In his talk, Ryoshin  talks about a withered tree, practice, and realizing the Dharma in our lives.

Kansho acknowledges that sometimes Zazen can feel difficult or uncomfortable. That puts you in good company — our Buddha Ancestors, and the Sangha that you support, and who supports you.

In her talk, Yugetsu brings up the koan “Sen-jo and Her Soul Are Separated.” She highlights that Sen-jo’s story of separation and longing provides fertile ground to deepen our awareness of who we are in the intimate morass and miracle of our lives. Recorded Thursday July 5th, 2021. Podcast Audio Version:

Kojin talks on case 40 of the Blue Cliff Record, “Nansen’s It’s Like a Dream.” In this koan, Nansen points to the flower and says, “People these days see this flower as if in a dream.” Kojin gently encourages us to explore what this dream is, and asks us, once we’ve noticed this dream, what […]

In her dharma talk, Seicho explores relationship as the “truest truth,” which frees us when our perceived truths differ. From Bodhidharma and Emperor Wu (Case 2, Book of Serenity) to Somatic Abolition, she reflects on meeting in truth as a dharma gate for healing trauma and conflict.

In his Dharma talk senior student Kenko shares three brief vignettes from his life, as encouragement for connecting with our ordinary, concrete, simple, and direct experience of this moment. Podcast audio:

In this talk, Seizan explores the elements of his altar to illustrate transformation in action. He brings up Blue Cliff Record case 96, “Chao Chou’s Three Turning Words,” pointing to how the energy of our practice propels us through and enriches our lives.

June 13, 2021 Senior Student Kenko explores the ingredients for intimate, connected practice in community — encouraging all of us to show up for our own questions — daring to bring them out into the light — be it in our own minds, on Zoom, in private interview, in a personal blog, or with a […]

May 30, 2021 Senior Student Jiryu discusses how a math puzzle called the Game of Life yields beautiful patterns, and is a good way to understand the Buddha’s teaching of anatman. We recommend the video version of this talk: Audio only here:

Senior student Eko uses the koan of Chin Nui’s Rice Pail – and a bell – to point toward the many opportunities we have for presence in our everyday lives. Recorded May 25th, 2021 Podcast Audio