“My storehouse having burnt down, nothing obscures the view of the bright moon. All of our previous conceptions, our preferences, our ideas, our understandings of the way the world works have to go up in flames.”



What happens when 40 years of perfect dedication still isn't enough?

In this excerpt from her captivating talk at our Winter's Commit to Sit, Jisho Sara Siebert, of Zen Fields in Ames, Iowa, tells the remarkable story of Ananda—the Buddha's personal attendant who had a photographic memory, knew every teaching by heart, and served with unwavering devotion for four decades. Yet despite all his knowledge and service, something was still missing.

Through Ananda's ancient story and her own experiences living in war-torn countries and practicing at historic temples in Japan, Jisho explores profound questions we all face: Why isn't intellectual understanding enough? What does it really mean to “let go”? And how do we move from simply repeating what we've learned to truly understanding it?

This isn't just a Buddhist teaching—it's a universal story about the difference between knowing about something and actually experiencing it.

Whether you're interested in personal growth, spiritual development, or simply love hearing transformative stories from across cultures and centuries, you'll find wisdom and inspiration in this accessible exploration of this profound moment of awakening.

Jisho's warm, personal storytelling brings ancient wisdom into our modern lives, showing how an attendant's moment of clarity 2,500 years ago can illuminate our own journey toward understanding and peace.

P.S. Connect with Jisho: If you enjoy the talk, Jisho will be one of the guest teachers for our Summer Commit to Sit (starting June 18th) and will also be offering her own Zen Study course through NYZC in the fall (more info & registration will be available soon).

What’s the difference between empathy and compassion—and why does it matter so deeply for those in caregiving professions?

In this moving and insightful conversation, our Guiding Teachers Koshin Paley Ellison and Chodo Robert Campbell sit down with Dr. Judson Brewer, renowned psychiatrist, neuroscientist, bestselling author, and faculty member of the Contemplative Medicine Fellowship.

Together, they explore the nuanced terrain of emotional presence, personal boundaries, burnout, and healing—both personal and collective.

Drawing from clinical research, Buddhist psychology, personal stories, and decades of experience in contemplative and medical education, the conversation opens with a core distinction: empathy as the capacity to feel another’s pain, and compassion as the act of being with suffering without being consumed by it. 

Through real-world examples, they illuminate how unchecked empathy can lead to exhaustion, resentment, or disconnection, while compassion—rooted in curiosity, humility, and care—becomes a practice that sustains rather than depletes.

They speak candidly about what it means to “take suffering home,” the toll of hero culture in medicine, and how unexamined habit loops can reinforce burnout. And they reflect on how true community—a circle of care and connection—is not a luxury, but a necessary medicine. 

Whether you’re a clinician, chaplain, caregiver, or simply someone walking with others through difficult times, this episode offers deep insight into how we might care with more courage, clarity, and joy.

Learn more about Contemplative Medicine/Care

→ May 21st: We'll be hosting a free online info session for our Contemplative Medicine Fellowship. All physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and PAs are invited to learn more about the program and apply for our fifth cohort!

→ June 4th: We'll also be hosting a free online info session for our Foundations in Contemplative Care program, now in its 18th year! Anyone interested in integrating their spiritual practice with service in the world is invited to learn more and apply. 

→ September 24th – 28th: Our annual Contemplative Care Retreat held at the Garrison Institute will be led by Koshin Sensei, Chodo Sensei, Ayo Yetunde, Dan and Bianca Harris, and other guest teachers to be announced soon. Whether you are new to meditation and integrating spiritual practice with care or you are an experienced practitioner needing reinvigoration, this retreat is for you. The retreat also serves as a reunion for alumni of our Foundations in Contemplative Care and Contemplative Medicine Fellowship programs. 

Each of us is carrying so much—lugging around feelings and stories of deficiency, blame, or unworthiness. How can what we carry no longer separate us, but instead become the very ground of connection?

In this poignant dharma talk, Koshin Sensei reflects on the life of Jianzhi Sengcan, the 30th ancestor after Shakyamuni Buddha, who bore the visible burden of leprosy and the invisible weight of shame. At age 40, he approached his teacher Huike and pleaded, “Cleanse me of my wrongdoing.” What followed was an intimate encounter of great healing—and the heart of Zen practice.

