Flow Into Fridays -Introduction Into Zen Buddhism & The Four Noble Truths

Join Dr. Pete and he shares his knowledge on Zen Buddhism &  The Four Noble Truths. 

Learn more about Dr. Pete's Zen Practice Here: 

https://cornerstonemeditationcenter.com

Transcript

Welcome And Why Zen Here

SPEAKER_00 0:17

Hello and welcome to Flow Into Fridays. I'm Dr. Pete. This is on air with Dr. Pete, and I am thrilled to bring you some Zen Buddhism. And, you know, we are not that organized in how we're trying to bring this to you, but one of the each Friday that we do Flow into Friday, we want to introduce you to aspects of Zen Buddhism. And here's how this happened. So I've been studying Zen Buddhism for about 20 years with Robert Kennedy, who is a Roshi in the White Club Lineage, Zen Buddhism, also a Jesuit priest. Maybe I should do an episode on him. I will. And then, you know, in studying that, sometimes I've always been like the youngest person at the Zendo at the community of the Sangha where I sit. And it's as he's been talking to me, and I've been studying with him and this idea of me kind of being a teacher in the lineage and him transmitting his dharma. He's always been stuck with sort of my age, you know, because uh, you know, I again I've always been younger. I mean, I'm still the youngest and I've been there for 20 years. So I really I started at a young age, and what what what all that to say, like I'm into podcasts, I'm into social media in a healthy way, you know, understanding that this is a way that we can contact people, the way that we can get some of this information out there. He doesn't understand that. You know, we've worked really hard to get him on computers and even cell phones are really hard. You know, he's 93 today as I'm recording this, and that is really hard. You know, I mean, I even feel today behind the curve when it comes to technology. I'm sure if you're listening and you're around my age, that's certain something that you can connect with. So I was looking for like Buddhist podcasts. I was like, oh, I wonder like what's out there, who's doing stuff. And there wasn't a bunch out there. There was a you know a few in the few episodes here and there, and it looks like a lot of people maybe started and recorded a little bit but then stopped, which we see that we know that that happens in podcasts. A shout out when needs me sweats. When you know, you know that reference. But no, and so that's where I thought, let me just, you know, once a month on this episode, flow into Fridays, kind of bring some Zen teachings. Uh so in our community, and even me now as kind of being recognized as a teacher, not formally yet, as I'm recording this, uh, but you know, in the pipeline, there are talks that we give. And so we can give, you know, a talk to you know, to the community. And and that's you know, that's that's how you share the Dharma. You know, that's how you share Dharma with people, and this is all the things that I've you know kind of done over time and time again, and this is what we call a Tay Show. And so in the Tay Show, uh the teacher is just transmitting some dharma, he's giving some dharma. There's a you know, it might be a focus on the koan or text and and all of that. And so I, you know, I give these talks uh, you know, uh sporadically in our community of Morningstar Zendo. And uh so I'll bring these talks to here to honor with Dr. Pete. Um, but I also just want to like break down some aspects of Zen Buddhism for people that are maybe curious about it, and maybe that you know have you land in that. And so today what I want to talk about is the Four Noble Truths, because it's it's basically the foundation of Zen Buddhism. You know, or Buddhism has origins. I'm coming, I'm coming from the West, you know, from the United States, and so uh the the the origin uh the origins of uh Buddhism are in the East. Uh and so anywhere from probably starting in India, China, and Japan. Uh and so the lineage under which I've studied is uh Japanese, and uh that's the white plum lineage in Zen Buddhism. So no matter which school someone is coming from, the Four Noble Truths are pretty consistent. Now, when you study some of the the scripture or the text there, there's a lot that could be lost in translation quite literally because there's different languages there and all of that. So, you know, and and that I've talked a lot about when East Peace West, but I think uh no matter what you see here, you you look at the Four Noble Truths as pretty much the foundation the foundation of Zen teaching. And I've always really connected with it. So the Four Noble Truths are I'll say this in lay terms, everyone suffers. Second, suffering's caused by attachment. Third, there's a path to get out of that suffering. Fourth, enlightenment, you know, the way that you can kind of release all that. So um it's pretty dope, you know, pretty simple. It's like we all suffer, cool, validating, you know. Didn't totally understand that. I think 20 years later I get that more now. Attachment is pretty much the root of all suffering, either attachment to the past, attachment to an item, attachment to the future, uh, and we'll break that down, and then the eightfold path and then and then enlightenment. And so what I I want to just touch on the surface of these today, and then in in upcoming episodes, dive deeper into each of the noble truths. So if we go deeper into the first noble truth of everyone suffers, sometimes it's also called dukkha. And again, this is where the language comes in. And so I don't get wrapped up, even when I said Teishho, like, okay, cool teaching. I, you know, here's the thing about the way I'm practicing Zen, and this is what's been so beautiful about my teacher. My teacher is a Jesuit, he's a Jesuit priest, he grew up in the church, and then he studied in Japan for many years, you know, to understand Zen Buddhism. And he's