8. On Self Denial, Wisdom, Delusion, Chastity and Making Mistakes

Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - responds to questions from students in an inspiring manner based on his Zen practice and life experiences. He reminds the listener how to stay awake to life and understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.   This episode was recorded during a weekly online meeting of questions & responses. For more information: https://www.zaltho.org If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to [email protected]. Book recommendations: -       Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021, also as audiobook) -       AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003, also as audiobook) -       On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024) https://www.zaltho.org/zen-books-by-zen-monk-claude-anshin-thomas/ To support, donate. If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you. Questions and Time Stamps: 01:14 – How has your spiritual practice affected how you relate to your body? 06:25 – Would you share a time when you intentionally practiced self-denial? 09:13 – How did you deal with the violence you experienced as a child? 11:34 – What's your experience with what people call "wisdom"? 11:53 – How do you define delusion? 12:12 – Is action the absolute realm, and ideas the relative realm? 16:50 – What's the purpose of the precept of chastity? 18:37 – What do the scrolls behind you say? 19:15 – Have you ever had an experience where the world told you the opposite of what you believed or saw? 21:13 – If action and observation are so different, what's the value in just observing? 24:03 – Why do the icons on the altar have different hairstyles and robes? 25:19 – When you act spontaneously, are you ever afraid of making a mistake? 28:01 – Would you talk about building the zendo? 33:19 – Do you know when the drum was added to the Kan Ro Man? 34:29 – Has the way you do the Buddhist services changed over the years?