Podcasts by The Zen Studies Podcast

255 – The Medicine of Emptiness When Witnessing Suffering and Injustice from 2023-12-02T00:37

When we witness - or experience - suffering or injustice, the medicine of emptiness can give us strength and equanimity. It should also increase our compassion, allowing us to be open, sensitive...

254 - Practice is How You Live Each and Every Moment – Part 2 from 2023-11-25T20:57

Everyday life gives us countless opportunities for "awakening work." I discuss ways to practice each and every moment in order to awaken to the truth of Dukkha and the ending of Dukkha, and to t...

253 - Practice is How You Live Each and Every Moment – Part 1 from 2023-11-15T23:40

The formal aspects of Buddhist practice – the things you can look at and identify as “Buddhist practice” – are very important. These include meditation, Dharma study, and time ...

252 - Reflections on Dogen’s “Bussho, The Buddha-Nature” Part 2: Total Existence from 2023-10-31T20:05

In my second episode reflecting on Dogen's “Bussho,” or “The Buddha-Nature," I discuss how Buddha-Nature is a teaching about our existential koan as human beings. I also talk about how Dogen say...

251 – Reflections on Dogen’s “Bussho, The Buddha-Nature” Part 1: Being from 2023-10-27T22:30

In his essay "Bussho," or "The Buddha-Nature," Dogen explores and expands a classic Mahayana Buddhist teaching. I reflect on a few central concepts from the first paragraph.

250 - In Zazen We Stop Imposing Ourselves on the World and Meet It Instead from 2023-10-15T00:28

In zazen we stop imposing ourselves on the world either through our habitual thinking or through any effort to control or judge our meditative experience. Only then can we meet the world us it i...

249 - Are the Buddha’s Teachings on Renunciation Relevant for Householders? – Part 2 from 2023-10-01T00:31

In this second half of a two-episode discussion, I briefly review the limitations of sensual or worldly pleasures. Then I explore how engagement with the world, contrary to simply being a compro...

248 - Are the Buddha’s Teachings on Renunciation Relevant for Householders? – Part 1 from 2023-09-28T18:26

The Buddha was pretty clear. If you wanted to experience complete liberation, it was best practice renunciation - to leave all worldly things behind: Family, sex, alcohol, fancy food, music, ent...

247 - Sangha Challenges: How and Why to Open Up to the Treasure of Sangha – Part 3 from 2023-09-16T17:48

In Part 3 of my “Sangha Challenges” discussion, I finish my list of reasons you may resist joining a Buddhist community or find it challenging to maintain your relationship with one over time. I...

Two Episodes Recommended by Listeners from 2023-08-31T22:54

This is my third and final post during my 2023 sabbatical month. I'll be back soon with a full episode, but in the meantime I wanted to share two past episodes with you that multiple listeners h...

Recommended Episodes on Zazen from 2023-08-25T22:23

Here again with recommended episodes for you to listen to while I'm on my August sabbatical from Zen teaching and writing. Your chosen form of meditation may be what I call "Directed Effort" med...

Announcement and Recommendation from 2023-08-17T00:59

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246 - Sangha Challenges: How and Why to Open Up to the Treasure of Sangha – Part 2 from 2023-07-31T23:13

In Part 2 of my “Sangha Challenges” discussion, I talk about various reasons you may resist joining a Buddhist community or find it challenging to maintain your relationship with one over time. ...

245 - Sangha Challenges: How and Why to Open Up to the Treasure of Sangha – Part 1 from 2023-07-27T23:51

Should you join a Sangha? Sangha, or community, is one of the “Three Treasures” of Buddhism, but is it really necessary? How important is it? There are many "Sangha Challenges" - reasons you mig...

244 - Zazen as a Religious Act from 2023-07-17T01:48

Seated Zen meditation – zazen – is less like the meditative practices of many other spiritual traditions, and more like prayer in theistic traditions. This is not because we believe in God (alth...

243 - The Buddha’s Life Story as Archetype and Teaching from 2023-06-30T23:36

Understanding the teachings of Buddhism starts with becoming familiar with the Buddha's life story. This isn't because he is believed to have been divine, or even a prophet. In...

242 - Reflections on Sansuikyo, Dogen’s Mountains and Waters Sutra from 2023-06-23T22:37

One of Zen master Dogen’s most beloved writings is a relatively short essay called “Sansuikyo,” or the Mountains and Waters Sutra. In this episode, I reflect on two aspects thi...

241 - What Does It Mean to Waste Time? from 2023-06-16T15:53

Buddhist and Zen masters through the ages have begged us not to “waste time.” What does this really mean? How do we know if we’re wasting time, and does it really matter?

240 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 4: Buddha-Nature 2 from 2023-05-31T18:07

This is part four of my series called “One Reality, Many Descriptions,” Buddha-Nature Part 2. I first talk about Buddha-Nature as trust. Then I offer the requisite discussions of what Buddha-Nat...

239 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 3: Buddha-Nature 1 from 2023-05-28T14:26

This is part three of my series called “One Reality, Many Descriptions.” While experiences of Emptiness and Suchness (or Thusness) may be liberating and transformative, we may be left with the q...

238 - Eco-Anxiety and Buddhism – Part 2 from 2023-05-12T23:51

It's natural to feel some eco-anxiety as the earth’s natural life-support systems break down. Buddhism clearly admonishes us to refrain from killing, to actively care for all life, and see ourse...

237 - Eco-Anxiety and Buddhism – Part 1 from 2023-04-29T14:52

Eco-anxiety is fear that our earth’s natural life-support systems are in the process of a collapse that will be catastrophic to life as we know it. This fear may range in intensity between a vag...

236 - Spiritual Inquiry Part 5: Koans and Awakening from 2023-04-19T18:32

Awakening Inquiry is aimed at awakening to what I’ve been calling Reality-with-a-Capital-R. How do we inquire into aspects of Reality we have not yet even imagined? How do we even know what we d...

