2024-04-21 | Dharma Talk | Readings & Teachings from 'Not Always So' | Stephanie Seiler and J.Barna

00:00:27 - Readings and Teachings from 'Not Always So' by Shunryu Suzuki 00:11:02 - Joel Invites participants to Pracitce with the Breath whilst Sitting Zazen 00:11:44 - Participants sit for 5 Minutes 00:12:06 - Stephanie Says a few words about her Practice 00:23:13 - Poem - Dirge in Woods by George Meredith (See Below) 00:24:20 - Poem - A Parting Guest (See Below) 00:25:14 - Poem - Nature - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (see Below) 00:26:04 - Stephanie Opens the Floor up for Questions 00:23:13 - Dirge in Woods BY GEORGE MEREDITH A wind sways the pines, And below Not a breath of wild air; Still as the mosses that glow On the flooring and over the lines Of the roots here and there. The pine-tree drops its dead; They are quiet, as under the sea. Overhead, overhead Rushes life in a race, As the clouds the clouds chase; And we go, And we drop like the fruits of the tree, Even we, Even so. 00:24:20 - A Parting Guest What delightful hosts are they -- Life and Love!Lingeringly I turn away, This late hour, yet glad enough They have not withheld from me Their high hospitality. So, with face lit with delight And all gratitude, I stay Yet to press their hands and say, "Thanks. -- So fine a time! Good night." By James Whitcomb Riley 00:25:14 - Nature Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 –1882 As a fond mother, when the day is o'er, Leads by the hand her little child to bed, Half willing, half reluctant to be led, And leave his broken playthings on the floor, Still gazing at them through the open door, Nor wholly reassured and comforted By promises of others in their stead, Which, though more splendid, may not please him more; So Nature deals with us, and takes away Our playthings one by one, and by the hand Leads us to rest so gently, that we goScarce knowing if we wish to go or stay, Being too full of sleep to understand How far the unknown transcends the what we know. Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen Paperback –Jun. 2003 by Shunryu Suzuki (Author)