Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast

By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

Society & Culture Education Philosophy Religion & Spirituality Buddhism

What's Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast about?

A Santa Fe, NM Zen center and community with retreats, daily meditation, weekly Dharma talks on Buddhist teachings

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Peter Levitt: Hanshan: A Po...

07.15.2019

As a prelude to the “Poetry of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan” retreat, Sensei Peter Levitt shares many of the poems he and Sensei Kazuaki Tanahashi translated to English. Shulin Bergman treats us to some of Hanshan’s poems in the original ...

Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast episodes:

07.15.2019 Peter Levitt: Hanshan: A Poet’s Heart and Mind As a prelude to the “Poetry of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan” retreat, Sensei Peter Levitt shares many of the poems he and Sensei Kazuaki Tanahashi translated to English. Shulin Bergman treats us to some of Hanshan’s poems in the original ...
07.08.2019 Joan Halifax: Exploring Moral Suffering from a Dharma Perspective On the heels of the meaningful Sakhyadita International Conference on Buddhist Women, Roshi Joan Halifax explores integrity, and when integrity is violated, how we suffer. With examples from the lives of Fannie Lou Hamer, Martin Luther King Jr., and the ...
07.01.2019 Monshin Nannette Overley & Upaya Residents: Open Heart, Open Mind This week’s podcast had some recording difficulties; please adjust your volume as necessary. Thank you! Monshin Nannette Overley and Elissa Kaufman describe the parts of their own life stories which have led them to Zen Buddhism. For Elissa, a challenging ...
06.25.2019 Richard Davidson & Al Kaszniak & John Dunne & Adam Frank & Amy Cohen Varela & Perla Kaliman & Joan Halifax: Upaya Podcast Series: Varela Symposium 2019: The Science of Connection, Complexity, an Reality is Boundless: Interdependence in Zen and Science, Wednesday May 15 As a prelude to this year’s Varela Symposium, Sensei Al Kaszniak discusses interrelated themes from science, Buddhism, complexity, boundlessness, and reality. Do our sense organs actually represent reality as ...
06.24.2019 Matthew Kozan Palevsky & Upaya Residents : Way Seeking Minds Matthew Kozan Palevsky hosts Shoryu Eddy Eusepi and Kotan René Barownick, long-term Upaya residents who speak about what drives their practice and how it has enriched their lives. Shoryu discusses how home for him has historically been associated with a ...
06.17.2019 Kigaku Noah Rossetter: Being Out of Time “If you’re a photon, what is time like for you? What would you see if you watched somebody fall into a black hole? What’s it like from their perspective?” asks Kigaku Noah Rossetter, taking us on a journey through space ...
06.10.2019 Wendy Johnson: The Honorable Harvest “How do we harvest the truth of this world respectfully and wholeheartedly —honorably—in dishonorable times?” asks Wendy Johnson. Encouraging us to “let the sorrows of the world ripen” in ourselves and to be open to the dishonor of our times, ...
06.04.2019 Richard Davidson & Al Kaszniak & John Dunne & Adam Frank & Amy Cohen Varela & Perla Kaliman & Joan Halifax: VARELA SYMPOSIUM: The Science of Connection, Complexity, and Emptiness (Part 8 of 8) Sensei Al Kaszniak opens this discussion by summarizing the talks from Adam Frank and John Dunne earlier in the day. The panel is then opened to questions from participants in the audience as well as other faculty members. Questions from ...
06.03.2019 Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Living Out Absolute Life Quoting Zen Master Dogen, Matthew Kozan Palevsky reads, “To carry the self forward and illuminate myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and illuminate the self is awakening.” This dharma talk focuses on what is perhaps the most ...
06.02.2019 John Dunne: VARELA SYMPOSIUM: The Science of Connection, Complexity, and Emptiness (Part 7 of 8) John Dunne fields questions from the audience which relate to the order of Buddha presence and compassion, the innateness of compassion, the nature of mind, the nature of awareness, and the differences between notions of emptiness and objectivity. John’s answers ...
06.01.2019 John Dunne: VARELA SYMPOSIUM: The Science of Connection, Complexity, and Emptiness (Part 6 of 8) John Dunne delivers a very lively and informative talk on shunyata, which is sometimes translated from Sanskrit into English as “emptiness” or “boundlessness.” John explains that “shunya” means zero in Sanskrit, and that “ta” is a suffix meaning “ness.” He ...