235 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 2: Suchness or Thusness from 2023-04-12T19:17

What do Buddhists mean by the terms “Suchness” or “Thusness”? Over the millennia, Buddhists have employed many concepts to point us toward Reality-with-a-Capital-R, because awakening to Reality ...

234 – Spiritual Inquiry Part 4: Investigating and Resolving Karmic Issues from 2023-03-30T22:28

In the last episode I discussed “karma work,” or the process of noticing the underlying reasons for our...

233 – Spiritual Inquiry Part 3: Identifying our Karmic Issues from 2023-03-18T19:50

An important part of Buddhist practice is spiritual inquiry. Buddhism teaches us that there are underlying reasons for every selfish and neurotic thing we do, and that we can d...

232 – Spiritual Inquiry Part 2: Resistance to Questions and Karma Work Versus Awakening from 2023-03-06T22:14

In this episode, my second in a short series on spiritual questions, I talk about various reasons for resistance to coming up with or asking spiritual questions. Then I discuss the relationship ...

231 – Spiritual Inquiry Part 1: What Spiritual Questions Are and Why They Matter from 2023-02-27T21:40

There are many aspects of Buddhism which suggest you ought to have deep spiritual questions – questions which are not merely intellectual, but which matter to you, personally, ...

230 – The Importance of Bodhi-Mind, or Way-Seeking Mind from 2023-02-15T18:22

Buddhism is based on seeking – seeking freedom from suffering, greater wisdom and compassion, greater skillfulness in benefiting beings, and a more authentic, connected way of ...

229 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 1: Emptiness from 2023-01-31T22:21

Teachings like Emptiness, Buddha-Nature, Suchness, Absolute and Relative, and Mind-with-a-capital-M are challenging, and sometimes people wonder if they’re all just terms for the same thing, mor...

228 – Skillful Self-Discipline Part 2: Clarity of Purpose and Patient Determination from 2023-01-19T06:02

If we live without self-discipline – without clarifying aspirations, forming intentions, or training ourselves – our lives are unlikely to go in the direction we would like them to. Unfortunatel...

227 – Skillful Self-Discipline Part 1: Balancing Discipline and Gentleness from 2023-01-09T22:38

If we live without self-discipline – without clarifying aspirations, forming intentions, or training ourselves – our lives are unlikely to go in the direction we would like them to. Unfortunatel...

226 – How to Relate to Worldly Pleasure as a Buddhist – Part 2 from 2022-12-25T16:09

In Part 1 I defined what I mean by “worldly pleasure,” and then discussed five drawbacks of such pleasure as described in Buddhist teachings, and in our own experience. In this episode I talk ab...

225 – How to Relate to Worldly Pleasure as a Buddhist – Part 1 from 2022-12-25T14:31

Traditionally, the ideal of Buddhism is the renunciate monastic who forgoes worldly pleasures because they are fleeting and distract us from practice. How should a serious practitioner relate to...

224 – Human Nature: Why Aren't We Born Enlightened? from 2022-12-16T00:07

Why aren't we just all born enlightened and avoid suffering? Or, we could ask: Why are human beings the way they are? Why did they evolve to cause so much suffering for themselves and others? If...

223 – Integrating Insights from 2022-12-01T01:41

On the meditation seat and off, we may experience significant insights - realizations that shift our perceptions of ourselves and world, and help relieve suffering. Insights may be sudden or gra...

222 – Confronting the Buddha’s Sexist Discourse – Part 2 from 2022-11-23T18:16

I explore how - for some of us - explaining, dismissing, or justifying the story of the Buddha’s resistance to ordaining women (told in the Gotami Sutta) does not completely neutralize the disco...

221 – Confronting the Buddha’s Sexist Discourse – Part 1 from 2022-11-16T20:35

I introduce the text that describes the Buddha’s negative words and actions in response to the question of ordaining women into what was called the “homeless life” of his monastic community. The...

220 - Being the Only Buddhist in Your Family – Part 2 from 2022-10-29T19:01

This is Part 2 of my discussion about being the only Buddhist in your family. I continue discussing ways to create more harmony between your spiritual practice and your family relationships, and...

219 – Being the Only Buddhist in Your Family – Part 1 from 2022-10-21T19:37

Many – if not most – English (or Spanish!)-speaking Buddhists are converts to Buddhism. Even if you were raised in a Buddhist family, chances are good that as an adult you are surrounded by non-...

218 - The Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow Part 3: Entering Dharma Gates&Attaining Buddhahood from 2022-10-15T17:27

I discuss the third and fourth vows of the Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow, about entering all Dharma Gates and embodying the unsurpassed Buddha Way. For some of us, these seem less accessible and rele...

217 - The Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow Part 2: Ending All Delusions from 2022-09-30T22:37

This is episode two in my series on the Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow (also called the Four Great Bodhisattva Vows). In the first episode of the series (216), I discussed the spirit of the bodhisattv...

216 - The Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow Part 1: Freeing All Beings from 2022-09-22T13:37:02

In this episode I review the meaning of the Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow, and then explore the first of the vows in detail: Beings are numberless, I vow to free them. What does it mean to free being...

215 - We Will Die Soon: Using Impermanence to Motivate Practice from 2022-09-12T23:56:41

From the time of the Buddha, Buddhists have spent time contemplating impermanence - often by deliberately meditating on their own mortality and eventual death. This practice isn't for everyone, ...

214 - How Do You DO Zazen, Anyway? from 2022-08-31T23:08:12

Offering you another episode on zazen risks me repeating myself, but I don’t think it hurts to offer a fresh new talk on zazen periodically. The practice – while profoundly simple – also can be ...

213 – Deconstructing Self: Which Aspects Are Fine, and Which Cause Suffering? from 2022-08-19T23:53:41

The core teaching of Zen is that understanding the true nature of self is of the utmost importance to living a life that is liberated, compassionate, generous, wise, and skillful. Mindful examin...

