In this teisho, Roshi Sunya Kjolhede discusses the miscellaneous koan (localized for our Appalachian mountains): "On top of Mount Mitchell, a cloud is cooking rice." To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina (and beyond), please go to windhorsezen.org

In this teisho from June of '24, Sunya-roshi discusses Tangen's verse to the Emperor in Case #18 "The National Teacher's Seamless Monument" of the Hekiganroku (Blue Cliff Record). She talks about the importance of practice while travelling. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina, please go to windhorsezen.org

In this deep dive into the teisho vault, Sunya-roshi (here just Sunya-sensei) gives a special talk from May 2005 on the immediacy of practice. Please be aware the the audio does take a few seconds to start. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina, please go to windhorsezen.org

In this final teisho from the Summer '24 7-Day Sesshin, Roshi Sunya Kjolhede discusses Case #31 of The Gateless Gate (Mumonkan), "Joshu Sees Through The Old Woman." She ends with the Flowers Poem, anonymous verses written by a Zen monk often used at funerals and memorial services. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina, please go to windhosezen.org

In this teisho offered on the fourth day of our 2024 Summer Sesshin, Sunya-roshi talks about waking up and giving ourselves fully to the practice. She tells the story of one of the Buddha’s disciples who, while not very smart, awakened to his original nature by sweeping. And she speaks of Shitou Xiqian (Sekitō Kisen) and his first meeting with his teacher. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina, please go to windhosezen.org

In this teisho from the second day of the Summer 2024 sesshin, Sunya-roshi talks about how we ultimately cannot talk about Zen. Zen Practice needs to be embodied. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and the dharma work here in Western North Carolina, please go to windhorsezen.org

In this teisho from June of 2024, Roshi Sunya Kjolhede discusses the Vimalakirti Sutra. She talks about how we work with suffering, illness and death. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina, please go to windhosezen.org

In all the mystical traditions of various religions, love is oft discussed, but it is seldom mentioned in Zen Buddhism. In this recent teisho from early March of 2025, Roshi Sunya Kjolhede discusses how love can be a tricky word to define or experience—but also how wholehearted Zen practice helps dig up the concrete of views and judgements to rediscover the "living greeness" of our own depths right here. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina, please go to windhorsezen.org

In this recent and timely dharma talk from the end of February 2025, Roshi Sunya Kjolhede discusses the anxieties of our time and how despair is not an option. It's only through deep practice with a radical love that we can open to the chaos and tumult around us. 

In this Dharma talk from May 2024, Roshi Sunya Kjolhede uses the Eight Worldly Winds teaching of the Buddha to show that Zen practice is a radical departure from the whirlwind of our buy/sell society. She also discusses Case #26 of the Mumonkan, Two Monks Roll Up The Blinds. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina, please go to windhorsezen.org