Summary: Episode Description: In this talk, Shinzan discusses the importance of "noble friends" in the practice. He opens with the Buddha admonishing his attendant Ananda that "friendship is the whole of the holy life." While we often come to practice for personal reasons, because of "dissatisfaction" in our lives, we see over time the importance of relationships. In fact, the practice is all about relationships, all about our interconnectedness, which is what the Buddha meant. We are able to gauge whether we are advancing in practice through our relationships. We are driven to take full responsibility for our practice and for transforming our suffering through our relationships. Noble friends are not necessarily the people we want to "hang out with." Rather, they are the people who share our values, our intentions, make us accountable to ourselves and others, and inspire us in the practice. Noble friends can make us feel uncomfortable, in skillful ways, and bring us out of our comfort zones. Shinzan shares several personal anecdotes about noble friendship in his life, as well as stories from classical Buddhist sources. He closes with an excerpt from the Dhammapada. Bio: Shinzan Palma was born in Veracruz, Mexico. He has been practicing Zen since 1996. He met his former teacher, Korean Master Samu Sunim, in Mexico City and trained under his guidance for 8 years. He did a residential training for 4 years at the Zen Buddhist Temple in Toronto, Canada and was ordained as a novice priest by Samu Sunim in 2004. After leaving Canada, he was invited by Roshi Joan Halifax to come to Upaya in 2006. Shinzan asked Roshi to be her student and he was re-ordained as a Priest in 2007 by Roshi Joan Halifax. Since then, he has been at Upaya practicing with the community. He is now Head Priest and Temple Coordinator, giving guidance to the residents on Zen training. He became Dharma holder in March, 2010. He has a sincere and strong heart committed to the Dharma.