212 - The Wisdom of Play from 2022-08-11T14:50:12

When we play wholeheartedly, we engage the world with energy, joy, lightheartedness, and enthusiasm, welcoming challenge and enjoying our activity for its own sake. We rarely have the same attit...

211 - Book Review: Kosho Uchiyama's “Opening the Hand of Thought” from 2022-07-31T00:56:58

Uchiyama Roshi's Opening the Hand of Thought is a great book for the beginner as well as the advanced practitioner of Zen. Uchiyama manages to balance philosophical discussion of the mo...

210 - Book Review: Kyogen Carlson’s “You Are Still Here” from 2022-07-21T22:05:09

This book is a treasure in that it collects in one place the essential subjects and themes of Kyogen Carlson’s teaching, which remains faithful to his Soto Zen lineage through Roshi Jiyu Kennett...

209 - Book Review: Issho Fujita's "Polishing a Tile" from 2022-07-11T22:05:15

In this episode I review Issho Fujita's Polishing a Tile. This is far and away my favorite book on zazen of all time, and it covers other essential aspects of Zen practice as well. This...

208 - Nine Benefits of Practice in Difficult Times from 2022-06-30T18:22:12

How can practice help us deal with the strong negative emotions we experience in difficult times, such as anger, hatred, fear, or despair? Fortunately, Buddhist practice is a powerful way to dec...

207 - Dirt Zendo, Cloud Zendo, One Sangha: Buddhist Community in the Digital Age from 2022-06-25T17:46:40

In the last episode, I talked about the new phenomenon of a virtual space for practice, including its merits and benefits. In this episode, I talk about the merits of practicing in a "Dirt Zendo...

206 - Dirt Zendo, Cloud Zendo, One Sangha: Buddhist Community in the Digital Age – Part 1 from 2022-06-07T15:00:41

Since COVID lockdown, Buddhist communities have greatly expanded their online practice opportunities. Virtual spaces are surprisingly effective for practice and building a sense of Sangha. Many Bud...

205 - Motivation for Practice: What Do You Love Most Deeply? from 2022-05-28T20:45:15

In order to find motivation for diligent practice, it can help to identify and connect with what you love more than anything else in the whole world. What love makes your life worth living? Love fo...

204 - Buddha-Nature: What the Heck is It and How Do We Realize It? Part 2 from 2022-05-21T19:31:36

This is my second episode on one of the central teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, that all beings have Buddha-Nature (buddhata). I discuss more about what Buddha-Nature is and is not, how we...

203 - Buddha-Nature: What the Heck is It and How Do We Realize It? Part 1 from 2022-05-13T18:24:29

One of the central teachings of Mahayana Buddhism is that all beings have Buddha-Nature (buddhata). Awakening to this Buddha-Nature allows one to attain unsurpassed enlightenment, so it is...

202 - Two Truths: Everything is Okay and Everything is NOT Okay at the Same Time from 2022-04-28T20:00:57

Reality has two dimensions. Along the dependent dimension, our world is unequivocally full of greed, hate, delusion, and suffering, and any moral person should feel compelled to do something to mak...

201 – Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 5: Finding What I Was Looking For from 2022-04-23T00:05:53

This episode is the fifth and final installment – at least for now – of the story of my spiritual journey. I share a few more of what I call "enlightenments" - pivotal and personal insights I exper...

200 – Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 4: Enlightenments from 2022-04-15T21:47:28

This episode is the story of my spiritual journey, part 4. I start sharing a series of what I’m calling “enlightenments” I experienced over the course of the first ten years or so of my monastic tr...

199 - Is My Practice Languishing? If So, What Can I Do About It? from 2022-03-30T21:14:45

It’s not unusual for our practice to languish at times. “Languish” means to be or become weak or feeble, to lose vigor or vitality, to be subjected to neglect or prolonged inactivity. How do we rec...

198 - Renunciation as an Act of Love from 2022-03-22T14:59:48

Buddhism is a path of renunciation. Many people assume this means we aim to separate ourselves from the things and beings of the world and work ourselves into a state where we no longer care abo...

197 – Neither Avoidance nor Identification: Being with the Reality of Painful Situations from 2022-03-11T20:50:38

Sometimes there is no avoiding painful situations, whether the difficulty is arising in our own life or from witnessing suffering in the world around us. How can we respond to troubling conditions ...

196 - Death and the Emptiness of Self: What's the Meaning of Life If You've Got No Soul? from 2022-02-27T14:00:22

Do we think there's life after death in Soto Zen? I discuss the Soto Zen perspective on consciousness and whether some kind of consciousness continues after our physical death, and where we find me...

195 - Hongzhi’s “Wander into the Center of the Circle of Wonder” from 2022-02-21T15:00:33

In this episode I explore a teaching from 12^th-century Chan master Hongzhi, in which he instructs us to “wander into the center of the circle of wonder.” I propose that the whole of the ...

194 - Pain in Meditation 2: Adjustments to Posture and When to Tolerate Discomfort from 2022-02-15T02:09:04

This is episode 2 in my discussion of physical discomfort in seated meditation. I discuss how to do it with a minimum of discomfort, including tips on spinal position and different kinds of meditat...

193 - Pain in Meditation 1: Why the Seated Posture? from 2022-01-28T19:12:54

Most meditators experience some physical discomfort during seated meditation, ranging from restlessness to severe pain. In this episode I talk about why the seated meditation posture is so importan...

193 - Pain in Meditation 1: Why the Seated Posture? from 2022-01-28T19:12:54

Most meditators experience some physical discomfort during seated meditation, ranging from restlessness to severe pain. In this episode I talk about why the seated meditation posture is so importan...

192 – The Eight Worldly Winds: Gain, Loss, Status, Disgrace, Praise, Censure, Pleasure, Pain from 2022-01-22T01:23:43

According to one of the foundational Buddhist teachings, we are doomed to be “blown about” by Eight Worldly Winds unless we engage in spiritual practice: Gain and loss, success and failure, praise ...

