Bear Gokan Bonebakker, Osho - ZMM - 6/14/26 - What is already present is the authentic form of Buddha, not different than your own body and mind. We may think there is something broken that needs to be fixed about ourselves, or that we’re lacking in some way. Zazen is the authentic form of Buddha, and returning to yourself again and again is the contemplation of our own true self. Gokan Osho takes up this teaching and encourages us to see ourselves “without distractions and without duality, going beyond conceptualizing,” to contemplate Buddha.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 6/7/26 - How Buddhism uses the term "attachments" is often misunderstood as being something bad, which should not happen, but our sense of self is made up of a series of attachments: to identity, position, and so on. When we see through these many ideas of who we are, we can eventually settle our minds and experience our true nature. Using an ancient koan and the words of Henry David Thoreau, Shugen Roshi explores the world of attachment and how to bring clarity by exploring the inner wilderness to find the true nature of the self. (From the Gateless Gate, Case 44 - Basho's Stick.)

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 5/31/26 - Mundane truth, enlightened truth, from the beginning are all together one. But there are snags that grab us, some of them repeatedly. Hongzhi describes our original mind this way: “from the beginning it is fundamentally all together complete, undefiled, clear down to the bottom.” In this Dharma Encounter with the sangha, Shugen Roshi asks: how do each of us use our difficulty, troubles, heartache and anger to relieve our suffering? How do we heal? The sangha shares the many ways we turn, rather than heaping on destruction, and practice reality with a heart of wisdom and compassion.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 5/30/26 - Zen is filled with koan stories asking this question: do they see it or not? Do you see “it”? Shugen Roshi says that we see only as far as our penetrating vision can reach at any time. And yet that is plenty. Our present experience invites us to look further and not solidify our moment to moment experience. The Path is not linear in the usual sense, although there is practice and realization, much more valuable is learning to ask, to get curious, and to practice every aspect of our lives. (From the Book of Serenity, Case 51 - Fayan's "Boat or Land".)

Danica Shoan Ankele, Sensei - ZMM - 5/29/26 - The true self, what is that? It was the question put to Monk Ming by the sixth ancestor and opened for him the Way. This pivotal moment is something that makes Zen what it is, what can’t be planned, can’t be sought after, but still it’s the heart of our practice. Shoan Sensei asks us: what do you have faith in, and what do you still hold at arm’s length? How can you, through practice, embrace the gift of your pure Buddha Nature being offered right now? (From the Gateless Gate, Case 23 - Think Neither Good Nor Evil.)

Ron Hogen Green, Sensei - 5/28/26 - Going beyond our ancestors, going further than they could go, is the task of every student of the dharma. What is the ultimate truth? In other words, asks Hogen Sensei, who is this person asking the question? Going beyond conceptual thought, what is it? Here where you are, fully alive, what is it now? Close the gap, as Daido Roshi used to say, and you go beyond the ancestors. (From the Book of Equanimity, Case 78 - Ummon's Rice-Cake.)

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 5/24/26 - Shugen Roshi asks: “When you’re thinking of the thinking mind, what do you find there? And where will you go from there?” At the heart of bodhicitta — the wish to bring suffering to an end — are the questions: What are we contributing? What kind of environment are we creating through our thoughts, words, and actions? Cultivating bodhicitta is how we make our freedom real and, ultimately, what we are able to offer to others. (From the Book of Serenity, Case 32 - Yangshan's "Mind and Environment")

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 5/21/26 - Are the words you are about to speak true? Verify them first through your own experience. Are they of benefit? Are they agreeable or disagreeable? Know your intentions and consider carefully before speaking. Drawing from the early teachings, Shugen Roshi offers the Buddha’s guidelines for practicing right speech in ways that bring an end to conflict and suffering and offer a path of liberation. (Dharma Discourse during the May 2026 Fusatsu Ceremony at ZMM)

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 5/3/26 - This talk explores what Hongzhi calls the “mysterious pivot,” a sudden shift that disrupts thinking and reveals direct, lived experience. Drawing on Dharma teaching and the Arts, Hojin highlights how loosening the mind of grasping, defining, and securing opens the heart to a deeper, more immediate ‘shock of recognition’ of our true nature.

Danica Shoan Ankele, Sensei - ZMM - 5/17/26 - What is your complete expression of Buddha Mind? Shoan Sensei takes up this question in exploring the koan of the National Teacher calling to their attendant. How do we each navigate the distractions and the self-centered mindset we all fall into? To end our suffering and the causes of suffering in the world, we practice. And practice guides us to respond from a generous heart, grounded in reality, to offer the Dharma medicine we all need. (From the Gateless Gate, Case 17 - The National Teacher Calls Three Times)