Not only did the Buddha teach that we need good friends along the spiritual path, the heart of Buddhist practice gives us the tools and concrete guidance on how to be that resource for others. This talk draws on teachings from Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism, including a couple of the Pali Canon’s sutras, as well as the "Prajnaparamita in 8,000 lines."

The Ocean Mind Sangha’s first Jukai ceremony - listen to and join in as

Brian Pontolilo formally commits to a life guided by the ethical teachings

of Buddhism with his teacher Zuisei, and the sangha.

There is a real medicine for loneliness. Reaching in all the ways we do to assuage it only touches its surface. How can we truly root out the hunger that keeps our phones in our hand and our gaze outward?

Zuisei teaches how the heart of Zen, a practice of being completely and intimately alone, is the most powerful way to face the heart of loneliness, and to shed the ignorance that sustains it.

Zen training can prepare us to move skillfully through times of apparent isolation and disconnection that we may encounter in our day to day. This talk is a deep dive into one aspect of training that addresses just this—koan study—in which the teacher presents a case and asks a question. Answering requires entering into and vowing to stay with the question and the world it entails, as ungraspable as it is. Being fully immersed, we see clearly. Disconnection is not an option.

Zuisei suggests that we stay with the questions, in our training and in our lives, with love and care. In fact, lovingly may be the only way to do this utterly. This talk focuses on Zen Master Dogen’s Case 114, Zhaozhou’s Dog (Does a dog have Buddha Nature?).

Could your next meal be a celebration of the sacred, no matter where or

with whom? This mondo on mindful eating dives into the many ways we relate

to food in light of Buddhist practice, from eating disorders and the art of

parenting, to dinner parties and dining alone.

In this study session, Zuisei and the sangha relate their daily lives and practice to Koso Uchiyama’s Opening the Hand of Thought, a contemporary Zen text that speaks about the importance of zazen and letting go of thoughts in order to see the nature of the self.

In the words of Uchiyama Roshi: You are within me. I'm just facing myself. In other words, you exist within myself, and it is to that you that I direct myself.

Join Zuisei and the sangha in conversation with Lama Karma Yeshe Chödrön and Karma Zopa Jigme.

Yeshe and Zopa are Western teachers in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism who describe their mission as empowering practitoners to engage spiritual practice with integrity , creativity, and joy, by making available the authentic teachings of the Kagyu lineage to all who seek to eradicate suffering and cultivate happiness to its fullest potential, individually and collectively, whether Buddhist or not.

Where you are and what you are doing is exactly right—even when it’s a struggle.

In this talk Zuisei reminds us that the focus of Buddhist practice is not liberation from anything but liberation within everything, and that when practicing with this intention, there are no obstacles in our path.

Take a look into how our sense of self gets in the way of our lives and

catch a glimpse of what remains once we let go…

According to the poet David Whyte, there is a faith in loving fiercely the

one who is rightfully yours. What if the one who is rightfully yours is

you?