A. Jesse Jiryu Davis's dharma talks

Bodhisattvas smile, though they hear the suffering cries of the world. You should smile too! A Zen talk I gave against doomerism.

Rich countries and drug firms act selfishly the COVID pandemic. Selfishness is natural, but we can strengthen our universal goodwill through training.

The United States as we know it will someday come to an end. It's shocking to see how vulnerable our democracy is, but as Buddhists we aren't surprised: Buddha told us that nothing lasts, and we can't rely on anything except the truth revealed by our own practice. A talk at the Village Zendo, November 8, 2020.

Buddhists must respond to the current political crisis, just as abolitionists like Frederick Douglass did in the 19th Century. A talk at the Village Zendo, September 3, 2020.

Our leaders are plainly untrustworthy. And when we hear about toilet paper hoarders, or protestors storming the Michigan governor's office, or covidiots crowding together on beaches, we stop trusting each other, too. But there is someone we can trust. Listen to find out.

Japanese Americans founded our practice, and they preserved and adapted it to life in the internment camps during WWII. Today we must adapt our practice in a crisis, are we up to the challenge?

Panic obliterates the self. We need a strong self to face fear in meditation and all of life. Dharma at the Village Zendo, February 23, 2020.

Photo: Sam Bald https://www.flickr.com/photos/28931095@N03/3115110964

On a visit to some Buddhists incarcerated on a jail barge, I had to improvise how to practice Zen, just like we always have to improvise our practice.

Everyone deserves a place where we can practice together. Everyone deserves the opportunity for redemption. A talk I gave at the Village Zendo on December 5, 2019.

Meditation can transform your life, but it only works if you sit regularly. You can establish a strong, serious practice following these five methods.

Recorded October 3, 2019, and the Village Zendo.