The Zen Master Jingqing asked one of his disciples:
What's that sound outside?

Disciple:
That's the sound of rain.

Jingqing:
All beings are upside-down; They lose themselves in the pursuit of things.

Disciple:
How should I feel?

Jingqing:
I am the sound of the rain!

If you don't know the kind of person I am
and I don't know the kind of person you are
a pattern that others made may prevail in the world
and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.

For there is many a small betrayal in the mind,
a shrug that lets the fragile sequence break
sending with shouts the horrible errors of childhood
storming out to play through the broken dike.

And as elephants parade holding each elephant's tail,
but if one wanders the circus won't find the park,
I call it cruel and maybe the root of all cruelty
to know what occurs but not recognize the fact.

And so I appeal to a voice, to something shadowy,
a remote important region in all who talk:
though we could fool each other, we should consider—
lest the parade of our mutual life get lost in the dark.

For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
the signals we give — yes or no, or maybe —
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.

The course will be held every Saturday, beginning March 15th for 7 weeks, 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM (CST) via Zoom and In-Person for those in Regina, SK

For complete details and to purchase a ticket click here.

Course Description

This is an introductory course that will provide students with a theoretical overview and basic sample of practice of topics related to Buddhism’s approach to trauma and its transformation. This course provides introductory Buddhist teachings regarding trauma through the lenses of Buddhist foundational tenets, Buddhist Psychology of the Unconscious (Yogacara), and the outline of experiential practice of Zen meditation in transforming trauma. The course will also cover some basic modern psychology definitions and frameworks for the treatment of trauma to establish similarities and differences between the Buddhist approach to trauma and the current clinical framework.

Class Format

• A 15 to 30 minute meditation at the beginning or end of class.
• Students will be able to participate through Zoom or in person. In-person is recommended for all those living near or in Regina, Saskatchewan.
• Presentation slides may be uploaded to the course website for access after class.
• Some weeks may have short assigned readings before class.
• Students are encouraged to evaluate the readings and discuss the application.
• Student participation is crucial to build a positive learning environment where everyone feels safe and encouraged to pose questions, share experiences, and engage in open dialogues about the content of the course.

About Lotus Vu

Lotus is the 43rd generation of the Vietnamese Thiền Lâm Tế Lineage of Nguyên Thiều (Rinzai equivalent in Japan). She had studied and practiced Zen for over 30 years under her teacher’s guidance. As a teenager, she attended retreats with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh. She studied Mahayana and Theradava Buddhism with many monastic teachers from Vietnam, taking a particular interest in the Buddhist psychological system of the unconscious: the Yogachara. Vietnamese Buddhism is eclectic and non-sectarian. Lotus has the experience of being able to study many Buddhist teachings and explore different paths since childhood. She had explored a variety of Buddhist traditions such as Theravada, Tantra, Pure Land and Zen since the age of 9, but chose Zen as her primary path.

Lotus lives in Regina, doing Zen while splitting her time between immigration law consulting for the IT Start-Up program and doing psychotherapy. She holds a Master of Science in Psychotherapy from McMaster University’s Department of Psychiatry and attended Western University and York University for her undergraduate in Business Administration and Psychology respectively. She continues to guide the Sangha from Regina.

We hope you will join us on this unique and transformative journey!

First, dedicate a specific time to meditate everyday and stick with it. First thing in the morning I find to be the easiest and best time. I get up earlier than I normally would so I can meditate before heading to work. I also try to do a shorter sit in the evening as well but I find that I’m fighting sleep rather than meditating.

I believe most practitioners just find a corner somewhere in their home to meditate. This can make the practice rather impersonal. It can really help to create a dedicated space setup solely for sitting. It should be decorated in such a way that when you look at it, it makes you want to sit there. Here’s the meditation platform that I built in my backyard. Now that many of the plants are starting to take, it’s a place I love to meditate in.

With summer coming to an end my time meditating outdoors is becoming numbered. But creating such spaces can greatly increase your desire to get to the cushion. There’s no right or wrong way to create such a space just make it something that speaks to you. Happy meditating!

On the last day of the retreat Lotus gave a Dharma talk which was recorded for the benefit of those that weren’t able to make it.

Notes from Lotus’ Dharma Talk on October 28, 2023

The way of knowing of the great reflecting mirror –mind clears 

The way of knowing equality – mind without afflictions 

The way of knowing of clear observation – absent of efforts 

The way of knowing perfected action – all is ok 

Five, six, seven, eight: the resulting fruits of planted seeds movements 

It only uses labels, not the true nature of reality 

If knowing moves without attachments 

Amidst bustling activities, stillness liberates. 

• By Hui Neing, 6th Patriarch of Chan/Zen China

Alaya-vijnana storehouse consciousness converts to knowing of the perfected mirror. 

Manas-vijnana consciousness (discriminating ego) converts to knowing of 
equanimity 

Thinking/ discriminating mind converts to knowing of clear observation 

Five other consciousness transforms to knowing of perfected action (or the 
perfected mirror knowing in the sense-consciousness) 

The nature of knowing (Citta) (thức) is wisdom (trí). When it doesn’t know itself, it is 
deluded by phenomena of consciousness deluded with its factors, it is knowing in 

a dualistic manner. When knowing knows itself and is liberated from attachments 
to all phenomena of itself, it is transformed into wisdom. 

The essence of knowing nature (thể) is the absolute reality of unmoving stillness 
amidst all the busy activities or functions (dụng) of everyday life. 

This Mind (Citta) has two aspects – the Mind as Suchness or Thusness, that is, 
Absolute Reality itself, and the Mind as phenomena, a collection of the eight- 
consciousness described in the Yogacara. Between them, these two aspects 

embrace all there is… The essential nature of the knowing mind is unborn, 

imperishable, and beyond language. 

Zen meditation focuses on realizing the absolute nature of the mind or non-dual 
way of knowing. But it cannot do so without observing and understanding its 
functions and phenomenon, the Yogacara’s consciousnesses.