Recording Category: Dharma Talks

Buddhist history is filled with stories of mystical and supernatural power. Dogen said mystical power “is the tea and meals of Buddhists.” What can this mean for our practice today? Are there such things as miracles?

When we were children we made wishes on the first star, on a few lighted candles on a birthday cake, and on the “wish-bone” of the Thanksgiving turkey. There is usually a sweet innocent selfishness to childhood wishes. Now as adults, what do we wish for? How do we improve and broaden our hopes and… Read more »

At last weeks Sangha Forum, members requested an opportunity to talk more about succession, the abbot’s role, how this might look and why it matters. This week, Kakumyo will speak briefly about his perspective here, and then invite questions.

People are sometimes surprised to learn that Buddhism has a long, rich history of confession and repentance. The flavor of this in Buddhism is quite different from what we may have experienced in other religious practices, but we still experience shame, self-hatred and regret as we face up to past mistakes. Dharma Rain will be… Read more »

Many of us spend the majority of our day in our workplace. How can we deepen our practice in the midst of distraction, busy days and competing demands for our time? How do we integrate the effort that we make in our meditation practice with the effort we make at work? Shintai will offer some… Read more »

Zazen is widely recognized as our core practice, but a small percentage of available teaching minutes are allocated to how-to instruction. Why is that, how do we answer the questions we have about meditation, and what questions do we need to have about meditation?

Zazen teaches us to let go of thoughts feelings and distractions that interfere with being present and aware of this very moment. Some of the commitments we make in our everyday lives – marriage, children, jobs, friendships – require us to stay engaged focused and even tenacious. What does zazen teach us about dealing with… Read more »

Fall Ango will begin by recognizing old women in zen’s timeless koan heritage, the challenges and opportunities they offered then and even now. Bukkai’s talk is inspired by “The Old Woman of Mount Wutai,” a koan from ninth century China, and her own experiences of many years.

Science can explain how a flower opens, but watching a flower open is an entirely different experience. Jyoshin looks at aspects of Buddhism that came from Asia to the western world, and how the western mind works with these. One example is invocations to deities. What is the usefulness of considering such invocations as a… Read more »

Dharma Rain has many programs and many ways to serve and be served, but ultimately, Dharma Rain is a Zen temple. The strength of Zen is that it brings zazen and other practices and tools to help us transform the obstacles in our own minds. Gyokuko will talk about the significance of Zen and the… Read more »

Many of us find a sense of identity in being part of a group, a family, a tribe. But sometimes conflict arises when we want our own independent identity and distrust the tendency to succumb to group-think. This conflict leads right to the central koan that we all grapple with – Who Am I? To… Read more »

We are on Genzo-e Sesshin this week, studying Dogen’s fascicle Avalokiteshvara. In this talk, Kakumyo explores the interplay of witnessing and immediacy – how close do we get to our own experience? How many kinds of closeness are there?

What is the value of a human birth? We are reminded now and then that to be born a human being is special, of high merit. Why? What does this say about other beings? What does it say about how we should be living our lives?

What does it mean to practice with the daily news that arrives on the doorstep (or laptop) every day – tragedies from Orlando to Istanbul back to Dallas along with endless opinions and updates – and then return to our daily activity? Are we aware of our karmic habits receiving breaking news events and the… Read more »

Finding our way through life decisions and the spiritual quest means clarifying our ideals and aspirations. Rarely can we see very far into the future but we can find inner and outer guidance.

Water is often used as a metaphor for Dharma. The choice to immerse ourselves completely or have a sip now and then is a personal one. How do we choose? How do we honor our own choice and the different choices others make?

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