Summary: Episode Description: In this Dharma talk, Sensei Irene, from the Netherlands, begins with an overview of the concept of a bodhisattva as well as "bodhicitta," the awakened heart/mind that a bodhisattva cultivates. She then transitions to the main topic of her talk, the six paramitas, or "perfections" of a bodhisattva. These paramitas are methods, or virtues, that bodhisattvas practice and bring to "perfection." They include dana, or generosity, sila, or morality, ksanti, or patience, virya, or energy, dhyana, or meditation, and prajna, or wisdom. Sensei Irene briefly discusses each paramita, explaining that they help us move beyond our cocoon of self-centeredness and separateness. They lead to certain states of mind, or bhumis, that are characteristic of the awakened mind of a bodhisattva. For now, however, we are all "bodhisattvas in training," and must put these paramitas into practice over and over again, aware of when we slip and vowing to continue the work. Sensei Irene Kaigetsu Bakker is a certified zen teacher from the Netherlands, a Zen priest and Dharma successor of Joan Jiko Halifax Roshi. She has been a student of Zen in the White Plum Sangha tradition since the mid-80s. Irene Sensei first met Roshi Joan Halifax in Auschwitz in 1996 and they had a strong connection. Irene Sensei then became involved in Upaya's Zen training and Being with Dying training. In 2004, Roshi Joan asked her to continue her training on death and dying in Europe. Every summer, Sensei assisted teaching at Upaya Zen Center. In Holland Sensei serves as teacher for Zen Spirit which she founded in 2004. As family and systems therapist, she works with people with cancer, end of life care, in psychiatry, and private therapy practice. As a mindfulness trainer she teaches future MBSR trainers at the College / School for Social Work in Utrecht, Netherlands. When receiving Denkai and Denbo in March 2012, Roshi Joan gave her the name Kaigetsu (Ocean Moon) in addition to Kyojo (Jeweled Mirror Samadhi), her Dharma name since Jukai in 1989.
