Recording Category: Dharma Talks

The Buddha encouraged his followers to choose wholesome companionship, and to stay away from unwholesome people. What does this mean? The people with whom we spend our time will always… Read more »

It is a frequent modern lament that our lives feel packed with competing demands and are complicated to the point of overwhelm. For lay Buddhists, this can seem like far… Read more »

Jiko talked about the 10,000-year clock, the problem of nuclear waste, why we plant trees and what it means to let go of goals in this talk about time, effort,… Read more »

Many Zen masters speak of “Don’t Know Mind.” What is this Don’t Know? What do we know, how do we know it, and does it matter?

When we’ve tasted the benefits of something that we care about, it’s normal to want to get more of it or make it work better. In the practice sphere, this… Read more »

A few years ago Kyogen and Getsushin led a conversation about our prison program as a Dharma Talk. It’s time for an update, as the program has been growing through… Read more »

There are many beings in our lives who remain invisible. This past week, we have been sitting sesshin in honor of our ancestral lineage – invisible beings whose importance to… Read more »

Many Zen metaphors point to the insubstantiality of reality and our attempts to fix it. Zen practice offers a kind of clarity and centeredness to one’s life that comes from… Read more »

I met my teacher and said “I have only always wanted to be helpful.” She probably thought: “Oh, here comes another one suffering with some heavy stuff to sort out.”… Read more »

Now that we’re sitting on-site, sometimes the zendo is cold in the mornings. Discomfort arises. What then? Buddhism has a long history of mining this dilemma. We’ll look at some… Read more »

In preparation for our Jukai ceremony on March 22nd, Shintai offered a Dharma talk about practicing with the Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts during different stages of practice. For those participating in… Read more »

The first precept we learn is “Cease from evil.” If Buddhism teaches us not to make dualistic concepts, why does it set up the pair of good and evil? What… Read more »

The title of this talk refers to a relatively early (1980) collection in English of writings of masters in the Soto Zen lineage. Bukkai explored the ordinary moments in which… Read more »

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