05.31.2019 Richard Davidson & Al Kaszniak & John Dunne & Adam Frank & Amy Cohen Varela & Perla Kaliman & Joan Halifax: VARELA SYMPOSIUM: The Science of Connection, Complexity, and Emptiness (Part 5 of 8) Adam Frank answers questions regarding the significance of networks to complexity theory. One such question relates to the relevance of density and topology of networks. Another has to do with the networked manifestations of emergent properties such as intelligence. He ...
05.30.2019 Adam Frank: VARELA SYMPOSIUM: The Science of Connection, Complexity, and Emptiness (Part 4 of 8) Adam Frank’s presentation explores such questions as: what is the place of individual experience in the scientific narratives that we create; what is the relationship between scientific truths and the world itself; and, what is complexity? His talk weaves together ...
05.29.2019 Richard Davidson & Al Kaszniak & John Dunne & Adam Frank & Amy Cohen Varela & Perla Kaliman & Joan Halifax: VARELA SYMPOSIUM: The Science of Connection, Complexity, and Emptiness (Part 3 of 8) Richard Davidson answers a question from the panel related to the connection between insight, compassion, and emptiness, and reads a Tibetan prayer called the Aspiration for Mahamudra which clarifies the connection between the three. He also answers questions about what ...
05.28.2019 Richard Davidson: VARELA SYMPOSIUM: The Science of Connection, Complexity, and Emptiness (Part 2 of 8) Richard Davidson discusses his groundbreaking work in neuroscience. He divides his talk into what he calls “the four components of well-being:” awareness, connection, insight, and purpose. His work explores connections between meditation and its effects on the brain, especially as ...
05.27.2019 Robert Wilder: The Not-Know-It-All: The Struggle of Not-Knowing Robert Wilder discusses the challenges and blessings of a life lived in “not knowing.” What does such an attitude entail? How might it lead to a richer life? Robert tells the story of being raised to know things and feeling ...
05.26.2019 Amy Cohen Varela: VARELA SYMPOSIUM: The Science of Connection, Complexity, and Emptiness (Part 1 of 8) Series Description: Roshi Joan Halifax, Richard Davidson, Sensei Al Kaszniak, John Dunne, Adam Frank, Amy Cohen-Varela, and Perla Kaliman discuss a variety of topics ranging from epigenetics and neuroscience, to a philosophy of science which incorporates Buddhist notions of emptiness, ...
05.20.2019 Al Kaszniak: Reality is Boundless: Interdependence in Zen and Science As a prelude to this year’s Varela Symposium, Sensei Al Kaszniak discusses interrelated themes from science, Buddhism, complexity, boundlessness, and reality. Do our sense organs actually represent reality as it really is? What is the interaction between our mind and ...
05.13.2019 Cynda Hylton Rushton & Anthony Back: Transcending Burnout: New Narratives for Caregivers As a complement to the coincident professional training program for clinicians, Being With Dying, Cynda Hylton Rushton and Anthony Back discuss healthy narratives for caregivers. What is burnout and how is it increasingly affecting so many caregivers and by extension ...
05.06.2019 Seigen Chuck Overley: Showing Up for Your Life Seigen Chuck Overley discusses his journey through Zen Buddhist practice and emphasizes the importance of “just showing up” to whatever he’s engaged in. Chuck talks about how some of the large themes in his practice—his time in the military, his ...
04.29.2019 Joshin Byrnes & Genzan Quennell: The Continuing Stories of the Lotus Sutra Part IV Senseis Joshin Byrnes and Genzan Quennell provide a very intimate talk on love, and the power of right speech. The talk is inspired by a parable from the Lotus Sutra called, “The Bodhisattva Never Disparaging.” The Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was ...
04.27.2019 Joshin Byrnes & Genzan Quennell: Sesshin: The Continuing Stories of the Lotus Sutra (Part 5 – Final) Senseis Joshin Byrnes and Genzan Quennell discuss two different versions of the three vehicles, as well as the importance of spiritual friendship to our practice. Sensei Genzan explains that The Three Great Vehicles, the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana respectively emphasize ...
04.26.2019 Joshin Byrnes & Genzan Quennell: Sesshin: The Continuing Stories of the Lotus Sutra (Part 4) Senseis Joshin Byrnes and Genzan Quennell talk about how important selflessness is to the Bodhisattva path. Sensei Joshin emphasizes the importance of not clinging to fame, profit, body, mind, or enlightenment. He tells a story of generosity from the Lotus ...
