Talks by Sensei Richard von Sturmer

This is the third in a series of koans centred on the natural world. The koan is Case 38 in the MumonkanBooks used in the teisho:Zen's Chinese Heritage by Andy Ferguson and The Gateless Barrier by Robert Aitken.

This is the second in a series of koans centred on the natural world. The koan is Case 37 in the Mumonkan, Zhaozhou's Cypress Tree in the Courtyard.Sources: Pilgrim at Tinker's Creek by Annie Dillard and Two Zen Classics by Katsuki Sekida.

This is the first in a series of koans centred on the natural world. The koan is Case 46 in the Blue Cliff Record.Sources: Zen's Chinese Heritage by Andy Ferguson and A Step Away from Paradise by Thomas Shor.

Main references:Nine Lives by William DalrympleThe Secret Life of Flies by Erica McAlisterIchi Tantei: talks by Tangen Roshi.

Texts used in the teisho:Karen Armstrong, BuddhaStephen Batchelor, Living with the DevilNyanaponika Thera and Hellmuth Hecker, Great Disciples of the Buddha

Book quoted from:  The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling by James Hillman.

Book quoted from:  The Force of Character by James Hillman.

Nagarjuna's Verses from the Centre Part Two. In this teisho we concentrate on the verses themselves.Sources: Verses from the Centre translated by Stephen BatchelorThe Unborn: Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei by Norman Waddell

Readings from Stephen Batchelor's Introduction to his translation of Nagarjuna's Verses from the Centre. Nargajuna was an important Indian teacher and our 14th Zen Ancestor. Batchelor calls him "the poet of emptiness".

Teisho by Sensei Richard von SturmerReadings from the autobiography of Daiun Sogaku Harada-roshi, Roshi Kapleau's first teacher.

Teisho by Sensei Richard von Sturmer.The Milindapañha (lit. 'Questions of Milinda') is a Buddhist text which dates from sometime between 100 BC and 200 AD. It is a dialogue between the Indian Buddhist sage Nāgasena, and the 2nd century BC Indo-Greek king Menander I (Pali: Milinda).

A Dharma talk by Sensei Richard von Sturmer.Texts used: Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teachings of Shunryu Suzuki by David Chadwick; To Shine One Corner of the World by David Chadwick.

Reflections on the situation in Gaza and readings from Carlo Rovelli's book, White Holes.A Dharma talk by Richard von Sturmer.

Main text used: 'Encouraging Words' by Robert Aitken"Dharma talk by Sensei Richard von Sturmer.

The third in a series of three dharma talks by Richard von Sturmer. In this talk The Richard takes up Dōgen’s writings on nature as well as exploring the wilderness poetry of Tang Dynasty China.Texts used:Our National Parks by John MuirDogen's 'Mountains and Waters Sutra' from Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master DogenClassic Chinese Poetry translated and edited by David Hinton

"Zazen is not sensory deprivation — anything but. Birds and geckos and bullfrogs guide us. Be open to these natural teachers, wherever you may be practicing." -Aitken RoshiThis is the second of three Dharma Talks on 'Zen and Nature' given by Richard at the Auckland Zen Centre.Texts used: Poetry and Zen: Letters and Uncollected Writings of R. H. Blyth by Norman WaddellPassing Through the Gateless Barrier by Guo GuThe Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon translated by Ivan Morris.

In this Dharma talk given at the Auckland Zen Centre, Richard von Sturmer explores how Zen masters approach death and how their dying can act as their final teaching. Richard's title refers to the famous exchange between Master Mazu and his attendant, recorded in the Blue Cliff Record:Blue Cliff Record, Case 3Great Master Ma was unwell. The temple superintendent asked him, “Teacher, how has your venerable health been in recent days?”The Great Master said, “Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha.”Automated transcripthttps://otter.ai/u/dLq33lJrz09DGO_OCI6BP4KCCWc

In this talk Richard explores interconnection on both vast and intimate scales. This is the first of three talks on 'Zen and Nature' given by Richard at the Auckland Zen Centre. Texts used: A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth by Henry GeeEarth: An Intimate History by Richard ForteyPilgrim at Tinker's Creek by Annie Dillard

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The teaching and poetry of grass and weeds, from Zen to Walt Whitman.

A dharma talk by Richard von Sturmer.