Showing results by author "Geoffrey Shugen Arnold Sensei" in All Categories

Pick up a newspaper or turn on the television, and you're bound to see suffering. And it's not just on the news; we struggle with great and small issues all the time, as do our families and friends. How do we respond to the cries of the world? There's so much suffering that it often seems easier to retreat into distance and cold-heartedness, but each of us is born with the ability to give.

Distance and separation harden the heart, making suffering inevitable. Names, labels, hatred, criticism, everywhere we look, we see how separation breeds pain and suffering. But when that distance is closed, something very profound takes place.

The 21st century is a critical time for our environment. Global warming, pollution, deforestation: the problems are large, and it's easy to feel helpless. Yet it's important not to get lost in despair; we can be serious about environmental problems and still be joyful. This ability is crucial not only for dealing with the environment, but also with spiritual practice.

Women have faced oppression and discrimination throughout history - even Buddhist history, beginning with the Buddha himself. In this talk, Shugen Sensei explores how we can move beyond our fear of differences by looking at a passage from the Vimalakirti Sutra in which the Goddess arranges for Shariputra to experience being in her female body. He realizes that an "essence" of maleness or femaleness cannot be found. What is it to be male? Female? Black? White? Where do these differences actually exist?