191 – Contemplating the Future: The Middle Way Between Dread and Hope from 2022-01-06T22:50:39

When we contemplate the future, it may seem like we have only two options: dread, or hope. If we can’t summon hope, we may avoid thinking about the future at all in order to escape dread. Fortun...

190 – Leaping Beyond Fear of Rejection: Giving the Gift of Self from 2021-12-23T15:00

The gift of self - such as our time, attention, energy, enthusiasm, perspective, sympathy, and creativity brightens the lives of everyone around us. Although the self is "empty" of inherent, end...

189 – Collecting the Heart-Mind: A Celebration of Sesshin – Part 1 from 2021-12-17T01:07:59

Sesshin - a silent, residential, Zen meditation retreat involving a 24-hour communal schedule - is an extremely valuable way to deepen your Zen practice. I discuss why I strongly encourage you t...

188 - What Does Practice Look Like When Your Country Is Broken? from 2021-12-01T21:23:15

When our country - or global community - is broken, how do we practice? Faced with incomprehensible violence, injustice, lies, greed, and destruction, how do we cope, let alone respond in accord...

187 - Lotus Sutra 5: Step Right Up to Get YOUR Prediction of Buddhahood from 2021-11-20T01:07:12

In the Lotus Sutra, thousands of the Buddha's disciples line up, each requesting their own, personal prediction of buddhahood. What is this about? Shouldn't advanced practitioners of the Buddha ...

186 - Making Peace with Ghosts: Unresolved Karma and the Sejiki (Segaki) Festival from 2021-11-12T01:56:29

The annual Buddhist ceremony of “feeding the hungry ghosts,” or Sejiki, offers rich mythological imagery as a teaching. Metaphorically, a “ghost” is anything painful or difficult which continues...

185 – 14 Ways to Enliven Your Zazen – Part 2 from 2021-10-29T19:27:10

I share nine more ways to enliven your zazen without employing methods that introduce dualism and struggle into your sitting. See E...

184 – 14 Ways to Enliven Your Zazen – Part 1 from 2021-10-22T21:02:39

183 – Natural Koans: Engaging Our Limitations as Dharma Gates from 2021-10-11T22:40:25

Formal Zen koans are short stories or statements by past Chan/Zen masters which have been passed down through the generations for study and contemplation by Zen students. Each koan contains a Dh...

182 - Answers to Interview Questions from Eastern Horizon Magazine from 2021-09-29T21:44:16

I share with you questions and answers from my 2020 written interview for Eastern Horizon, a tri-annual magazine of the Young Buddhist Association of M...

181 - Bodhicitta: Way-Seeking Mind, or the Mind of Enlightenment from 2021-09-22T23:28:25

Bodhicitta can be translated as Way-Seeking Mind, or the Mind of Enlightenment. It's the part of us that recognizes and seeks truth and goodness, inspiring our spiritual search and motivating ou...

180 - The Dharma of Staying Calm When Facing Challenges from 2021-09-10T22:02:49

When we can't - or don't want to - avoid facing challenges (our own or those of others), what does the Dharma offer us in terms of preventing anxiety, fear, overwhelm, burnout, depression, or de...

179 - Inadequacy to Abundance: Rewriting Our Self-Narrative from 2021-08-30T22:30:45

As human beings we have a self-narrative, and for most - if not all - of us, this narrative includes a sense of inadequacy. When we conceive of ourselves as a "small self against the world" we w...

178 – Declaring War on Global Heating and What That Means to a Buddhist from 2021-08-21T21:56:51

I remind us of the reality of the climate emergency, and then argue that the most appropriate response to it is for us – as individuals, communities, states, and nations – to declare war on glob...

177 - Unconditional Strength and Gratitude: The Medicine of Suchness from 2021-08-13T18:44:41

The medicine of suchness is life-saving, because even the happiest and most fortunate human life inevitably contains suffering. Sometimes – in our personal lives or in the wider world – we face ...

176 - A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 3: A Phoenix Rises from the Ashes of Despair from 2021-07-29T17:28:38

This is the third installment of story about my personal spiritual journey. Check out episodes 174 and 175 for the first and second parts, which took me up to the point I left home to move into ...

175 – A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 2: Why I Think Buddhism Is Awesome from 2021-07-21T19:54:19

I’m on sabbatical for July but still wanted to release three episodes this month, so as a change-up I’m telling you a story of my spiritual journey (thus far!). In the last episode, 174, I talke...

174 - A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 1: Conveyor Belt to Death from 2021-07-07T00:12:46

It's July 2021, and although I'm taking a sabbatical from both my Zen center and my climate activism, I decided to release three episodes this month anyway. A change is sometimes as good as a br...

173 - True Satisfaction: Dogen's Everyday Activity (Kajo) - Part 2 from 2021-06-29T17:26:22

The nature of true satisfaction is something explored by Zen master Dogen in his essay "Kajo," or "Everyday Activity." Using the imagery of having had rice, taking a leisurely nap, and living co...

172 - The Profound and Difficult Practice of Putting Everything Down from 2021-06-25T00:50:36

Putting everything down is what we do in meditation and sometimes when we're practicing mindfulness in daily life. Caught up in things like worry, excitement, or anger, we often find it nearly i...

171 - Five Requirements for Effective Practice with Any Issue from 2021-06-09T00:25:18

I propose effective practice with any issue we face requires five things: Recognition of the issue causing stress or suffering; Faith change is possible though practice; Willingness to do what i...

170 - Looking to Buddhism to Support Values and Beliefs We Already Hold - Part 2 from 2021-05-28T19:14:11

Continuing with the case study of social action, I follow the discussion of Donald S. Lopez's article on whether Buddhism - in particular, the bodhisattva ideal - has much to offer in the domain...

169 - Looking to Buddhism to Support Values and Beliefs We Already Hold – Part 1 from 2021-05-25T18:38:24

As modern, mostly lay Buddhists we may seek encouragement and guidance from within the tradition for values we already hold. How much support does Buddhism actually give for things like social a...

