Kathie Fischer: Revering The Ancestors

In this sesshin talk on Buddha ancestors, Sensei Kathie Fischer takes us way, way back, reminding us that long before any of our human ancestors there were the ancestors of earth, water, fire, air, and space. When we sit in zazen and feel our breaths grounding our bodies into the earth and then rising and dissipating into spaciousness, we touch these most ancient of ancestors. After reminding us of this earthly heritage, Kathie reviews the stories and teachings of the first six of our human Zen ancestors, beginning with Bodhidharma, and then explores two modern American Zen teachers: Katherine Thanas and Blanche Hartman. There is a golden thread running through these ancestors’ teachings: Your mind is the Buddha. Take good care of it. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here.