04.25.2019 Joshin Byrnes & Genzan Quennell: Sesshin: The Continuing Stories of the Lotus Sutra (Part 3) Senseis Joshin Byrnes and Genzan Quennell continue the conversation around sound and dharma with some poems composed by Zen Master Dogen. Dogen explicitly refers to the Lotus Sutra in a poem, or, “Waka,” that he wrote about Dharma and sound. ...
04.24.2019 Joshin Byrnes: Sesshin: The Continuing Stories of the Lotus Sutra (Part 2) As an homage to the recent burning of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Sensei Joshin Byrnes talks about the role of beautiful architecture in lifting people out of the mundane, and the role of music and sound to the mystical ...
04.23.2019 Joshin Byrnes & Genzan Quennell: Sesshin: The Continuing Stories of the Lotus Sutra (Part 1) As a continuation of the “Dharma Rain” theme from the Dharma Talk on the preceding day, Senseis Joshin Byrnes and Genzan Quennell begin with another passage from The Lotus Sutra. Genzan reads, “I bring fullness and satisfaction to the world, ...
04.22.2019 Joshin Byrnes & Genzan Quennell: The Continuing Stories of the Lotus Sutra Part III Senseis Joshin Byrnes and Genzan Quennell explore some of the insights found in “The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs,” also known as “Dharma Rain.” Sensei Joshin reads a passage which describes the infinite variety of plants, trees, thickets, groves, and ...
04.18.2019 Joshin Byrnes & Genzan Quennell: Zazenkai: The Parable of the Hidden Jewel Senseis Joshin Byrnes and Genzan Quennell tell The Parable of the Hidden Jewel, and discuss its insights by relating them to their own personal stories. The parable is the story of a poor man who discovers that a wealthy friend ...
04.15.2019 Joshin Byrnes & Genzan Quennell: The Continuing Stories of the Lotus Sutra Part II Senseis Joshin Byrnes and Genzan Quennell relay the stories of Devadatta and the Dragon Girl, two stories which both make the inclusive point that everyone will become a Buddha someday. Devadatta is the story of a disciple who attains Buddhahood ...
04.11.2019 Joshin Byrnes & Genzan Quennell: Zazenkai: The Parable of the Burning House In acknowledgment of global warming, Senseis Joshin Byrnes and Genzan Quennell briefly describe a “world on fire.” Genzan uses this description to relate a different story, the Parable of the Burning House, to our current lives. The story has to ...
04.08.2019 Joshin Byrnes & Genzan Quennell: The Continuing Stories of the Lotus Sutra Part I As a welcome and introduction to Spring Practice Period, Senseis Joshin Byrnes and Genzan Quennell invite practitioners to step out of the hustle and bustle of everyday, conventional life and to practice deepening their spiritual practice by being together in ...
04.01.2019 Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Only a Buddha and a Buddha Matthew Kozan Palevsky invites us to look at the relationship between samu, or work practice, and the experience of being a Buddha. He says, “Only a Buddha and a Buddha is a practice of being in the world as things ...
03.25.2019 Hozan Alan Senauke: The Three Treasures—Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Radical Buddhism and Beloved Community Sensei Alan Senauke explores the Three Treasures through the life and work of an Indian activist, Dr. Ambekar, and particularly through the context of a politically motivated Buddhist conversion movement that he founded meant to dismantle the country’s caste system. ...
03.18.2019 Monshin Nannette Overley: Not Turning Away In the spirit of not turning away from our history, Monshin Nannette Overley invites us to pause before she begins her talk and acknowledge that we are guests on Tewa ancestral homelands, and to remember, respect, and recognize the beautiful ...
03.11.2019 Kigaku Noah Rossetter: Riding the Waves of Birth and Death In acknowledgement of Ash Wednesday, Kigaku Noah Rossetter’s talk begins with a heartwarming look at atonement (at-onement) and its relationship to gratitude, inviting us to remember our role in receiving and causing karma, which can help deepen our experience of ...
03.05.2019 Kaz Tanahashi & Shinzan Palma: SESSHIN: Bodhisattva Perspectives on the Heart Sutra (Part 3 of 3) Sensei Kaz Tanahashi and Sensei Shinzan Palma talk about the Heart Sutra in more detail and the importance of community. Sensei Kaz discusses the Four Noble Truths and how the Heart Sutra prescribes a freedom from craving. He also explains ...