168 - Is This IT? Dogen's Everyday Activity (Kajo) - Part 1 from 2021-05-13T17:56:01

In Zen we say practice is nothing other than your everyday activity. If we view the Dharma as something special – a particular activity we treat as more sacred, or a state we hope to attain that...

167 - If You're Not Making Mistakes, You're Not Practicing from 2021-04-28T21:46:10

How can practice with mistakes - so we make fewer mistakes, but also so we aren't paralyzed by fear of mistakes, stressed out trying to avoid them, or stuck in regret or self-recrimination once ...

166 - The Ceremony of Wesak: Celebrating and Expressing Gratitude for Our Teachers from 2021-04-20T23:15:10

The annual Buddhist festival of Wesak celebrates the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha. The ceremony takes inspiration from the Buddha's mythological birth story, and I describe a version of the ceremo...

165 - The Buddhist Moral Precepts as a Practice for Studying the Buddha Way from 2021-04-09T18:25:39

The Buddhist precepts aren't just guidelines help us live moral and beneficial lives, they're also practice tools for studying the self. As Zen master Dogen wrote, “To study the Buddha Way is to...

164 – Gratitude as a Dharma Gate from 2021-03-19T21:48:18

Gratitude can be used as a practice to shift our attention from self-centered problems and complaints to an awareness of the miracle of simply being alive. It can help us be less reactive, depre...

163 - Lotus Sutra 4: Parable of the Plants - Superior, Middling, or Inferior Beings and the Dharma from 2021-03-12T20:54:52

The Lotus Sutra Parable of the Plants says that just as rain falls equally on plants big and small and each plant takes up what they need, so the Buddha shares the Dharma with all beings without...

162 – Am I a Good Buddhist? from 2021-03-01T18:27

If you practice Buddhism, it's natural to ask yourself, at some point, "Am I a Good Buddhist?" It's difficult to see ourselves as a good Buddhist when we fail to act in accord with our own deepe...

161 - The Parinirvana Ceremony and the Teaching of the Buddha's Dying and Death from 2021-02-15T19:38:01

Parinirvana, the death of the Buddha Shakyamuni, is commemorated by a ceremony in mid-February in most Buddhist communities throughout the world. The Buddha gave several important teachings righ...

160 - Bearing Witness without Burning Out from 2021-02-10T21:43:43

For the sake of ourselves and others, we need to learn to Bear Witness without burning out. Bearing Witness means exposing ourselves to the suffering in the world in all its forms out of compass...

159 – Active Receptivity in Zazen: Surrounded by a Symphony from 2021-01-24T00:56:26

Active receptivity is what we're aiming to cultivate in zazen, and in the rest of our practice. Despite the emphasis on what we’re NOT doing in zazen, it should lively and energetic activity, no...

158 – Social Strife and the Forgotten Virtue of Decorum from 2021-01-15T22:33:50

Recent events show how deep a divide has developed within the United States. Those guilty of crimes need to be held accountable, but how do we repair the social fabric of our nation? It may help...

157 – Bodhicitta: The Critical Importance of Dissatisfaction from 2021-01-01T23:12:22

Dissatisfaction can lead to Bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is a Buddhist term literally meaning “awakened mind” that can translated as “the mind that seeks the way.” It’s the part of us which aspires to...

156 – Ebb and Flow in Buddhist Practice: Cycles of Energy, Inspiration, and Focus from 2020-12-23T23:30:07

You can expect your Buddhist practice to go through a cycle of ebb and flow in terms of energy, inspiration, and focus. At times, hopefully, you feel motivated and determined, and experience a p...

155 - Avatamsaka Sutra - Each One of Us Has Unique Bodhisattva Gifts to Offer - 2 from 2020-12-08T22:19:55

Part of our bodhisattva path is embracing our uniqueness and finding our own particular, special bodhisattva capacity, talent, and calling. Each of us has our own unique way, or ways, of serving...

154 - Avatamsaka Sutra - Each One of Us Has Unique Bodhisattva Gifts to Offer – Part 1 from 2020-12-01T01:57:04

Part of our bodhisattva path is embracing our uniqueness and finding our own particular, special bodhisattva capacity, talents, and calling. Each of us has our own unique gifts to offer the worl...

153 - Kshanti, The Perfection of Endurance: Life's Not Always a Bed of Roses from 2020-11-18T22:43:07

Kshanti is the Buddhist perfection (paramita) of endurance. Practice can relieve suffering, but it takes work; it isn’t a magic pill that brings instant peace and bliss. An essential part of our...

152 - Lotus Sutra 3: This Means YOU - The Parable of the Lost Son from 2020-11-11T00:07:49

The Lotus Sutra parable of the Lost Son perfectly conveys the difference between hinayana and Mahayana practice. Despite what we may think of ourselves, we already have everything we need -  inc...

151 - The Emptiness of Self and Why It Matters from 2020-10-26T17:59

The emptiness of self is a Zen teaching that may seem rather abstract and philosophical, or even kind of nihilistic, depressing, or disorienting. Why does this matter? In brief, knowing the true...

150 - Zazen as the Dharma Gate of Joyful Ease from 2020-10-17T18:23:52

In this episode I focus on how zazen is the dharma gate of joyful ease, because experiencing it as such is so profoundly restorative at a time when our lives tend to be stressful in many ways. I...

149 - Understanding People's Actions Through the Six Realms Teaching from 2020-10-08T17:29:38

Understanding people's actions can be difficult. Sometimes we can't help but feel disbelief, judgment, or disgust toward people based on how they respond to the suffering of others. The Buddhist...

148 – Three Ingredients for a Generous Life in a Crazy World from 2020-09-30T22:46:30

Bearing Witness, Taking Care, and Taking Action: A skillful balance of these ingredients helps you sustain energy, motivation, positivity, and equanimity even when so many things are falling apa...

