Realization, Gratitude, Thanksgiving and Healing

Recorded November 23, 2024In this teisho, using Dharma Transmission case 30 in the “Transmission of Light,” Bodhidharma’s heir, Huike, to Seng t’san, (the author of “Affirming Faith in Mind”) as a case in point, Roshi Martin explores gratitude and thanksgiving — from a Zen perspective. Seng t’san, suffering from a serious illness, realized the empty ground of his disease, the foundation of what the koan calls his “sins,” and awoke to wholeness and gratitude. The Buddha upon his great Awakening, didn’t exclaim that one day all beings will be Buddha. Instead, legend insists what he said was that all beings are Buddha, right now! How can that be? And what did he mean? The work of finding out is called, “practice.” To come to see and know for ourselves, to even a slight degree, who or what we already Truly are, is to uncover a life of endless gratitude, endless Thanks.Photo: Standing Buddha at Endless Path Zendo by Rafe MartinReferenced:"Transmission of the Light" ("Denkoroku") - Keizan Jokin"The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" - William Blake"Shobogenzo" ("Eye of the Treasury of the True Dharma" - Eihei DogenBooks by Roshi Rafe MartinTalks on YouTubeMore information at endlesspathzen.org