AZC The Hidden Lamp

2016-04-26 The Old Woman Burns Down the Hermitage

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 15:21:00 +1300

Another story of a wise old woman, this one from China, date unknown. This koan isn’t anthologized in the three most well known koan collections (The Gateless Gate, The Blue Cliff Record or The Book of Serenity) but it does appear in Shumon Kattoshu (Entangling Vines), a koan collections which first published in Japan at the end of the seventeenth century. Roshi explores this story in this talk: sometimes people think spirituality means cutting ourselves off from life, but that is not the Buddha's way.

2016-04-12 Soma Rebukes Mara

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 15:16:00 +1300

Soma (India, 6th C BCE) was a disciple of the Buddha, who began as a lay disciple, then become a nun, and then an arahant. In this story Mara, Lord of Delusion, tries to sow doubt in Soma's mind as she meditates. But Soma is not detered. The story comes from the Somā Sutta (Saṁyutta Nikāya 5:2).

2016-03-15 Chen's Mountain Flowers

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 15:14:00 +1300

Chen was a laywoman from En Province, China, who realized enlightenment with Master Jing of Changlao. Here are some lines of her verse: “Everyone has the spirit of the knife and the axe. /How can they see the mountain flowers reflected in the water - glorious, red?”

2016-02-02 Mahapajapati, Founder of the Bhikshuni Order

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 15:10:34 +1300

Mahapajapati (India, 6th C BCE) was Shakyamuni's aunt and foster mother. She challenged the Buddha's exclusion of women from the monastic order and won women the right of ordination, thereby becoming the founder of the nun's order.

2016-01-08 Laywoman Pang's Merit

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 15:04:44 +1300

Another talks that takes up a story from the Pang family (China, 8th C)

2016-01-09 Lingzhao's Shining Grasses

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 14:58:07 +1300

This talk takes up a story about the Pang family (China, 8th ), who were all Zen practitioners.

2014-01-15 Hidden Lamp 3

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 14:47:04 +1300

2014

2014-01-18 Hidden Lamp 7

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 14:04:34 +1300

2014

2014-01-17 Hidden Lamp 6

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 14:00:54 +1300

2014

2014-01-12 Hidden Lamp 1

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 13:49:34 +1300

2014

2016-02-23 Ohashi Awakens in a Brothel

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 13:38:54 +1300

2016

2016-05-15 Shotaku's Paper Sword

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 11:48:46 +1300

Shotaku (Japan, 14th C), third abbess of Tokei-ji, fends off an armed attacker with nothing more than a rolled up piece of paper and the force of her finely honed ki. Acknowledging our fears, we can act with courage, training ourselves to respond one-hundred-percent we can discover fearlessness, prior to the arising of thought.

2016-05-16 The Old Woman's Enlightenment 1

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 11:42:28 +1300

A series of four talks exploring enlightenment: 1. Prompted by a teisho from Master Hakuin, an old woman looks deeply into her heart day and night until she sees her own mind as the Pure Land, her body as that of Amitabha Buddha. She sees the great light that shines out of everything. Hakuin tests her by scoffing and asking, “Does it shine even out of your arsehole?” She pushes him and exclaims, “I can see that you’re not enlightened yet!”. What does she mean? 2. What is the enlightenment referred to in the story? What do we mean when we talk about enlightenment and kensho? Do these terms as they are used in the Three Pillars of Zen, mislead us? Roshi Sunyana Graef’s comments on how the kensho accounts affected the first generation of Roshi Kapleau’s students. 3. Kensho as a third step of the Ten Oxherding Pictures. 4. Putting kensho in perspective; the importance of cultivating compassion as well as wisdom.

2016-05-17 The Old Woman's Enlightenment 2

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 11:39:23 +1300

2016-08-21 Kakuzan Shido's Dagger

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 11:27:39 +1300

Kakuzan Shido (Japan, 1252-1305), founder of Tokei-ji, was challenged about her ability to teach and brings forth a dagger. Was her act a violent one? What role do such extreme actions play in Zen? What role does pressure (external and internal) play in Zen, and in life? Why are koans so difficult?

2016-08-16 Sei and Her Soul are Separated

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 11:21:56 +1300

When we are torn, when our longings pull us in different directions, when we feel pinned on the horns of some dilemma, or literally in two minds about something, what is our True Self?

