Recording Category: Dharma Talks

Kakumyo explores some themes from the Lotus Sutra and Dogen relating to our ability to absorb Dharma. Where do we find it, what gets in the way, and what does that tell us about reality? [Note: apologies for the poor quality of the recording.]

The Three Tenets of the Zen Peacemaker’s Order are: Not Knowing, Bearing Witness, and Taking Action. We’ll look at the practice of sesshin through the lens of these three tenets.

Sosetsu talks about two slogans – Practicing Together and Be a Good Ancestor – and a little about sports.

Jyoshin talks about forms: how we work with form and practice in a big-picture view. 

Trust is important in an ongoing Buddhist practice. However, fear and apprehension can sometimes interfere with its expression. Metta (lovingkindness) practice can disarm us and provide the sense of openness and safety needed for the arising of trust. Daigai reflects on the benefits of metta practice, particularly the connection between lovingkindness and the manifesting of… Read more »

This line in the Fukanzazengi, which we recite for our evening program, snagged my attention this week. What is going forward? What is an everyday affair? How do we live our everyday lives in such a way that we keep going forward?

Flying Fish talks about Gatha practice.

Anicca, or Impermanence, looms large among our basic Buddhist teachings. It’s one of the three Marks of Existence and is intimately related to the Four Noble Truths. Impermanence seems pretty straightforward: everything changes. It’s pretty easy to intellectually accept that, but not so easy to wholeheartedly live it. Why do we struggle so hard to… Read more »

Twelve Dharma Rain members leave today (July 9) on Pilgrimage to visit several temples south of us. We are going to the Bay Area and back home, stopping along the way, and will be gone for a week. This Dharma Talk explores the topic of Pilgrimage: what is it, how does it relate to our… Read more »

It is said that a senior is a person wholly comfortable with being a junior. What does that mean? How does this simple designation of rank work in practice? What are the lessons each can give us?

Kakumyo shares some stories about the Pilgrimage that 12 people went on, and draws some lessons from it.

What does it mean to study our past? How do we both practice attention and presence in our life today, and understand wounds and conditions of the past?

Flying Fish explores the theme of Hope by looking at Maitreya “of future birth.”

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