always said, like, you make it your own. You know, his whole thing has been about interfaith dialogue. Now, he's always said you make it your own, and he's been confused by podcasts. So actually, I've had to like print out and type up um, you know, some some script, not scripts, but I can't think of the word right now, but when you would go through and write what you said on a podcast, and then he'll read that. And that's when he's like, Oh, okay, cool, you are saying good stuff. And that's how he was able to like see because he wouldn't listen to this. And so we don't get hung up on the language, you know, and and I don't get hung up on language, you know, there's zafu zabhutan, these are the cushions that we sit on to meditate. They're cushions, you know. You know, sometimes people are given like a zen or a dharma name. I've been in communities where everyone refers to each other as that. I don't know. Like that, that just feels a little different for me. That feels a little too elitist, you know. And and if we're really trying to say that this is a basic practice of sitting for stillness to release suffering, I don't need a new name for that. I need less names, actually. It's the non-attachment that's so critical in this. So everyone suffers, you know, no matter who they are. And so, you know, a lot of people want something else, you know, items, more money, you know, what do they say? More money, more problems. Um, so it's not a pessimistic thing, it's an observation of reality. It's not saying like, oh, this is so bad, you know, it's so negative. Now, the other thing about the Four Noble Truths and just Zen in general is that what I always loved about is it tells us what to do, not not, not what not to do, you know. And and having grown up as a Catholic, we do a lot of what not to do, you know, Ten Commandments and Buddhism kind of takes the approach of here's what you can do to live in a full life. Okay, so then you have the second noble truth, which is again the that attachment, attachment causes suffering. So the the cause of dukkha is from craving, it's from clinging, it's from you know resistance to the acceptance of suffering. It's sort of a grasping mind, you know. That's what we're trying to do is release that grasping mind and notice what you're attached to. And it's funny because I'll give a lot of talks on this and then I'll I'll wear like a pair of loop batons, you know, but it's I'm not attached to them. I spilled oil on them the other day, you know, and and it was upset. But the non-attachment, the under the observation of it. We also want our practices with loved ones, with relationships, with jobs, you know, with all things that you can think of, that nothing lasts forever. You know, that is impermanence. That is the idea in the second noble truth that nothing lasts forever. And if you can really work towards non-attachment, that helps to bring some peace and some release of the suffering. Then you come to the third noble truth is how do you end suffering? And this is where you get into, you know, you get into ways that you can do it. So it's not what not to do, uh, it's really what to do. And so this, you've heard me talk a lot about this is the eightfold path. Eightfold path is practical, it gives you ways that you can just work towards and achieve uh enlightenment, which is the fourth noble truth. Um I'll get to that in a second. But it's basically like doing things the right way. And so a lot of times when you read the scripture, it'll say like right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. So, what does all that mean? You know, if you think about right speech, it's not engaging in gossip. Does that mean I never gossip? No. And any and you know, anyone that I work with, or you know, you know that sometimes there's cynicism and there's ways that we can kind of engage in some humor. And so I will be the first to do that. Uh, and then lastly, so so the eightfold path. So again, we're gonna break those down, you know, more fully. One thing I don't like about them is it does put you in a dialectic of right and wrong, you know, by saying right, but that's cool. We'll break, we'll get that on a future episode. Uh, and then the fourth noble truth is the enlightenment, and that's the path, you know, the way that you kind of get there. This is za zen, this is just when you're sitting, you know, enlightenment, each moment is a moment to be enlightened, but enlightenment is not something to be achieved. And I remember one of my first sessions, a long retreat. Uh, remember it like learning about that. Like, you know, I thought we were always seeking enlightenment, but nope, we're not. So these are the four noble truths. So Zen perspective is really a direct experience, it's a way to experience the present moment. Um, you know, it's it's understanding the restlessness or the first noble truth, grasping onto things as the second noble truth, learning to let go, the third noble truth, and then practicing it, you know, itself, which is the fourth noble truth. So it's really a direct way, pretty simple. And that's why I've always kind of gravitated towards this. So in future episodes, I'm gonna break down Zen for you on On Air with Dr. Pete as we flow into Fridays. I am so thrilled that you, you know, tuned in for this episode. Uh, if there is anything specific around Zen that you want to learn, let me know. But they're gonna give some co-ons, some Dharma talks, or Tay shows. I'll give you some of the vocabulary on there, but also break it down and kind of talk about my journey, my teacher. But thanks again for tuning in. You know, if you love the episode, please like, follow, and share. Everything's at official Dr. Pete and listen to this wherever you listen to all your podcasts. And so again, thank you for tuning in. We will see you all here next week. Until then, spread a little kindness and stay well.