Over the course of the Practice Period, we’ll be studying two books: the new collection from the lectures of Shunryu Suzuki, Becoming Yourself: Teachings on the Zen Way of Life, edited by Jiryu Rutschman-Byler and Sojun Mel Weitsman, and The Awakening of Faith: Attributed to Aśvaghoṣa, a comprehensive summary of the essentials of Mahayana Buddhism (also available online).
Shunryu Suzuki and his teachings are fundamental to our lineage of Soto Zen and its flowering in our present time and place. Asvaghosha’s text, translated into Chinese in 500 AD, was written as a comprehensive summary of the essentials of Mahayana Buddhism. We’ll read it as deep background on the principles that animate Suzuki Roshi’s teaching.
Together we’ll study how the deceptively simple act of becoming our true selves has radical implications for our lives and for our world.
