In this talk, JoAn shares his experience working as an elementary school nurse, and how the “spilled milk” can be a place to wake up. How do we quench our thirst for awakening with out spilling all over ourselves? Recorded February 24, 2019.

In this talk, Ryoshin asks ‘What does Zen practice teach?” He examines this question by looking at Joshu’s Mu, the first koan in the collection known as the Mumonkan. Mu is a ten thousand foot wall that Zen students must pass before continuing their koan study. Working with Mu, one discovers the miracle of samadhi, […]

February 7, 2019 We are largely a lay sangha, but what does that actually mean for each of us? Vimalakirti, the exemplar of lay practice in the time of the Buddha himself, helps point the way. Lay practice? Ordained practice? Not one! Not two!

January 27, 2019 Yuuka studies Zen hermit Ryokan’s aloneness, and asks how those of us who feel different can learn to trust experience over a self-construction.

Jo An shares his experience of working as a school nurse with a diffabled kindergartener, and what he learned about the dharma of elementary school.

Freeing Ourselves from the Grindstone January 10, 2019 Our country was founded by rigid, competitive strivers, and we still act like them now, especially when we make our New Year’s resolutions. Let’s stop. Let’s be grateful for what is, and strive to be awake.

~ or ~ “How I Became an Asshole While Cycling New York City Streets” In this talk Fusho explores how dealing with the fear in our lives requires embracing fearlessness. But, through loving-kindness practice, Fusho discovers how fearlessness cannot be embraced without embracing fear itself.

In this talk senior student Ryoshin looks into two of his favorite koans, “Tozan’s No Cold or Heat” and “Master Ma is Unwell.” In these stories Ryoshin considers how we deal with discomfort, and how Zen asks us to not separate from those feelings and encourages us to be aware of our reactions. Recorded December […]

In the first of a series of talks on the Four Vows, Bokushu looks at the value of life through the first vow “Sentient Beings are numberless: I vow to save them.”

Senior student Musho gave this talk at the Zendo’s annual Rohatsu all night sit. Musho reviews the story of Shakyamuni’s enlightenment, and sees how we embody and participate in an awakening that is all around us. Musho tells a story of his first Rohatsu sit, and then relays some encouragement from 18th century Japanese Zen […]