“If there is meaning in life at all, there must be meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life even as fate and death. Without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete.” — Victor Frankl

 

In the talk, guest teacher Cristina Moon guides us through the teachings of the Four Noble Truths in an exceptionally clear way. She reminds us that the nobility of these truths comes from their stability and relevance for our everyday human experiences of suffering. Cristina’s talk ends with a message of resilience, a clarion call to commit to ourselves to practice, for the sake of a world that needs peace to reverberate perhaps now more than ever.

 

ZENTALK NOTES

Reverend Cristina Moon is a Rinzai Zen priest living at Daihonzan Chozen-ji in Hawaii. Through writing and strategy, she helps individuals and organizations cultivate a fighting spirit and find calm within chaos. More of Rev. Moon’s writings can be found at www.cristinamoon.com.

 

UPCOMING NYZC EVENTS (as of December 15th, 2024)

• Beginner’s Mind Sesshin: Our 5 day, 4 night winter retreat at the Garrison institute will be held from January 10th – 14th. Registration closes December 29th. Learn more here.
  
• Commit to Sit: Zen Wisdom for Everyday Living: Our 90 day practice period will also be starting on January 10th, featuring a classic Zen text and 16 teachers offering dharma talks each week. Learn more here.
  
• Opening the Treasury: Living the Soto Zen Way: Wednesdays, starting January 24th, join Koshin Sensei for an exploration of the core wisdom of the Soto Zen lineage, the importance of Zazen (or seated meditation), and how the tradition lends itself to awakening in your daily life. Learn more here.
  
• A Pathway to Deep Presence: Explorations of Symbolic Listening: One Sunday a month from January until June. In this six-month online course led by Leslye Noyes, Mdiv, PsyD, we will learn and experientially practice Jung’s theory and method of Symbolic Listening. Learn more here.
  

 

MUSIC

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

 

NYZC PUBLICATIONS

• Untangled (Koshin’s new book) here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
  
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
  
• Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL
  

 
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The post Cultivating the Immovable Mind | Cristina Moon appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.