In this last study session on Pema Chödrön’s No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva, Zuisei takes up the practices of offering (dedicating the merits of our practice) and letting go (acknowledge, surrender, and grieve).

This talk draws on the teachings of Shantideva and Pema Chödrön, the experience of ultramarathon runner Jenn Hughes, and more.

Explore the practice of prayer—learn how we as Buddhists can engage this

powerful tool in the service of ending distraction and reclaiming love and

liberation.

Explore the practice of faith and the ways it sparks, sustains, and guides

us on our path.

Fear can be practiced, no matter how strong or subtle it appears to us. Drawing on the Buddhist sutras, this talk illustrates the path of meeting our fears and moving beyond them.

Zen monasteries around the world practice oryoki, the meal ceremony that

highlights that eating is a sacred act— one that puts us in touch, not just

with physical hunger, but with our deeper aspiration to awaken.

To live in a time and place where we can actively seek and find the Buddhist teachings is remarkable. If you’re wondering how this might unfold in your life in a way that leads to the liberation of all beings, look to the Buddha’s path. This talk draws on the life of Shakyamuni Buddha and more.

In the midst of what can be an awesome fear, and grief, the teachings on

death and dying can also be a source of great power, wonder, and love.

Zuisei shares just how the practice of love is the heart, the path, and the

realization of the Buddhist teachings.

We say this often, Be present. But what does it really mean to be present? How can we be present to the teachings offered to us in every moment or even just this very moment?

Zuisei guides us through the Dutiyakālasutta, a Buddhist teaching from the Pali Canon that, through four steps, shows how, with care, patience, and faith in ourselves, we can simply and actively pay attention, allowing our life to be as full, rich, and purposeful as it is.

This talk draws on the koan from the True Dharma Eye, Case 111, Fayan’s Eye of the Way, the Dutiyakālasutta and the work of author Ursula K. Le Guin and poet Hillary-Anne Farley.

There’s a slow and quiet changing of a mind, even when we think nothing is happening. We can just begin or continue our steady effort to get close to all of it—the joy and the mess—as it is. It’s a simple instruction, but maybe the most difficult to put into practice.

So what can you do when the mind gets in the way of getting close and your thoughts become obstacles? SWITCH. In this talk Zuisei discusses SWITCH, a helpful way to understand and to remember the Buddha’s teachings on how to work with the mind skillfully and directly at these times.

This talk draws on the poetry of Ada Limón, the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, and more.