My wish is to make my work accessible to those it will most resonate with - this is why, where possible, I create offerings on a free or by donation basis.
If you have been touched by my groups, words, or other offerings, and are in a position to offer support, it is hugely appreciated, and enables me to stay responsive and available to what I sense to be of value in these times.
Thank you for your generosity and presence, Emma
No Giver, No Receiver and No Gift –
I spent some weeks practicing in San Francisco Zen Center in about 2008. Many things moved me there, amid the black zabutons and the graceful, beautiful monks, but nothing more than the truth of this - a resplendent non duality at the heart of all life:
In the Zen tradition, before meals in some temples, the following chant is said:
“May we with all beings realize the emptiness of the three wheels, giver, receiver, and gift.”
What does it mean to say that there is no giver, no receiver and no gift? This is the way Zen teaching shows absolute reality in language – “no giver, no receiver and no gift” means that this giving isn’t a beneficent act one performs for another, an act you can take credit for or feel worthy or unworthy of. A Zen practitioner… remembers that giving is life—that everything is giving, everything is given. There are no separate givers, receivers, or gifts. All of life is always giving and receiving at the same time. This is our practice and our joy. So we practice giving—both receiving and giving gifts—in this spirit.”
(words from Norman Fischer - a student of Shunryu Suzuki)