Abbot's Teaching

The Original Frontier
A Book
by Michael Zenkai Taiun Elliston Sensei
September 2004

Micheal Elliston (Zenkai Taiun) Sensei

This book is one of many writing projects the abbot has under way. A brief introduction, along with the entire first section, comprising five chapters, is made available here. If you would like to assist the abbot in the editing process, or through a financial donation, please contact him by sending an email to the abbot.

Table of Contents

Introduction

“You can talk all day and never make them understand”

  1. Stream Enterer

Section I

  1. The Four Noble Truths
  2. Another Zen Book?
  3. Intimations of Mortality from Early Childhood
  4. Exploring the Original Frontier
  5. The Three Treasures

Section II

A. Community

“You and me — communication”

  1. Right Conduct
  2. Sangha-Nature
  3. Community in Conflict
  4. Contemporary Zen
  5. Protocol as Dharma-Gate
  6. Clothes of Enlightenment
  7. Who Needs It?
  8. Encouraging Zen
  9. Observing Precepts          
B. Teaching

“We teach each other Buddhism”

  1. Right Discipline
  2. Dharma-Nature
  3. Why Soto Zen
  4. The Heart of Wisdom
  5. Teaching Zen
  6. Learning Zen
C. Practice

“Your enlightenment will be greater than Buddha’s”

  1. Right Wisdom
  2. Buddha-Nature
  3. Meeting Buddha in Person
  4. Zen Meditation is Not
  5. Falling Asleep Staying Awake
  6. Doing and Non-doing
  7. Approaching Singularity
  8. Buddha’s Zen
D. Implications

“Do it your way”

  1. Abortion
  2. Addiction
  3. Creativity
  4. Crime
  5. Economics
  6. Education
  7. Family
  8. Belief
  9. Guilt
  10. Karma
  11. Killing
  12. Murder
  13. Opinion
  14. Peace
  15. Politics
  16. Rebirth
  17. Self
  18. Sex