Recording Category: Dharma Talks

This week we will talk about interdependence, dependence, and the practice of meeting old age, disease and death around us, drawing on some early Pali sources for inspiration

For many zen practitioners – oldtimers, newcomers, and those in their zen-midlife, there is a question of “how much?” How much formal practice? How much time spent at the temple? How much time spent studying Buddhism? Often the reply that comes is a perplexing, “find a balance.” What does this even mean? What does a… 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… 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?

 With late summer settling in, the coast beckons. A cool breeze, ocean waters, little purple anemone. Anticipation and delight fill the mind. How do we keep refreshing enjoyment from becoming sticky attachment? What happens when anticipation meets actual experience? This Sunday Jyoshin talks about the dharma teachings of tide pools.    

This Sunday, Kakumyo will give a numerical answer to this often asked question about Zen practice. Should be a short talk.    

In a society that trains us for standing out and being special; collecting likes and retweets; and developing our personal brand, how can the teachings of our ancestors even be relevant? Did Dogen offer anything that comes close to addressing the needs of this world? (hint: the answer is ‘yes’.)  

There are many invisible beings supporting our practice. Sometimes we think of our tasks as small or unimportant. But in the matrix of Buddha Nature, no task can be greater or smaller than another. How do we approach our tasks when there seems to be a difference in importance?  

Genko starts with a recent book that describes and explores the previous five mass extinction events on this planet, and goes on to talk about other disasters, moving from global to regional to community to personal. What is a disaster, and how do we practice with it?

This week we are in Genzo-e sesshin, working with the Dogen’s commentary on a chapter of the Diamond Sutra focusing on the “Ungraspable Mind”. This Sunday Jyoshin will look closer at this chapter through the lens of the Buddha’s Five Eyes.  

We are told that enlightenment is not a matter of stages. But we all occupy roles in our lives which reflect stages of development. How do we meet our practice through archetypal experience? In what way do we grow into an understanding that is already complete?

In this talk, Kakumyo explores how we allow and prevent awakening in our interactions with others, using a story from the Vimalakirti Sutra as a guide.

As we end Ango and approach the summer, the way we practice changes for many of us. Forms are reduced and relaxed as people go on vacations, spend more time outdoors, and often less time in the zendo. Genko explores some ways that we practice with this change, the value of it, and the vague… Read more »

We put a lot of effort in our Zen Practice into examining who we are. Kakumyo speaks to the balance of knowing who we are, and still being curious to seeing new parts of ourselves.

Kyri Kengan Trieman, who is the guiding teacher for the Daoren Circle, will talk about practice when we are away from the temple.

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