Recording Category: Dharma Talks

Some of us find that summer changes our routines, and makes the schedule lighter. And yet, the number of hours in the day are the same, and there are still tasks to be done. What does it mean to take care of business in the summer? What is our true business? How do we know?… Read more »

Sometimes practice flows and we’re carried along by it, sometimes it’s a struggle and we can’t gain any momentum and keep running into setbacks. Although we may prefer the former, there are expressions of Right Effort in each mode. This Sunday, Kakumyo will explore how we relate to this phenomenon and what it signifies.

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha tells the story of a group of tired travelers who come to a beautiful city where they can rest. He reveals this to be imaginary, the skillful means required to allow them to continue the long journey. What do we conjure for ourselves and for others? When are such… Read more »

Transformation and spiritual growth tend to be common topics among Zen practitioners. For all that our teachings advise us to sit without a specific goal, often there is some aspiration towards ease and comfort. This path towards ease is not always smooth. We might encounter bumps along the way. How we meet a challenge or… Read more »

The ordination ceremony contains the phrase: “I have changed my form but kept my wish…” This is an allusion to the continuity of our way-seeking mind, and the variety of particular forms our practice may take over time. This Sunday, Kakumyo will talk about particular ways we realize and display lay and monastic paths of… Read more »

Recent news articles discuss prevalent mind states of people during the pandemic and now as we emerge. The word “languishing” has come up more than once, along with its opposite, “flourishing.” Languishing suggests becoming faint, feeble, or ill, also suffering from being forced to remain in an unpleasant place or situation. The New York Times… Read more »

In Buddhism, we spend a lot of time talking about suffering and the relief of suffering, but relatively little time talking about happiness or joy. Should we expect to find joy in “objectless” meditation? Is it OK to pursue happiness? Will Zen practice make us happier? Annen considers these and other questions in this week’s… Read more »

Concern with how our karma developed is sometimes compared to being shot with a poison arrow. Don’t ask who shot it or how it was made, just get it out. But practice pushes us to confront past events and how they shape us. How do we look at the past in a wholesome way?

In celebrating Wesak, and contemplating the miraculous story of the Buddha’s birth, we may not find our own circumstances quite so auspicious. Kakumyo will talk about a Zen approach to noticing miracles in our practice.

This week we welcome a guest teacher, Ryushin Hart. Ryushin’s talk will explore a pervasive and pernicious obstacle to wholeheartedly living our spiritual path and the steps to decrease its impact.

Kakumyo talks about discovering the absolute within the relative.

There’s a Christian song that starts “Have Faith, Hope, and Charity; that’s the way to live successfully.” These somewhat old-fashioned words, Biblical words, words in a song, speak of values we cherish in Buddhism as well, though we may express it somewhat differently. What are these three virtues, and how do they manifest in our… Read more »

Sometimes the dharma rain seeps in and nourishes us in the way we’re hoping. Other times it seems to bounce off like a spring hail. Perhaps there’s no obvious button to push to change things. When we’re caught like this, we’re probably narrowing the range of our experience so the specific insult takes up more… Read more »

All the qualities of our identity are empty of self-nature, especially the qualities of the body. Yet such things as skin color and gender are often treated as “real” – as permanent, fixed, and conveying value. Suffering is the result. The talk this week will focus on this ‘injury of identity,’ particularly in regard to… Read more »

One of the barriers many people experience in meditation practice, and especially in the Zen tradition, are concerns about whether we are going to do it wrong. This shows up in many distinct flavors, sharing a common theme of anxiety. This Sunday Kakumyo will talk about how we meet this barrier and how it relates… Read more »

Dharma Rain Newsletter Signup

Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter that keeps you informed on what's going on at Dharma Rain Zen Center.


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact