Recording Category: Dharma Talks

The question of how to undertake a meditation practice in the midst of a practice community is one that has been asked since the time of the Buddha. What tools are we given to skillfully attend to our own personal growth, while also supporting others in a way that provides space for their transformation as… Read more »

Sometimes we see the state of the world and despair. Our experience with the suffering of all beings is hard to hold at times. How does our practice help us to navigate when it seems there is nothing to be done? Is there room for despair in the Dharma?

As we begin Rohatsu, our longest and most solemn sesshin of the year, Genko looks at sesshin practice and the intimacy it fosters in the midst of deepening silence.

This week Kakumyo discussed the most subtle and difficult of the brahma viharas or divine abidings. Equanimity is a key factor in creating the relational context that we function in. Given Zen’s emphasis on the interdependence of life, practice and enlightenment, this relational content becomes important. Holidays are approaching, get your equanimity booster while you can.

In the Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines, bodhisattvas are described as “being armed with the great armor.” This week, Jyoshin will look at what this armor might be, how we tend to think about armoring, and how we may be able to shift towards utilizing spiritual armor instead of defensive armoring.  

With the Two Ancestors Memorial taking the place of morning service this Sunday, Jyoshin will speak on the importance of inspiration in spiritual practice. From lineage ancestors to modern day muses, what/who is the source of your inspiration? 

In Taking Our Places: The Buddhist Path to Truly Growing Up, Norman Fischer quotes Dogen as saying: “Only a Buddha and a Buddha can understand it.” Fischer goes on to say: “Even a Buddha by himself can’t understand it. Only a Buddha AND a Buddha can. Only through profound relationship, deep encounter, ineffable meeting, can we… Read more »

This Sundays’ dharma talk was replaced by the Sejiki Festival.

These are familiar words to any Zen student. But what does it really mean to forget the self? What is body and mind falling away? It is both nearer and more precious than we think. 

This Sunday, Kakumyo will talk about the trade offs between practices which tend to be subtle but thorough, and practices that tend to be easier, but only go so far or leave some kind of residue.  We need some of both, and there’s an art to the assessing of our level of awareness and choice of… Read more »

Between what, you may well ask? Perhaps between two extremes. Perhaps between one season and the next, or what happens in the middle of a transition from one state, or one life, to another. Perhaps it’s a moment between thoughts on the cushion. It may be another way of saying the Middle Way. Genko explores… Read more »

Between what, you may well ask? Perhaps between two extremes. Perhaps between one season and the next, or what happens in the middle of a transition from one state, or one life, to another. Perhaps it’s a moment between thoughts on the cushion. It may be another way of saying the Middle Way. Genko explores… Read more »

 Buddha did say, “I teach suffering…” but he went on to say “…and an end to suffering.” In a spiritual tradition rooted in the teaching of suffering, what role does joy play? How does practicing with our suffering facilitate or inform our joy? Senior lay disciple Thomas Bruner explores the concept of turning toward joy with the same… Read more »

On the kickoff for Fall Ango 2019, we’ll explore our connection to our sense of purpose and meaning. How do our deepest wishes ripple through the intentions and aspirations of our everyday life? Are we feeding this process, and are we drawing from it appropriately?

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