Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Returning to Who We Are: The Practice of Silent Illumination – Fall Practice Period 2022 (2 of 11)

“The practice of true reality is simply to sit.” Matthew Kozan Palevsky continues Upaya’s exploration of silent illumination, or just sitting, discussing Taigen Dan Leighton’s collection of Zen Master Hongzhi’s writings, “Cultivating the Empty Field.” He invites us to consider what it could mean for us to cultivate the empty field, especially given that Hongzhi himself says that we cannot cultivate an enlightened mind. Why? Because it is already ours. The question then is, how do we discover and embody this Buddha Nature that is already ours? Kozan also discusses the historical connection between Dogen’s teacher Rujing and Hongzhi, who lived at the same time on the same mountain but in separate monasteries, both teaching and promoting the practice of silent illumination. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here. For Program/Series description and to access the entire series, please click on the link below: Upaya Podcast Series: SPRING PRACTICE PERIOD 2022: Cultivating the Empty Field