147 - Loving-Kindness (Metta) Practice as an Antidote to Fear and Anxiety from 2020-09-19T22:59:40

When we call suffering beings to mind and extend metta - or loving-kindness - it might seem like we'd be opening up to more suffering and thereby increase our own fear and anxiety, but this is n...

146 - Respect Even for Terrible People: What Does It Mean? from 2020-09-12T01:29:55

Buddhism, like other religions, teaches we should treat each and every human being with respect, regardless of their behavior or off-putting manifestation. What does this really mean? Sometimes ...

145 - No Matter What Happens to You, You Have Choice in the Matter from 2020-08-26T17:35:34

Buddhism teaches that no matter what happens to us, we always have some degree of choice about how we respond, and what we do next. At those critical, precious moments when your perspective wide...

144 - Lotus Sutra 2: Wake Up! The Parable of the Burning House from 2020-08-13T00:31:42

The Parable of the Burning House is one of five main parables of the Lotus Sutra, a classic Mahayana Buddhist text. I go through the parable paragraph by paragraph, stopping to reflect on each p...

143 - The Experience of Enlightenment and Why It’s for All of Us from 2020-08-03T23:56:08

Whether you are personally intrigued by the concept of enlightenment or not, it is absolutely central to Buddhism. However, enlightenment – to use a kind of corny phrase – is not what you think....

142 - Direct Experience Is Liberation: When There Are No Stories, There Is No "You" from 2020-07-24T23:12:59

Humans evolved to make sense of their experience by explaining with a story, or narrative. Although our stories help us communicate and navigate our lives, they also can preoccupy and burden us....

141 - The Practice of Vow 2: Choosing the Direction We Want Our Lives to Take from 2020-07-15T18:23:44

The practice of vow is central in Buddhism, as I’ve discussed before. Vows – alternatively aspirations, intentions, or commitments, ...

140 – Sustainable Buddhist Practice: Creating Form But Keeping It Flexible from 2020-07-04T22:59:49

How do we create a strong and sustainable Buddhist practice outside of a monastery? We create structure for ourselves and build good habits, but then the circumstances of our lives change. There...

139 - Suchness: Awakening to the Preciousness of Things-As-It-Is from 2020-06-23T02:01

All religions and spiritual practices have one purpose: To relieve our suffering and give us hope. As Buddhists we sometimes emphasize “relieving suffering” and leave it unsaid that, after being...

138 - Buddhist Images of Fierceness and Compassionate Anger from 2020-06-12T19:51:05

Despite the placid appearance of most Buddha statues and the Buddhist precept against indulging anger, there is a place for fierceness and compassionate anger in Buddhism. Especially when we're ...

137 - Sustainable Bodhisattva Practice when the World is (Literally) on Fire from 2020-06-01T21:27:58

Many American cities are on fire - literally - as tensions over systemic racism erupt. How do we enact our bodhisattva vows in the face of all of this suffering - caused by racism, the global pa...

136 - Grief in Buddhism 2: Some Buddhist Practices Helpful for Facing and Integrating Grief from 2020-05-21T16:55:35

Grief is love in the face of loss; do you want to stop loving in order to stop feeling grief? Of course not. But we also don't want to be controlled or overwhelmed by it. There are a number of B...

Mini Episode - A Four "S" Approach to Shikantaza: Sit Upright, Still, Silent, Simply Be from 2020-05-16T18:37

Shikantaza, or the practice of "just sitting," can be challenging. We're asked not to try to control our meditative experience, but are we just supposed to sit there like a sack of potatoes and ...

135 - Grief in Buddhism 1: Buddhist Teachings on Grief and the Danger of Spiritual Bypassing from 2020-05-11T02:02:35

Grief in Buddhism: What are the teachings about it, and how are we supposed to practice with it? It's often easy to suppress or bypass our grief, leaving us stuck in one of the early stages of g...

134 - Lotus Sutra 1: What Is Devotion, and How Does It Fulfill the Buddha Way? from 2020-04-30T22:34:26

The Lotus Sutra is one of the oldest and most central sutras in Mahayana Buddhism. The sutra states repeatedly that people who perform small acts of devotion, such as making an offering at memor...

133 - Restoring Wonder: Hongzhi's Guidepost of Silent Illumination - Part 2 from 2020-04-22T17:57:15

I continue in a second episode with my reflections on Chan master Hongzhi's "Guidepost of Silent Illumination. I discuss the interdependence of absolute and relative and why that matters in real...

132 - Restoring Wonder: Hongzhi's Guidepost of Silent Illumination - Part 1 from 2020-04-08T21:54:25

In this episode and the next, I riff off of 12th-century Chan master Hongzhi’s short text, “Guidepost of Silent Illumination,” one of the most positive and encouraging Zen teachings a know. By “...

131 – Facing Impermanence? Fortunately, Buddhism Is All About Life and Death from 2020-03-26T00:50:31

Buddhism’s central point is nothing other than impermanence, or the "Great Matter of Life-and-Death." Our practice goes far beyond platitudes or beliefs meant to make you feel better about the w...

130 – A Buddhist Approach to Practicing with Fear from 2020-03-16T01:34:50

Fear is a natural response that helps us protect ourselves and our loved ones, but it can also be inappropriate and debilitating. Buddhist practice offers many ways to help us manage our fear. W...

129 - Why Is Self-Esteem Essential When the Self is Empty? from 2020-02-29T01:46:09

Self-esteem is absolutely essential in Buddhist practice, but it may seem like self-esteem has no place in Buddhism. The Buddha taught us to stop identifying anything as I, me, or mine, because ...

128 – Taking Action: Getting Out of the House and Helping Others (Crisis Buddhism Part 3) from 2020-02-19T22:20:41

Taking Action is the second area of practice in Crisis Buddhism. It means working to help alleviate or prevent the suffering we witness in the world by leaving our homes, interacting with others...