2017-11-28 Bhadda-Kundalakesa Cannot Answer

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 11:11:07 +1300

This begins with an introduction to a new chant now in use at the Auckland Zen Centre. Called "The Pool of Radiance", the new chant is a companion to the traditional ancestral line that we continue to chant. It includes many of the women practitioners that are highlighted in The Hidden Lamp. After the introduction, Amala-sensei explores the story of Bhadda-Kundalakesa (India, 6th C BCE), one of the Buddha's nun-disciples.

2017-12-12 Uppalavana and the Precepts

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 11:03:05 +1300

Uppalavana (India, 6th C BCE) was one of the Buddha's nun-disciples, a woman of extraordinary powers.

2018-02-20 Satsujo

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 10:19:12 +1300

Satsujo (Japan, 18th C) was a niece and student of Master Hakuin. She practiced Zen from a very young age and her enlightenment was verified by Hakuin. She remained a lay practioner.

2018-09-07 The Old Woman and the Pure Land

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 10:15:02 +1300

A Zen Master learns from an elderly Pure Land practitioner -- and so can we. Notions of "self " and "other" drop away.

2018-09-08 Sonin's Shadeless Tree

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 10:00:36 +1300

Master Keizan asks, "What about right now? Sonin responds with a bow that contains everything. Mokufu Sonin (Japan, 14th C) was a benefactor and student of Keizan Jokin. She ordained in 1319, received Dharma transmission from Keizan in 1323, and later became abbess of Entsu-in, an important convent.

2014-01-13 Hidden Lamp 2

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:53:38 +1300

2014

2018-11-20 Ziyong's Earth

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:52:54 +1300

Ziyong (Chinese, 1645-?) was a nun, abbess and lineage holder in the Linji lineage. This talk explores her teaching "The Dharma does not rise up alone- it can't emerge without reliance on the world. If I take up the challenge of speaking I must surely borrow the light and the dark, the form and the emptiness of the mountains and hills and the great earth, the call of the magpies and the cries of the crows. The water flows and the flowers blossom, brilliantly preaching without ceasing".

2014-01-16 Hidden Lamp 4

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:51:39 +1300

2014

2019-01-15 Manseong's No Cultivation

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:44:26 +1300

The paradox of Zen: a practice which is both sudden and gradual. Manseong (Korean, 1897-1975) ordained as a nun in 1936 and received Dharma transmission from Master Mang Gong in 1941. In 1955 she took over leadership at Taeseong-am, a nunnery, and taught there for the rest of her life.

2019-01-16 Songyong Doesn't Undress

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:37:58 +1300

Forgetting the self and being awakened by the 10,000 things. Songyong Sunim (Korean, 1903-84) was ordained as a nun at nineteen, studied with Master Man'gong, and became a leader of the Maewonsa Nunnery in Korea.

2019-08-06 Two Stories

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:32:05 +1300

An exploration of two stories: Anne Aitken's "Get On and Go" and Dipa Ma's "Fearless Daughters"

2019-11-27 Yoshodhara's path

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:06:30 +1300

An alternative story of the Buddha's home-leaving from the Sarvastivadin literature. The parallel practice undertaken at home by his wife, Yashodhara, provides us with a model for lay practice.

2016-05-18 The Old Woman's Enlightenment 3

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 06:36:52 +1300

2016-05-19 The Old Woman's Enlightenment 4

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 06:35:35 +1300

2019-09-10 Dogen Sets the Record Straight 2

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 04:29:34 +1300

An exploration of Dogen's teaching: "At the time of being free from delusion and realizing the truth, there is no difference between men and women"

2019-08-20 Dogen Sets the Record Straight 1

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 04:26:35 +1300

An introduction to Eihei Dogen's life and teachings.

2020-01-11 The Old Woman, Zhaozhou, and the Tiger

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 04:02:19 +1300

How do we deal with frightening things when they confront us, and how do we deal fear itself and the vicious cycles of anxiety?

2020-11-24 Chiyono's "No Water, No Moon"

Roshi Amala Wrightson — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 03:55:03 +1300

Chiyono experiences enlightenment when the bottom falls out of her water bucket. How do we break out of fixed ways of seeing ourselves and framing the world? Absorption in a koan is a tried and tested way.