Faith in Mind

What is Faith? What is Mind?

This is what we are going to explore on this retreat. We are including the exquisite three-page poem: Faith in Mind, Hsin Hsin Ming. Written during the Tang Dynasty in 6th Century China, this translation is by the venerable Chan Master Shen-yen.

In the context of this retreat, we will look at this poem from three perspectives.

1. First, the poem will be presented as a story of life, death, and awakening. Faith in Mind is a story of the birth of “blind faith” in the aspect of Mind that is selfless, timeless, always present and all knowing. Once this blind faith is born, it can be nurtured with practice until it grows and deepens into a living faith, kept alive by occasionally finding evidence that this unseen all-knowing mind exists. As this living faith develops into deeper and deeper flashes of insight, a relative trust develops when we have occasional tastes of samadhi, the unreasonable joy of liberation from the prison of self. Finally, the selfish mind gives way to a direct wonderous experience of absolute nothingness. Then the selfish mind and selfless mind begin to unite into one unified suchness, and absolute trust, beyond all doubt emerges. This “Faith in Mind” is an absolute Trust in this Awakened Mind. This cycle of life is a path that can be followed to the death of the illusion of self and the rebirth of Noble Wisdom, also known as Enlightenment, Suchness, and Awakened Mind.
2. The second perspective we will explore on this retreat is an exploration of the whole spectrum of Mind. We will be using the map of mind that the Buddha allegedly described in the Lankavatara Sutra—the map of the Eight Consciousnesses. This perspective is also pointing to a path of awakening, the path of transmuting the Eight Consciousnesses into Noble Wisdom.
3. The third perspective we will explore reveals how this poem contains clear meditation instructions to assist you in following any path of liberation out of the realm of suffering that results from dualistic emotional reactivity and ego confusion “selfing”, and into the realm of non-reactivity “equanimity”, and then liberation beyond suffering and the cause of suffering, “the illusion of self.”

Come join us if you are both called and committed to practice.

Doshin

Covid-19 vaccination and a covid test are required.

Refund Policy

The first payment is non-refundable.  Full payment is due by October 15.  

Any cancellation after October 15 will receive a 50% refund, or you can transfer the full balance to a future retreat within a year.

No refunds the day before the retreat.