PZI Events Calendar
W E L C O M E to the PZI Events Calendar! Here you will find all upcoming events and registration links for PZI Zen Online retreats, sesshins, and weekly meditations & talks. Search by individual event, day, or month. Save to your Google Calendar or iCal Calendar. No experience required to participate. All event times are Pacific Time. Questions? Contact Lucas at PZI Support.
F E A T U R E D
April 26: What Is This Light That Everybody Has? – Deep Sit Sunday Zen with John Tarrant & Tess Beasley
May 7–10: Say A True Word & I Will Stay The Night – Open Mind Retreat with John Tarrant, Tess Beasley, & Allison Atwill
June 8–14: Dragons & Tigers, Oh My! – Our Great Summer Sesshin with John Tarrant & PZI Teachers
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TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: The Diamond Sutra and Being Despised
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If you are despised by others because of evil karma from your previous lives, about to drop into hell, then because you are despised by others, the evil karma of your previous life will be extinguished.
The Diamond Sutra is the oldest known dated, printed book in the world. It is dated May 11, 868 A.D. and is a 16 foot long scroll of wood block printing. It was commissioned by a man named Wang Jie on behalf of his parents for free distribution. Buddhism fell out of favor with Emperor Wuzong, who preferred Daoism and a Buddhist persecution occurred between 842 and 846 ending with the death of the Emperor. During that time, it is estimated that 4,600 monasteries and 40,000 hermitages were destroyed and 260,000 monks and nuns were forced to defrock. It is easy to imagine that twenty years after the persecution, Buddhism was still looked at with suspicion, mistrust and disapproval by many.
The koan is taken from the beginning of chapter 16 of the Diamond Sutra, but leaves out the very beginning, which goes like this:
“If a good man or good woman who accepts, upholds, reads or recites this Sutra is disdained or slandered, if they are despised or insulted…”
People who resumed publicly practicing Buddhism after the persecution would have been the object of criticism and disdain by the supporters of Daoism and other indigenous Chinese spiritual traditions. The original Sanskrit version of the Diamond Sutra was written around the second century A.D. It is again easy to imagine that practitioners of the older Hindu tradition, out of which Buddhism evolved, felt suspicion, mistrust and disapproval of this new upstart tradition of Buddhism.
You don’t have to be the subject of religious persecution to feel that people despise you. Perhaps “despise” is a strong term for it. How about feeling like people are not pleased with you, ever feel like that? Have you noticed that the person who is least pleased with you is you? If I weren’t displeased with myself, others’ displeasure wouldn’t stick to me.
—David Weinstein
COME JOIN US on Tuesdays for koan meditation, dharma talk and conversation.
Register to participate. All are welcome.
David Weinstein Roshi, Director of Rockridge Meditation Community
