Recording Category: Dharma Talks
There’s a line in the Song of the Grass Hut that says, “Turn around the light to shine within, then just return.” Return to what? It could be talking about coming back to here and now, but Genko finds that many aspects of life and practice cycle around and become new again, deepening with each turn of… Read more »
Jyoshin explores the Buddhist teachings on compassion and suffering through the lens of her work as a hospital chaplain. How does her practice sustain her in the work, and what struggles does she face as she cares for the dying and their families, as well as overwhelmed hospital staff, during this ongoing pandemic? Learn how… Read more »
What is the meaning of right effort? Following several days of retreat practice focused on finding the balance between effort and ease, we will talk about being busy, being lazy, and how we know when we’re getting it right.
What is this “self” that seems to move forward through time and how might our Zen practice influence our relationship with it? And why does it carry so much baggage?
What is Transmission and why is it a big deal in Zen? Gyokuko explores the concept with different lenses.
Kakumyo talked about the opening of term and setting our intention for practice.
Shin’yu just spent a week in the hospital. One of her nurses had a lot of questions about Buddhism. The answers are still unfolding.
Zen is sometimes called a “formal” religion or practice. We do have a lot of forms. But what does that mean? What is a form? How do we practice with it? Why do we have them? Genko explores these questions in this talk.
Rick Hogetsu Mitchell gives his first student talk at Dharma Rain. The talk reflects on the nature of friendships, personal and spiritual, and their role in supporting our practice.
Some of us find that summer changes our routines, and makes the schedule lighter. And yet, the number of hours in the day are the same, and there are still tasks to be done. What does it mean to take care of business in the summer? What is our true business? How do we know?… Read more »
Sometimes practice flows and we’re carried along by it, sometimes it’s a struggle and we can’t gain any momentum and keep running into setbacks. Although we may prefer the former, there are expressions of Right Effort in each mode. This Sunday, Kakumyo will explore how we relate to this phenomenon and what it signifies.
In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha tells the story of a group of tired travelers who come to a beautiful city where they can rest. He reveals this to be imaginary, the skillful means required to allow them to continue the long journey. What do we conjure for ourselves and for others? When are such… Read more »
Transformation and spiritual growth tend to be common topics among Zen practitioners. For all that our teachings advise us to sit without a specific goal, often there is some aspiration towards ease and comfort. This path towards ease is not always smooth. We might encounter bumps along the way. How we meet a challenge or… Read more »
The ordination ceremony contains the phrase: “I have changed my form but kept my wish…” This is an allusion to the continuity of our way-seeking mind, and the variety of particular forms our practice may take over time. This Sunday, Kakumyo will talk about particular ways we realize and display lay and monastic paths of… Read more »
Recent news articles discuss prevalent mind states of people during the pandemic and now as we emerge. The word “languishing” has come up more than once, along with its opposite, “flourishing.” Languishing suggests becoming faint, feeble, or ill, also suffering from being forced to remain in an unpleasant place or situation. The New York Times… Read more »