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 […]

In this talk senior student Tokuyu starts with issues his music students have with recognition, and the feeling of lack and never achieving enough.  Tokuyu looks at how psychology and physiology combine to create internal anger that can lead to chronic pain. This theory is expressed in the book “Healing Back Pain” by the late […]

In this talk senior student Kenko looks into the traditional Buddhist teaching of “The Five Faculties” Faith, Effort, Mindfulness, Concentration and Wisdom. Kenko carefully interprets them through the eye of our Zen practice. He then explores the koan case 7 from the Blue Cliff Record “Hui Ch’ao Asks About Buddha” and ends with a poem […]