Friday, June 11, 2010

Kokyo Henkel on Nagarjuna, Mahdyamika and Yogacara



Kokyo Henkel, currently teaching at Santa Cruz Zen Center recently gave the Sunday lecture here at Green Gulch. Kokyo, formerly known as Luminous Owl, spoke of Nargarjuna, a pivotal Mahayana Buddhist philospher living in the second century C.E., whose influence on Zen has been immense. I was able to catch up with Kokyo after the lecture and ask a couple of questions about his lecture topic. He manages to weave in many of the themes from his talk.



If you are interested in finding out more about Nagarjuna, ask Abbot Steve Stuckey about "The Mulamadhyamakakaraika Blues". It's a mouthful, but go ahead it's pronounced just like it looks.



You can also check out Nargrjuna's book, "The Fundamental Widsom of the Middle Way". I recommend the Jay Garfield translation.



This is my first attempt at an interview and also making a video. It was alot of fun and I hope you like it.