Recording Category: Dharma Talks

Consider how you relate to opinions, both your own opinions and those of others. What comes up for you? In what ways do you feel empowered or obstructed by your opinions? What makes an opinion helpful or harmful? What effect do opinions have on your practice? How do they relate to your experience of dukkha?… Read more »

Many of us confront questions about how one individual’s spiritual practice can make a tangible difference in our world, especially when faced with the enormity of the collective problems before us. In her talk, guest speaker Caverly Morgan explores how meditation, mindfulness, and contemplative technologies designed for the realization of personal freedom can—and must—be applied… Read more »

The Buddha spoke of a list of four aspects of suffering that humans are subject to: birth, sickness, old age, and death. Genko draws on her recent experience with Covid, as well as earlier experiences with illness to examine suffering and how to work with it.

This is our season for studying the Precepts. An important and early part of preparing for the Precepts is examining the meaning of repentance. Many of us struggle with feelings of guilt, shame and unworthiness. Buddhist repentance allows us to acknowledge the mistakes of the past without injuring the self of the present, and leads… Read more »

Many people encounter a self that compares and critiques our spiritual capacity and worthiness. Sometimes it’s easy to see the frailty of that self and the tenuousness of its influence. But it can also be very disruptive and painful. Kakumyo talks about how Buddhism practices with this kind of distortion and doubt.

The Dharma Talk was replaced by Shuso Hossen, for Sonja Rinsho Aikens.

Dogen prescribed exactly how to sit down, how to walk, how to wash your face and brush your teeth, offer incense, and eat a meal. What is the purpose of our prescribed forms? We will explore our many different reactions to these rituals of Zen.

Guest teacher Bob Rosenbaum of Meadowmind Sangha gave the dharma talk. He discusses how all our sensations, feelings, thoughts and even the “real world” we take for granted are delusions — and the gates of liberation. This talk introduces the Surangama Sutra‘s teaching of the Matrix of the Thus Come One, unlimited by “is” and “is not.”

Genko explores the Dharma of these and other frequent polite expressions. When are they necessary? To what extent are they sincere and to what extent are they superficial or uttered for other reasons? What are some cultural assumptions we make about these? And, just to keep it interesting, what about the politics of Thanksgiving Day… Read more »

Kakumyo fills in for Jiko on Founders Day and talks about our Lineage and why it’s important.

The body we have is no different from the original Dharma Body. Using excerpts from Bodhidharma’s Blood Stream Sermon, Zen Master Nie will explore the personal and practice insights that come from exploring this teaching.

Byakuren’s approach to trauma integrates deep spirituality with directly facing your pain. She explores the establishment of a healing container for a traumatized emotional body by deeply entering our narratives, recognizing these formative conditions and healing the root causes of our suffering.

Interdependence and layers of causation have come up a lot recently. Kakumyo will explores these themes and how they relate to the activity of witnessing our self and being witnessed.

Jyoshin looks at two verse summaries from the Lotus Sutra that talk about Dharma Rain. This recording only includes the last 20 minutes of the talk.

As we become more aware of the workings of mind, our sense of who we are, our responsibility, and what our practice is keeps changing. Kakumyo explores this by taking a look at two paramitas and Dogen’s Eight Realizations to see how they interweave.

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