Koshin invites us to pause and ask: What is the story I’ve been living in? What am I still carrying that keeps me from being truly present? He reminds us that it is not enough to simply be aware of our suffering. Liberation comes when we learn to put down our story and take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—not as abstract ideals, but as living, breathing relationships that can hold us in the midst of struggle.

In this powerful and poignant talk from the midst of our Commit to Sit practice period, Koshin Sensei explores the teachings of Punyamitra, the 26th ancestor in the Zen lineage.

As a crown prince seeking home-leaving, Punyamitra is asked by his teacher: “What must you do?” His answer—“I must do Buddha’s work”—echoes through the centuries as a timeless call to presence, compassion, and responsibility.

Koshin challenges us to examine what ordinary habits we are willing to set down and how we might take up the work of awakening with more precision, more kindness, and more courage.

With personal stories, humor, and deep reverence for the lineage, this talk offers an invitation to return to this moment—and to discover what is possible when we let go of our tightly held stories.

Spanish philosopher, José Ortega y Gasset once remarked: “Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are.”

A capacity to pay attention grows as we continually practice being receptive to what is happening within and around us. How do you pay attention to life? What holds you back from fully receiving reality as it is?

In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei emphasizes the important of attention and the way of awakening.

Too often, he says, we indulge the thoughts, fantasies, excuses of our small minds instead of being receptive to what is directly available to us.

This overindulgence keeps us from actually changing and truly experiencing freedom. Maturity means taking responsibility for how we are participating in life.

We can learn from our Soto Zen ancestors how to live an expansive life, not a little one; how to ask big questions and practice unbounded receptivity to this vibrating, excruciating, beautiful, ordinary, and wild life. 

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In this recent dharma talk from our winter silent retreat, Koshin Sensei offers teachings on the eve of the Hossenshiki ceremony, a rare occasion in which a teacher entrusts their head student, the Shuso, to give a dharma talk before the sangha.

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This tradition, known as Honsaku Gyocha, reflects the deep process of training, trust, and surrender at the heart of Zen practice.

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The talk focuses on Case #2 from The Book of Serenity—Bodhidharma’s famous exchange with Emperor Wu:

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"What is the highest meaning of the holy truths?"

"Empty—there is no holy."

"Who are you facing me?"

"Don’t know."

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This powerful koan is often seen as what makes Zen, Zen, revealing why we sit zazen facing the wall and the radical nature of Bodhidharma’s teaching. Koshin Sensei reflects on recognition and humility, the tension between wanting acknowledgment and letting go, and the lifelong practice of meeting the moment as it is—without clinging to status or certainty.

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How do we learn to trust what is already here? How do we let go of how we wish things were and meet life with dignity, care, and compassion? With warmth, humor, and deep encouragement, Koshin reminds us that Zen practice is about showing up—imperfect, caring, lively, and human.

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Listen now to explore what it means to embrace the unknown and walk the path of practice with an open heart.

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Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji – Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

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• Untangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
• Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL

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What does it really take to build a lasting, loving relationship? In this special episode from the 10% Happier Podcast, Koshin Sensei and Chodo Sensei join Dan Harris and his wife, Bianca, for a candid conversation about marriage, connection, and the deep work of being in relationship.

Together, they explore:

• How early childhood experiences shape the way we relate to our partners
• The importance of understanding each other’s “operating manuals” and co-creating a shared path forward
• The role of humor—when it helps and when it hurts
• Why doing your own inner work outside of the relationship is essential
• How learning to be uncomfortable—together—can strengthen intimacy

Rooted in wisdom, honesty, and humor, this conversation offers insight into the realities of partnership and how we can show up with more awareness, compassion, and presence.

MUSIC Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji – Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

• NYZC PUBLICATIONSUntangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
• Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL

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The post Unearthing Beauty | Chodo Campbell appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“…when you practice and practice in this way and there is agreement between thoughts and words, it will truly be like intimate friends meeting, or self nodding to self. ” – Keizan Zenji

Even in the darkest of days, a faint light may be shimmering in the distance. Sometimes the dharma emerges as a mere sprinkle of goodness through the dense muck of our lives. No matter how heavy things are at the moment, can we allow something tiny and quiet and beautiful to break in?

