Liberation and Aliveness

Welcome to Zen Mind!This talk was given in October 2021 to kick-off the second 8-week practice course in the Foundational Zen Teachings Series called "Liberation from Suffering".Generally speaking, we tend to interpret freedom from suffering as personal happiness (feeling good) and, on a societal level, as a world, in which big problems such as poverty, inequality, war, and the climate crisis are solved. Buddhism is more pessimistic, or shall we say realistic. It assumes that there will always be problems. Does this mean we don't care about improving our situation? Not at all. It means we need to learn to get the order right: If we first learn to not have a problem with having problems, we can then be better at solving them.The talk presents a guided body scan that directs attention to the freedom of "unconditional aliveness" and makes suggestions for how to fold this freedom into our daily lives.Support our annual fundraiser (https://www.boulderzen.org/donate) by becoming a Boulder Zen Center Member or through a one-time donation! It is the best way to support Zenki Roshi and the continuation of this podcast.Click here for information on the Foundational Zen Teachings (https://www.boulderzen.org/practice-courses) course series.Zenki Roshi's book, THE PATH OF ALIVENESS (https://www.shambhala.com/the-path-of-aliveness-9781611809978.html) is now on sale!See all events and join our mailing list at www.boulderzen.org (https://boulderzen.krtra.com/t/byTESd6XLtlF). Email us at [email protected] or give us a call: (303) 442–3007.If you're enjoying these talks, please subscribe and leave us a rating or review!Zenki Christian Dillo Roshi is the the guiding teacher at the Boulder Zen Center in Colorado, USA. This podcast shares the regular dharma talks given at the center. Zenki Roshi approaches Zen practice as a craft of transformation, liberation, wisdom and compassionate action. His interest is to bring Buddhism alive within the Western cultural context, while staying committed to the traditional emphasis on embodiment.