127 - Crisis Buddhism - Part 2: Bearing Witness from 2020-02-11T01:55:34

Crisis Buddhism requires us to mindfully balance three essential areas of practice: Bearing Witness, Taking Action, and Taking Care. In this episode I discuss Bearing Witness, or exposing oursel...

126 - Crisis Buddhism: Sustainable Bodhisattva Practice in a World on Fire – Part 1 from 2020-01-29T23:37:58

Crisis Buddhism is a new formulation of practice to help us navigate our everyday lives as we face ecological and climate breakdown. We mindfully balance three areas of practice: Bearing Witness...

125 - Liberation Through Understanding the Five Wisdom Energies from 2020-01-21T03:26:43

The Vajrayana teaching of the five wisdom energies is a about five types of energy we all have within us, or five tendencies within a human being. Within each of us, one or two energies tend to ...

124 - Giving Shape to Our Lives: The Buddhist Practice of Vow from 2020-01-07T00:58:31

Vows guide our decisions, help us prioritize how we spend our time, resources, and energy, and allow us to discern whether our actions are in harmony with our deeper aspirations - helping us liv...

123 – Engaging Our Climate Emergency as a Koan and Opportunity from 2019-12-23T02:46:44

Our practical, lived response to our climate and ecological crisis – as individuals, Sanghas, and Dharma teachers – is inseparable from our Dharma practice. As Greta Thunberg has said, “Change i...

122 - Meditation Is NOT About Stopping Thoughts from 2019-12-16T01:46:31

In this episode, I talk about why we long to be thought-free. Then I discuss how meditation is not about stopping thought, but instead is a practice of diligently and repeatedly turning...

Facing Extinction 2: A Personal Journal (Nov 14-22) from 2019-12-12T00:47:24

Facing Extinction: A Personal Journal about Trying to Do the Right Thing in a Climate Emergency. Topics: I Need You(r support for my activism); What Does Zen Have to Do with Climate Action? (a d...

121 – The Practical Value of Awakening to the Absolute Aspect of Reality from 2019-12-01T00:40:57

Next week I’ll take a break from my busy life and projects in order to attend a silent meditation retreat. After spending the half-a-year since my last retreat immersed in the relative aspect of...

120 - Dogen's Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings - Part 5 - Identity Action from 2019-11-26T23:33:08

I finish up our study of Zen master Dogen’s essay “Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings” with a discussion of "identity action," or "being in the same boat" with living beings. Even if y...

119 - Brightening the Mind: Refusing to be Tyrannized by Negative States from 2019-11-17T15:47:37

Practice can help us “brighten the mind” when we’re feeling trapped in negativity, hopelessness, despair, discouragement, depression, lack of confidence, etc. We practice four steps: 1) Acknowle...

Facing Extinction 1: Nov. 3rd - 9th, 2019 from 2019-11-13T07:07:22

This episode is a part of series I’m trying, “Facing Extinction: Trying to do the right thing in a climate emergency.” What does it have to do with Zen and Buddhism? The connection may not be so...

118 - Buddha's Teachings 15: Nirvana as the Ultimate Goal of Original Buddhism from 2019-11-02T23:50:09

Nibbana means "extinguished," and attaining it means you have extinguished the "outflows" of sensuality, ignorance, and the desire for further existence. Someone who attains nibbana experiences ...

117 - Clarifying the Mind Ground According to Keizan's “Zazen-Yojinki” from 2019-10-28T01:43:41

In his essay "Zazen Yojinki," or "Points to Keep in Mind When Practicing Zazen," 13th-century Zen master Keizan Jokin presents “clarify[ing] the mind-ground and dwell[ing] comfortably in [your] ...

116 - Do You Need a Zen or Buddhist Teacher? from 2019-10-20T01:03:30

Every few weeks or so, I get an email from a listener who feels they need a Zen teacher. Some people have asked whether I might be able to function as a teacher for them long distance. I’m never...

115 - Dogen's Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings - Part 4 - Beneficial Action from 2019-10-06T01:23:19

In this episode I continue our study of 13^th-century Zen master Dogen’s essay, “Bodaisatta Shishobo,” or what I’m calling the “Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings.” I cover "...

114 - Why Your (Real) Happiness Benefits Others from 2019-09-28T20:58:45

Real happiness is unconditional, and is achieved by releasing our suffering. Even though things are rarely how we would like them to be - within, or in our personal lives, or in the greater worl...

113 – Clarification: It’s Okay to Use Multiple Types of Meditation from 2019-09-20T23:43:06

In my enthusiastic endorsement of shikantaza or, "just sitting," I may have given the impression I think a real Zen student would only sit shikantaza, and there’s no place in Zen for paying atte...

2019-09-11 Off-Week Announcement about SFZC Talk from 2019-09-11T20:59:59

So sorry... no time to produce a new episode for you this week, but there's still something for you to listen to! I’ll be giving the Dharma Talk at San Francisco Zen Center this Saturday, Sept 1...

112 - Dogen's "Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings" - Part 3 – Loving Words from 2019-09-06T23:17:27

I continue study of 13th-century Zen master Dogen’s essay, Bodaisatta Shishobo, "Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings." In Episode 105 I gave an overview of the essay and defined the bod...

111 – You Can't Hold on to Stillness: Practice in Activity from 2019-09-01T00:36:30

If we're lucky, our practices of meditation and mindfulness give us some sense of spaciousness, stillness, and silence. What about when we engage in activities more complicated and demanding tha...

110 - How Understanding Impermanence Can Lead to Great Appreciation from 2019-08-16T09:00

We do not have retreat from appreciation of conditional or material things in order to live an enlightened life. However, we must diligently turn the lens of practice onto all of our relationshi...

109 - What Does Buddhism Have to Say About Mass Shootings? from 2019-08-10T19:55:37

Of course, traditional Buddhism doesn’t say anything about mass shootings per se, but it does present teachings on human nature, behavior, and choices. In this episode I discuss the Bud...