03.04.2019 Natalie Goldberg: Between Two Pines Natalie Goldberg asks a fundamental question in this talk: what does it mean to realize ourselves? In answer, she explains, “Realizing ourselves is not what we think realizing ourselves is. It’s not one thing that will do it. If you ...
03.03.2019 Kaz Tanahashi & Shinzan Palma: SESSHIN: Bodhisattva Perspectives on the Heart Sutra (Part 2 of 3) Sensei Kaz Tanahashi and Sensei Shinzan Palma talk about how zazen is an opportunity for us to deal with the issues that accumulate when we try to avoid them in our day-to day-lives. They also discuss the 16 precepts, and ...
03.02.2019 Kaz Tanahashi & Shinzan Palma: SESSHIN: Bodhisattva Perspectives on the Heart Sutra (Part 1 of 3) Sensei Kaz Tanahashi and Sensei Shinzan Palma explore one of the core teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, the Heart Sutra. This is also known as Prajna Paramita Hridaya, or Heart of Realizing Wisdom Beyond Wisdom. This series addresses many questions: What ...
03.01.2019 Clark Strand & Kaz Tanahashi & Natalie Goldberg & Joan Halifax: Five Hundred Years of Haiku (Part 6 of 6) As we finish our Haiku weekend, Clark Strand, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi, Roshi Joan Halifax, and Natalie Goldberg share their own haiku and some haiku that they love. Clark reads several of author Richard Wright’s haiku including: In the falling snow, ...
02.28.2019 Clark Strand: Five Hundred Years of Haiku (Part 5 of 6) Clark Strand reads examples of noted modern haiku and speaks about some of the ways in which modern haiku differ from traditional poetry. From Shōwa period female poet Mitsuhashi Takajo: Climb this tree and you’ll be a she-devil, red leaves ...
02.27.2019 Natalie Goldberg & Clark Strand: Five Hundred Years of Haiku (Part 4 of 6) Natalie Goldberg and Clark Strand speak about the beginnings of haiku. Clark talks about the collaborative nature of haiku, some of its implicit rules, and the reason for its popularity. For Series description, please visit Part 1. To access the ...
02.27.2019 Natalie Goldberg: Five Hundred Years of Haiku (Part 3 of 6) “When you’re a beginning haiku writer,” says Natalie Goldberg, “it’s better to keep practicing and don’t edit too much.” In her years of studying haiku and writing poetry, Natalie found haiku, “gave me a little refreshment. It allowed me to ...
02.25.2019 Wendy Johnson & Robert Wilder: Way Seeking Mind Wendy Johnson and Rob Wilder discuss the early experiences which led Wendy to gardening and to Zen Buddhism, and they discuss her book, “Gardening at the Dragon’s Gate.” One of the central themes of the talk was the metaphor of ...
02.24.2019 Kaz Tanahashi: Five Hundred Years of Haiku (Part 2 of 6) Our first talk in the morning is from Sensei Kaz Tanahashi who explains some elements of Japanese grammar and explores Basho and haiku pre-dating Basho. Kaz says, “Japanese is a highly grammatical language…negative is negative, future is future, past is ...
02.24.2019 Natalie Goldberg & Kaz Tanahashi & Clark Strand & Joan Halifax: Five Hundred Years of Haiku (Part 1 of 6) In Upaya’s 5th year of our Haiku program Roshi Joan Halifax, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi, Natalie Goldberg, and Clark Strand explore this centuries-old art form. Our six-part series includes stories from the speakers which describe their personal experiences with writing haiku, ...
02.18.2019 Kaz Tanahashi & Shinzan Palma: Bodhisattva Perspectives on the Heart Sutra Episode Description: In this talk, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi and Sensei Shinzan Palma discuss the contents of the Heart Sutra, the notion of emptiness, different types of wisdom, and the notion of awakening. The Heart Sutra is regarded as the most ...
02.12.2019 Joshin Byrnes: SESSHIN: Four Great Vows (Part 4 of 4) Episode Description: In this episode, Sensei Joshin Byrnes talks about the final Vow, which is about embodying the awakened way. What is it to live life in an awakened way? Joshin quotes Roshi Bernie Glassman, saying, “The purpose of Buddhist ...
02.11.2019 Clark Strand: HAIKU: The Art of Writing “Playful” Verse Episode Description: In this talk, Clark Strand speaks about the history of Haiku, how we might define it, and how he came to practice it. The word Haiku translates to “playful verse.” The best Haiuku, Clark says, “demonstrate what I ...
02.10.2019 Matthew Kozan Palevsky: SESSHIN: Four Great Vows (Part 3 of 4) Episode Description: In this episode, Matthew Kozan Palevsky discusses boundlessness and reality. “Reality is all things as they are,” he says. In boundlessness, nothing is excluded. Kozan also reads a fascicle by Zen Master Dogen called, “Reality of All Things.” ...

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