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Living Zen
Spontaneous Zen talks given in the Rinzai tradition by Ven. Eshu Martin, abbot of the Victoria Zen Centre in Victoria, BC, Canada. www.zenwest.ca If you enjoy this podcast, rate it,review it, and share it with your friends on Twitter, Facebook and face to face. www.zenwest.ca Check out the Living Zen Podcast app on the iTunes app store! Language: en Genres: Buddhism, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Religion & Spirituality Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Under the Heavens and on the Earth — April 7, 2026 — Dharma Talk
Sunday, 28 June, 2026
This talk was given on April 7 — the day before Hanamatsuri, the traditional celebration of the Buddha's birthday. I'd been sharing a video that week of newborn lambs at the ecovillage where I live, jumping around within minutes of being born. Nearly everyone said the same thing: it's amazing how much they can do right away. People don't do that. Except — maybe we do. The story of the Buddha's birth says that after he was born, he stood up immediately, took seven steps, pointed one hand to heaven and one to the earth, and declared: "Under the heavens and on the earth, I alone am the world honored one." My teacher always said that was a refined translation. The original was simpler: the cry. The first cry any life makes when it arrives. This talk explores what that declaration is actually pointing to — not a claim of separation or specialness, but the opposite: the recognition of a fundamental nature that belongs to all beings, all tables, all blades of grass. Not something to acquire. Not an edge to gain over others. A ground to be realized. The teaching of pratītyasamutpāda — interdependent co-arising — explains why: this whole cosmos arises together, the way all the waves of an ocean rise together. A wave comparing itself to other waves, trying to take more water from its neighbors — it's absurd. They're all ocean. And at the close: the declaration offered as a koan. Something to walk with. The Living Zen Podcast arises from my teaching work with Zenwest Buddhist Society, a Zen practice community on Vancouver Island. If you love these talks and want to hear them without the ads, come join us on Red Mountain Way on Patreon. Members get every episode ad-free, plus additional teachings and reflections. I'd love to have you there. Another meaningful way to support is simply sharing — passing an episode to someone who needs it. For those seeking one-to-one Zen support, information about my Zen Mentorship work is available through Monarch Trancework. Thank you for listening. Thank you for practicing.
