” Real friendship, real generosity, means being willing to say it like it is out of love, not just making people feel good. At the heart of this talk is a question about faith. Not blind belief, but the willingness to plant a seed without knowing…
People in this episode
Guest: Koshin Paley Ellison
Topics covered
- fearlessness
- generosity
- Buddhism
- faith
- self-reflection
- practice
Keywords
- fearlessness
- Buddhism
- generosity
- faith
- self-involvement
- zazen
- practice
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