Greetings from Vajragoni here at Unborn Mind Zen
Once again it’s that annual-junction wherein my time apart from active blogging begins. Since arriving back last August from Contemplative Soujorun II we have added a lot of new material. A series on Chuang-Tzu has just been completed; prior to that was one on Tsung-Mi. An extensive series on the Lotus Sutra was offered as well as one on the Hsin Hsin Ming, which includes an original version of the text in Light of the Unborn. Sandwiched between these two series was an Odyssey into The Dragon Mind of Zen Tarot: a string of reflections by Tozen, which originally began as an Audio-Visual cycle on YouTube back in 2011 but which now has also been incorporated into a Contemplative Zen Tarot Deck. I have to say that my daily use of the completed deck has proven to be of immense spiritual benefit. The reader is encouraged, if it proves to be equally beneficial, to create their own laminated-deck and to study the accompanying text, as well as meditate on the included video. This is a non-commercial venture and the deck is to be used exclusively for personal use. A little venture outside of our usual spiritual focus commenced with our series on the Bhagavad Gita; four chapters from the Gita were commented on and it also includes an original version of the text in Light of the Unborn. Perhaps our most extensive series this season was on our inner-journey (breaking open enigmatic Yogic-Codes) with the Yogasūtras of Patañjali. All four-books of his sutras were covered and also a version of the text in Light of the Unborn is included here as well. Our season kicked-off back in August with an Original Spiritual-Tantric text entitled, The Tathāgatagarbhatārā Tantra, a vast composition that also includes within the body of the work a unique spiritual-liturgy entitled, The Divine Liturgy of Vajrasattva. Also included under the categories for this season is one named Mystagogia, which essentially highlights advanced spiritual-techniques and one called The Hermit’s Den, that encapsulates a form of daily personal breviary—selections from spiritual-texts, some with added reflections. Tozen has once again like last season provided us with new spiritual-teachings of his own under the Tozen Teaching category. Above all, we’re most delighted to report the creation of our own Unborn Mind Zen Online Digital Library (see far right category on top of page)—a vast selection of Buddhist PDF texts, some out of print and well worth the read. Our library is continually adding new titles and our hope is that our efforts will provide a unique resource for readers interested in Buddhism primarily, but also for those with a sincere and devoted spiritual bent. For new readers there is a lot of material here to wet your spiritual appetite. For our regular readers this is a good time to review all that has been offered this season as well as from prior ones; as you know this kind of material isn’t meant to be read just once , but rather absorbed and digested over time, as each series offers new insights into the Buddhadharma and for spiritual growth in general.
As reported at this time last year, it is essential for me in terms of healthy holistic growth to wisely choose some time apart for recharging my spiritual batteries. So I am once again looking forward now to that good quality time spent apart for extra dharma-study and meditation in deep samadhis.
Happy Reading!