“If, while befriending someone, the three poisons increase, The activities of study, reflection, and meditation degenerate, And love and compassion disappear, Then it is the practice of the bodhisattvas to give up this company.” -The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, verse 4.

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Abandoning Negativity (podcast)

“Abandoning negative places, disturbing emotions gradually subside; Being free from distraction, the practice of virtue spontaneously increases; With brightened awareness one feels confidence in the Dharma; To adhere to solitude is the practice of the bodhisattvas.”

the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva. Verse 3.*

*all quotations are from “Illuminating the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva by Chokyi Dragpa

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You Are Not Your Home (podcast)

Toward friends, attachment rages like a river; Toward enemies, hatred blazes like fire. Therefore it is the practice of Bodhisattvas to give up that home, Where the darkness of stupidity, of forgetting what to accept and reject, prevails.

the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva. Verse 2.

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Rare Freedoms and Riches (podcast)

At this time of having obtained the rare great ship of freedoms and riches, To listen, reflect, and meditate, without any distraction day and night, In order to liberate oneself and others from the ocean of samsara Is the practice of bodhisattvas. -from the 37 practices of a bodhisattva. all quotations are from “Illuminating the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva by Chokyi Dragpa

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Wild Fox Koan (podcast)

Daniel and Alicia talk about Baizhang and the Wild Fox. I invited my soon-to-be wife Alicia Marley onto the podcast again to talk about the second koan from the Gateless Barrier Collection. This is an odd koan with some magical things going on and the lesson might be a little hard to find. Our conversation ended up taking us pretty far afield from talking about the koan and we ended up asking questions like “is chanting important?” and “Can meditation make you a better criminal?”

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Koans! The Dog Koan(podcast)

Daniel and Alicia talk about Zhaozhou’s Dog.

I invited my soon-to-be wife Alicia Marley onto the podcast to talk about the first koan from The Gateless Barrier collection. She has no knowledge of zen koans, so I was wondering if her beginners perspective would help make things clear.

In this episode we talk about the title “The Gateless Barrier” (sometimes called The Gateless Gate, sometimes called The Barrier That Has No Gate) And we talk about the Koan that is called “Zhaozhou’s Dog”