Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 07/01/2023 - In this Jodo-style talk during a Zazenkai, Hojin Sensei delves into Dogen's teachings on zazen. Dogen taught that zazen is not a means to an end - not a meditation technique to achieve something, but "the Dharma gate of joyful ease." Practice and realization are inseparably one and the same. What are the implications of this deep teaching on the way in which we practice?

Zazen Is Not a Means to an End

The Mountains and Rivers Order (MRO) is a Western Zen Buddhist lineage established by the late John Daido Loori Roshi and dedicated to sharing the dharma as it has been passed down, generation to generation, since the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. Zen Mountain Monastery, the main house of the Mountains and Rivers Order, is one of the West’s most respected Zen Buddhist monasteries and training centers. Nestled in New York’s beautiful Catskill Mountains, the Monastery draws its strength from the ancient tradition of Buddhist monasticism. Since 1980, the Monastery has offered spiritual practitioners traditional and innovative ways to engage the dharma through a wide range of retreats and residential programs that unfold within the context of authentic, full-time Zen monastic training. The Zen Center of New York City: Fire Lotus Temple is the city branch of Zen Mountain Monastery. Supporting home practitioners in the metropolitan area, ZCNYC offers varied practice opportunities within the Eight Gates training matrix.

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Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 6/9/24 - Hojin Sensei shares teachings from the Dhammapada, Mary Oliver, Catherine MacCoun, Hongzhi and others to take us on an exploration of worry and doubt.

What Me Worry?

Chimyo Simone Atkinson, Sensei - ZMM - 6/9/24 - Chimyo Sensei explores the essential practice of zazen, and our genuine capacity to realize Buddha Nature. This practice can challenge us to face our own barriers, tapping into our innate ability to yield, like a dragon taking to the water, and the courage to move freely, like a tiger entering the mountains. Chimyo Sensei offers guidance to live the dharma with whatever is arising, with grace, ease and joy.

Living Dharma In Ease And Joy

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 6/2/24 - From the Book of Serenity, Case 19 - Yunmen's "Sumaru" - Koan practice guides us to something different than conceptual knowledge, a liberation of mind which is, as the Buddha said, subtle and difficult to understand. And yet, conceptual knowledge is an integral part of how we can realize the non-conceptual mind. Using Yunmen’s teachings, Shugen Roshi explores how calming the mind, and gaining insight, are important steps toward understanding how to truly free ourselves from conceptual thought and grasping at self-centered views.

Knowing and Understanding

Chikyuu Donohue, Lay Student
Zen Center of New York City, Fire Lotus Temple, Sunday 06/02/2024

Noble Path Talk – Chikyuu – June 2024

In this podcast interview, Monastic Hokyu Aronson speaks with guest instructor Vangeline about embodied movement...

Zazen Is Not a Means to an End

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