Saturday Workshop: Polishing a Mirror to Make a Tile February 5, 2011

Saturday Workshop, February 5 and Sunday Talk, February 6 by Dosho Port at the Zen Buddhist Temple. Dosho Port began studying Zen in 1977 and is a Soto Zen successor of Dainin Katagiri Roshi. He teaches at Wild Fox Zen in White Bear Township, Minnesota.

'Once Nanyue went to Mazu and said “What are you seeking, sitting there in zazen[meditation]?” Mazu said, “Seeking is making Buddha.” At this point Nanyue took up a tile and began to rub it on a stone. At length Mazu asked, “Master, What are you doing?” Nanyue said, “I’m polishing this to make a mirror.” Mazu said, “how can you produce a mirror by polishing a tile?” Nanyue replied, “How can you make a Buddha by sitting zazen?” '

What are you seeking when you meditate? We will start from this old zen tale and examine what we are seeking, and use Dogen’s perspective to tease out what the dialog has to say to us about refining our lives through Buddhist practice.