Summary: Episode Description: In this third public Dharma talk of the Winter Practice Period, The Way of a Bodhisattva, Sensei Irene asks the question, who is a bodhisattva? The characteristics of a bodhisattva, discussed as well in previous Practice Period talks, include a life devoted to freeing other beings from suffering, a commitment to stay in samsara to work for the benefit of others rather than opting for the bliss of nirvana, a realization of the "oneness" of life and thus a fundamental stance of interdependence, of "we," rather than the separateness of "me," and also spontaneous helpful actions, skillful means, enacted out of wisdom and compassion. Bodhisattvas can be anyone -- human beings, animals, any kind of being -- but they are classically depicted as archetypes, or icons, several of which Sensei Irene discusses. Sensei closes the talk by suggesting that these bodhisattva archetypes, these representations of boundless wisdom and compassion, are outer manifestations of qualities inherent in all of us and that they serve to inspire us to live the lifestyle of a bodhisattva without negating our humanness. 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.
