Only by giving up all hope of realizing an idealized version of ourselves can we rest in the moment that is actually here. This talk was offered during our monthly Zazenkai for September 2017.

Notes from an unexpected flowering on Metro North.

Shinryu talks about our engrained tendency to wall off or sweep under the rug the things we dislike, with examples from immigrants and Confederate history to the parts of our own personal life that stink. For an alternative approach, he draws on Master Dongshan’s description of practice: “It’s like sweeping up shit, and finding in […]

“At Nan Ch’uan’s place one day…” In this talk, Seizan explores the famous koan about Nan Ch’uan’s killing of the monastery cat. But was the cat really killed? If not, what was? Note: Due to a technical issue, the first 45 seconds were not recorded. This is in no way to the detriment of the […]

As part of a memorial service for Sangha member Shoken Michael Stone, Roshi talks about his life and Buddhist practice, and the circumstances of his death. She goes on to explore our desire to search for blame as we experience tragedy or disappointment. She urges compassion and support instead, and comments on a koan about […]

In the last talk of this summer’s Ango, through the words of Dogen, and her own poetry, Roshi asks how we may all show up and actualize our practice — in our respective neighborhoods and communities — when it comes to the injustice we see around us; in particular, what can we do with regards […]

Looking at the life of Dogen — from his mother’s death at the age of eight, to his studies in China, and to his founding of our Sōtō lineage in Japan — Ryotan Sensei asks if we can make Dogen’s questing our own as well; that we may become one with the great ocean of […]

In this Dharma Talk, during Shuso Sesshin, Myoko Sensei focuses on Part Eight of Dogen’s Genjokoan, encouraging us to open up to experiences different from what we’re used to, and thereby encountering our true self.

In this talk, Tokuyu encourages us, despite these turbulent times, to drop into our innate wisdom.

Enkyo Roshi’s Dharma talk, on the final day of Dai Sesshin, “The Winds of the Dharma…”