108 - Buddha's Teachings 14: The Five Skandhas as Focus for the Practice of Not-Self (Anatta) from 2019-07-30T23:09:33

The “Five Skandhas,” or aggregates, are the five aspects of a human being: Form, the body; Feelings, our positive, negative, or neutral reactions to stimuli; Perception, the basic process of lab...

107 - Finding and Enacting Our Best Response to the World's Suffering from 2019-07-19T22:25:31

Buddhism includes values of Right Action and Right Livelihood, generosity, goodwill, and compassion, and Mahayana Buddhists vow to free all beings from suffering. It's not easy to enact these va...

106 - Dogen's Shishobo: The Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings – Part 2 from 2019-07-13T02:41:42

In the last episode I introduced an essay by Zen master Dogen called Bodaisatta-Shishobo, or the Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings. I briefly defined the bodhisattva’s four embracing ...

105 - Dogen's Shishobo: The Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings from 2019-07-07T00:10:26

Given the many stressful and sad things happening in the world right now, I thought I'd spend a couple episodes on an inspiring essay by 13th century Zen master Dogen called “Bodaisatta-Shishobo...

104 – Buddhists: It’s Time to Address the Climate Emergency from 2019-06-29T00:42:29

Most western convert Buddhist communities have had the luxury of regarding “activism” for social or environmental justice as an optional or supplemental activity some people take up because they...

103 – Twelve Pali Canon Suttas Every Buddhist Should Know – Part 3 from 2019-06-14T09:00

Theravadin and Vipassana Buddhists tend to be familiar with the Pali Canon, particularly the suttas, or discourses of the Buddha. Other Buddhists don’t tend to spend as much time exploring Pali ...

102 – Nine Fields of Zen Practice: A Framework for Letting Practice Permeate Your Life – Part 3 from 2019-06-07T18:14:27

Buddhist practice can permeate every aspect of our lives. To help practitioners appreciate this outside the full-immersion experience of residential training, I’ve defined Listen

101 – The Koan of Awakening: Do You Know the Essential Truth Yet, Or Not? from 2019-06-03T02:26:30

From the beginning, it’s been clear that the highest rewards of Buddhism are experienced through a fundamental and radical shift in the way you understand the world and your place in it. This sh...

100 – Twelve Pali Canon Suttas Every Buddhist Should Know – Part 2 from 2019-05-17T09:00

Theravadin and Vipassana Buddhists tend to be familiar with the Pali Canon, particularly the suttas, or discourses of the Buddha. Other Buddhists don’t tend to spend as much time exploring Pali ...

99 – Nine Fields of Zen Practice: A Framework for Letting Practice Permeate Your Life – Part 2 from 2019-05-10T09:00

Zen practice can permeate every aspect of our lives. To help lay practitioners appreciate this outside the full-immersion experience of residential training, I’ve defined Nine Fields of Zen Prac...

98 – Nine Fields of Zen Practice: A Framework for Letting Practice Permeate Your Life – Part 1 from 2019-05-03T01:50:58

Zen practice can permeate every aspect of our lives. To help lay practitioners appreciate this outside the full-immersion experience of residential training, I’ve defined Listen

97 – Twelve Pali Canon Suttas Every Buddhist Should Know – Part 1 from 2019-04-26T18:32:40

Theravadin and Vipassana Buddhists tend to be familiar with the Pali Canon, particularly the suttas, or discourses of the Buddha. Other Buddhists don’t tend to spend as much time exploring Pali ...

Off-Week Editorial - It’s Not Enough to Respond to What’s Right in Front of You from 2019-04-19T21:05:51

The core of Buddhist practice is cultivating mindfulness of this moment and responding as best we can to whatever we encounter in the course of our personal, daily lives. However, if we aspire t...

96 - Zazen Pamphlet: Essential (and Brief) Instructions for the Practice of Zazen from 2019-04-12T10:00

I challenged myself to write instructions for the practice of zazen that would fit on a letter-sized, tri-fold brochure – 8 ½ by 11 inches, two sided. I figured I’d share it here on the podcast ...

95 - Lineage in Buddhism: The Intersection Between the Individual and the Collective Tradition from 2019-04-07T00:25:07

In many forms of Buddhism, particularly in Zen, we have the concept of “lineage:” the essential aspects of our collective religious tradition have been passed down through the generations from o...

94 - Buddha's Teachings 13 - The Five Hindrances - Part 3 from 2019-03-30T19:07:45

The Buddha taught that there are five main “hindrances” we encounter in our spiritual practice: 1) Worldly desire; 2) ill-will; 3) sloth-and-torpor; 4) restlessness-and-worry, and 5) uncertainty...

93 - Buddha's Teachings 12: The Five Hindrances – Part 2 from 2019-03-23T21:17:13

The Buddha taught that there are five main “hindrances” we encounter in our spiritual practice. In this 2nd episode of 3, I start going into detail about each hindrance and recommended ways to a...

2019-03-15 Off-Week Book Review: Why Buddhism Is True from 2019-03-15T18:27:58

I review Robert Wright's Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. While it's not necessary to know the "why" of things in order for Buddhist pra...

92 - Buddha's Teachings 11: The Five Hindrances – Part 1 from 2019-03-09T01:59:26

Meditation and other aspects of Buddhist practice can be difficult. According to the Buddha, it’s useful to pay attention to exactly what’s going on when we’re feeling challenged. Any obstacle c...

91 – Unethical Buddhist Teachers: Were They Ever Really Enlightened? from 2019-03-01T09:00

The list of supposedly-highly-realized Buddhist teachers who have abused their power and acted in harmful ways – particularly in the realm of sex – is long, and getting longer all the time. Unet...

90 - Buddhist History 11: Early Indian Buddhism - Stupas and Devotional Practice - Part 2 from 2019-02-23T07:13:23

In Part 1 (Episode 82), I defined Devotional Practice as extending beyond demonstrations of respect, gratitude, and reverence to practices believed to result in real benefits – perhaps intan...