Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei ZMM - 4/14/24 - A tea shop proprietor serves traveling monks a koan to accompany their tea. “Let those of you with miraculous powers drink tea.” Then she says to the stunned monks, “Watch this old, decrepit woman show her miraculous powers.” Then, she simply walks out. Hojin Sensei reflects on this story from "The Hidden Lamp, Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women".

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 4/7/24 - From The Hidden Lamp: Collection of Stories of Twenty Five Centuries of Awakened Women - What is grief? Can we respect it? Not fear it? Really let it work us in and through our embodiment allowing its raw ingredients to scour our beautiful hearts into release into the impermanence that is the Buddha Way. Hojin reflects on her own relationship to ‘Good Grief’ and her love for Satsujo’s appropriate response, maybe not quite what we would expect from a Dharma story and our ideas of how to let go of attachment.

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 4/6/24 - Awakening From Illusion... Is that what we call the practice of the way? For awakening is not a one-time thing, a one-time event. But a continual awareness that needs to be continually maintained. Such maintenance as we well know may be difficult. It’s what we call practice. What supports do we have in our practice?

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZMM - 3/28/24 - From "The Hidden Lamp, Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women" - Hojin Sensei presents a koan of Lingzhao and her father, falling together. How do we fall with someone? How do we accept somebody’s support? And do we ever know that we are helping?

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 3/17/24 - Hojin Sensei examines a prevalent feature of our lives: distraction. We call it “monkey mind;” in Sanskrit it’s vikshepa, which means “mental wandering”, being drawn to objects that cause us to lose our ability to remain one-pointedly focused on virtue. She encourages us to be patient with ourselves and use these distractions to deepen our self-understanding, for the benefit of all.

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 3/3/24 - Hojin Sensei opens this Ango, or Peaceful Dwelling, with a talk about right relationship with the world; expressing gratitude. She shares the Fourth Noble Truth and the Eightfold Path, a path that we’ve been offered. And through this path, how we can find a peace that is deeper than our conditioning.

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 3/2/24 - How do we create suffering, and how do we unmake it? What is skillful? What isn’t? Hojin Sensei speaks about the Fourth Noble Truth and the Eightfold Path.

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei with The Karenji Choir - ZCNYC - 12/17/2023 - As a part of the Sunday Morning Program at ZCNYC, Hojin Sensei's Karenji Choir performed Santideva's The Way of the Bodhisattva, as arranged and directed by Justin Ward Weber. We wanted to share this performance with you. We hope you enjoy it!

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 2/4/24 - Opening with a poem from David Whyte, Hojin Sensei presents a variety of teachings on courage; how we can embrace what we are most terrified of, and stand firm in this constant rebirth. To meet these moments with a "thank you." Now what's true?

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei ZCNYC - 12/31/23 - Fusatsu offers us the opportunity to make fresh again our vows in the world. To recognize and renew the deepest way that we are; our virtuous life, the life of a Buddha that we each are.