The form of meditation we do in Zen, unless we’re working on a koan, is called shikantaza – nothing but sitting – or silent illumination. It’s been called a “method of no method,” in which we let go of any striving whatsoever – even to control our meditative experience. So can we do “bad zazen?” Theoretically, there’s no such thing, and yet it sure feels like there is! What is this about?

How do you find comfort in the precepts? What is the relationship between anger, forgiveness and justice? What about anxiety due to abrupt insight into emptiness? This is one of my unscripted Q&A episodes, where I answer questions submitted by listeners.

This is the third part of three of my episodes on “Learning the Self,” one of my Ten Fields of Zen. In the first episode I discussed why we “study the self” in Zen, and what “self” we’re talking about if – according to the teachings – the self is empty of any inherent nature! In the second episode I talked about what is meant by “studying” or “learning” the self. I also explained the idea of Karma and discussed why it’s valuable to work on it. In this episode, I cover how we do Karma Work.

Part two of three of my series on “Learning the Self,” one of my Ten Fields of Zen. Last episode I discussed why we “study the self” in Zen, and what “self” we’re talking about if the self is empty of any inherent nature! Now I move on to what is meant by “Learning the Self." This part of our practice has two essential aspects. Karma Work is taking care of your Phenomenal Self - becoming intimately familiar with your own body and mind and learning to live in accord with the Dharma. Realization of your True Nature involves seeking out, questioning, and seeing through your belief in an inherent self-nature, thereby awakening to your True Nature. In this episodes I begin my explanation of Karma Work.

Ultimately, if you want to experience Realization and have it transform your life, you need to commit yourself to Learning the Self. This means becoming intimately familiar with your self - your mind and your body. A lifetime path of practice becomes deeply personal, asking you to face your Karma, take responsibility for it, and use it to find your gateway into awakening. This isn’t just about transforming yourself into a Buddha through your Zen practice, it’s about awakening to how your very body - your unique, imperfect, human manifestation - is Buddha.

Since the Buddha’s time, certain practitioners have chosen to leave the household life to dedicate themselves completely to formal Buddhist training. Undergoing a ceremony of ordination in which they took monastic vows, these monks and nuns lived the remainder of their lives within a Sangha – community – of other ordained people. In modern Western Zen, you will find a thoroughly confusing situation where ordained people who live fully monastic lives are rare, most ordained people are called “priests” and live householder lives, and practitioners who are not ordained often teach the Dharma and lead lay Sanghas (functions historically reserved for ordained people). What is the use – if any – of continuing with a tradition of “ordination?” I discuss the value of monks, priests, and lay practitioners in the context of Zen as it is currently manifesting in the United States.

I discuss the oldest source of Buddhist teachings on Dana as a bodhisattva perfection – the Jataka tales, or stories about Shakyamuni Buddha’s remarkable actions during previous lifetimes. Such stories inspired people to follow the bodhisattva path in both Theravadin and Mahayana Buddhism, so I spend some discussing the Theravadin paramis, and particularly the parami of Dana.

In this episode I answer listener questions: How do you address the dharma and practice with young kids? If I'm trying to be mindful on work breaks, should I just go cold turkey and not look at my phone at all or maybe try a more moderate approach like eating my meal and then looking at my phone? Is it even possible to be mindful while looking at social media, checking email, etc.? And: When sitting in meditation posture, what should I do with my stomach?

Dana, generosity or giving, is the first Mahayana Buddhist paramita. Generosity is where the journey to self-transcendence begins. In this first episode on Dana, I give an overview of the Buddha’s teachings on the virtue of giving. These teachings are from before Dana was defined as one of the paramis or paramitas – that is, perfections cultivated by someone on the bodhisattva path. In the next episode I discuss Dana as a perfection.

This is a teisho - kind of like a cross between a Dharma Talk and guided meditation. I hope my words will point you toward how the Great Matter - that which we seek to awaken to and manifest - is never apart from this very place. Ordinary mind is the Way, and is buddha itself. But what does this really mean? Not that we can't hope for relief from the turmoil of our minds as we usually experience them! Mind-with-a-capital-M is not equivalent to our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and concepts. Mind is the undisturbed space within which everything arises, so it is always available to us - never apart from this very place.