This is a special conversational episode. Zenki Roshi is interviewed by Nicky Antonellis, a co-founder of the nonprofit organization, Dharma Gates, which aims to connect young adults to deep meditation practices. One of their many offerings is a podcast which features different perspectives on the Buddhist path. You can find out more on the Dharma Gates website.

In today’s conversation, Nicky asks Zenki Roshi about the background and motivation that eventually led to him to Soto Zen practice. They explore the roles of embodiment and concepts in meditation, as well as stages in practice and the curriculum that arises from everyday life. Zenki Roshi offers shifts in views he experienced as a result of practice, for example how he made sense of the initially opaque instruction “to just sit.”

The full conversation is 2 hours, and it is broken up into two episodes. In part two, Nicky asks Zenki Roshi about how to relate as a Buddhist practitioner to issues we face in today’s world, such as climate change, the resurgence of war, and AI—and the anxiety that accompanies these issues.

If you find the conversation meaningful, we hope you’ll tune in to hear the rest. Part 2 of this conversation is available now on the Zen Mind Premium Podcast! 

Check out the Dharma Gates podcast here!

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Zenki Christian Dillo Roshi is the the guiding teacher at the Boulder Zen Center in Colorado, USA. This podcast shares the regular dharma talks given at the center. Zenki Roshi approaches Zen practice as a craft of transformation, liberation, wisdom and compassionate action. His interest is to bring Buddhism alive within the Western cultural context, while staying committed to the traditional emphasis on embodiment.