In this recent dharma talk, Chodo Sensei reflects on Keizan Zenji’s teachings about Micchaka, the sixth ancestor in the Soto Zen lineage. The Venerable Micchaka learned from his teacher, Dhritaka, not to be preoccupied or enamored by a narrow view of things. Life is an expansive stream wide enough to allow everything to flow. How can we be more receptive to what is possible, more available to experiencing life as it is? By sharing his journey through the grips of substance abuse to a life of service to others, Chodo gives expression to the truth of Keizan’s insights. On the thirty seventh anniversary of his sobriety, Chodo honors the three treasures and expresses gratitude for his teacher.    

ZENTALK NOTES

Chodo Campbell Sensei is a Zen teacher, bereavement specialist, grief counselor and a recognized leader for those suffering with the complexities of death & dying, aging, and sobriety.  The educational non-profit he co-founded, the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, touches thousands of lives every year through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices. Chodo has been featured in the New York Times, PBS, CBS Sunday Morning and other media outlets. 

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

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“Completing the ordinary things we do every day, one by one, with all of our heart—this is enlightenment itself.”

At the end of January, 120 members of the NYZC sangha gathered for a five-day retreat, together cultivating an ever-deepening sense of community practice, responsiveness, and connection.

This remarkable sesshin concluded with a joyous ceremony (with dharma combat!) honoring the completion of Shishin Falk’s training period as shuso, or senior student.

This week’s featured dharma talk is thus Koshin Sensei’s opening talk from the retreat as well as the opening talk for our winter Commit to Sit. The guiding inspiration for both are the teachings and practices of our dharma ancestors from Shakyamuni Buddha to Dogen Zenji and Keizan Jokin Zenji to those we learn from today.

Upon seeing the morning star, these words attributed to Shakymuni ignite the way of awakening: “I and the great earth, and all beings, simultaneously achieve the way.”  An astonishingly ordinary moment, Koshin reminds us. To actual be where you are and see what there is to see there. A star. That tree. This body. Your face. “From the time you got of bed this morning, have you allowed yourself to be amazed by what is right in front of you?” Fully receiving reality just as it comes, however it comes in each moment, means waking up to amazement.

Koshin encourages us to get away from our “cranky rumination” about the way we want things to be and embrace the work and ease of staying in relationship to what is within and around you. Practicing together draws us out from our little, lonely heads and places us into new realms of surprise and joy; heartbreak and intimacy.

Photo: Nic Neves

ZENTALK NOTES

Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei is a Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year.

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

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“How do we trust what is actually fresh and coming from a soft, unknowing place? This is the whole reason to practice.” – Koshin Sensei 

Each moment is an opportunity to notice from where our thoughts, feelings, and actions come. Do we live out of our discursive mind and entrenched reactions, or are we able to touch into what is fresh and responsive? Can we remain attuned to our soft belly breathing, from the hara, as we encounter the realities of beauty and pain in our day to day lives? Being grounded, open, upright, and soft is a place of practice. 

In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei allows the confluence of Martin Luther King, Jr Day and Inauguration Day to remind us that everyday, and truly every moment, is full to the brim with celebration and disappointment; possibility and despair. This is reality. We practice – again and again – in the same way that generations of ancestors have to live in accordance with reality. At the advent of our ninety day ango period, Commit to Sit, Koshin encourages us to show up to our lives and invite everything in. Instead of exclusion and division, can we begin to see everything as an essential part of the whole? MLK Jr’s vision of the beloved community is an inspiration to understand what it means to be a sangha. Like the opening chapter of the Lotus Sutra, can we invite all beings – those we like and those we don’t; those we name and those whose names we do not yet know – to our assembly? There is enough pushing away. Can we practice compassion for all beings, including ourselves, in a fresh way for the sake of a hurting and fractured world?    

ZENTALK NOTES

Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei is a Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year.

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

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