Bodhin Kjolhede is Roshi Philip Kapleau’s Dharma successor and served as Abbot of the Rochester Zen Center for 35 years (from 1987 to 2022). The following are among his more recent teisho (Dharma talks).
Teisho
Zen Destruction and Aspiration
How Zen practice deconstructs the self while the Dharma nourishes the Self, with a commentary on the koan “Linji’s Blind Donkey”. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Blue Cliff Record #53, “Hyakujo and the Wild Duck”
September 2022 Sesshin, Day 6
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Zen Master Bassui from Mud and Water (trans. by Arthur Braverman) #2
September 2022 Sesshin, Day 5
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Zen Master Bassui from Mud and Water (trans. by Arthur Braverman) #1
September 2022 Sesshin, Day 4
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Zen Master Bassui from The Three Pillars of Zen
September 2022 Sesshin, Day 3
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Zen Master Foyan from Instant Zen: Waking Up In the Present (trans. by Thomas Cleary) #2
September 2022 Sesshin, Day 2
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Zen Master Foyan from Instant Zen: Waking Up In the Present (trans. by Thomas Cleary) #1
September 2022 Sesshin, Day 1
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Zen Teacher Authorization
A look at the sanctioning next month of Donna Kowal and at my stepping aside, featuring Case 40 in the Mumonkan, “Kicking Over the Water Bottle.” Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Transcript
Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu (trans. by J.C. Cleary and Thomas Cleary) #3
July 2022 Sesshin, Day 6
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu (trans. by J.C. Cleary and Thomas Cleary) #2
July 2022 Sesshin, Day 5
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu (trans. by J.C. Cleary and Thomas Cleary) #1
July 2022 Sesshin, Day 4
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Dream Conversations: On Buddhism and Zen: Kokushi, Muso (trans. by Thomas Cleary) #3
July 2022 Sesshin, Day 3
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Dream Conversations: On Buddhism and Zen: Kokushi, Muso (trans. by Thomas Cleary) #2
July 2022 Sesshin, Day 2
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Dream Conversations: On Buddhism and Zen: Kokushi, Muso (trans. by Thomas Cleary) #1
July 2022 Sesshin, Day 1
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Seeing Into Space, Seeing Into Mind
The images revealed by the Webb Telescope will vastly extend our knowledge. Wisdom, however, grows from looking inward. Who is seeing that projection of the mind we call the universe? Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Zen Buddhism–Religion, or Not?
The book Buddhism, by Smith and Novak, identifies six aspects of religion. How many fit with Zen? Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Faith
Faith is the anchor of Zen practice, but faith in what? Not a person, not a thing. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Shoyoroku # 14, “Attendent Huo Serves Tea”
June 2022 Sesshin, Day 7
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Mumonkan # 9, “Daitsu Chisho Buddha”
June 2022 Sesshin, Day 6
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
The Practice of Zen by C.C. Chang #2
June 2022 Sesshin, Day 5
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
The Practice of Zen by C.C. Chang #1
June 2022 Sesshin, Day 4
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu (trans. by J.C. Cleary and Thomas Cleary) #3
June 2022 Sesshin, Day 3
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu (trans. by J.C. Cleary and Thomas Cleary) #2
June 2022 Sesshin, Day 2
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu (trans. by J.C. Cleary and Thomas Cleary) #1
June 2022 Sesshin, Day 1
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
The First Precept: Not to Kill
A look at the first of the Ten Cardinal Precepts, particularly with respect to the Buffalo mass shooting, abortion, and self-immolation. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Master Hakuin’s Chant in Praise of Zazen, Part 2
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Master Hakuin’s Chant in Praise of Zazen, Part 1
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Mumonkan # 17, “The National Teacher Calls Three Times”
September 2021 Sesshin, Day 7
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
“Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu” #2
September 2021 Sesshin, Day 6
Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu (trans. by J.C. Cleary and Thomas Cleary) Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
“Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu” #1
September 2021 Sesshin, Day 5
Zen Letters: Teachings of Yuanwu (trans. by J.C. Cleary and Thomas Cleary) Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
“The Practice of Zen” by Garma C.C. Chang #2
September 2021 Sesshin, Day 4
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
“The Practice of Zen” by Garma C.C. Chang #1
September 2021 Sesshin, Day 3
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
“Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui”
September 2021 Sesshin, Day 1
Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui (trans. by J.C. Cleary) Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Recognizing the Inevitable
Like individuals, all nations and worlds pass. By fully facing this, with daily practice we can breathe life and even joy into our lives. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Blue Cliff Record #4, “Tokusan Carries His Bundle”
July 2021 Sesshin, Day 7
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
“The Way of Korean Zen” by Kusan Sunim #6
July 2021 Sesshin, Day 6
Commentary on The Way of Korean Zen by Kusan Sunim (trans. by Martine Batchelor) Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
“The Way of Korean Zen” by Kusan Sunim #5
July 2021 Sesshin, Day 5
Commentary on The Way of Korean Zen by Kusan Sunim (trans. by Martine Batchelor) Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
“The Way of Korean Zen” by Kusan Sunim #4
July 2021 Sesshin, Day 4
Commentary on The Way of Korean Zen by Kusan Sunim (trans. by Martine Batchelor) Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
“The Way of Korean Zen” by Kusan Sunim #3
July 2021 Sesshin, Day 3
Commentary on The Way of Korean Zen by Kusan Sunim (trans. by Martine Batchelor) Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
“The Way of Korean Zen” by Kusan Sunim #2
July 2021 Sesshin, Day 2
Commentary on The Way of Korean Zen by Kusan Sunim (trans. by Martine Batchelor) Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
“The Way of Korean Zen” by Kusan Sunim #1
July 2021 Sesshin, Day 1
Commentary on The Way of Korean Zen by Kusan Sunim (trans. by Martine Batchelor) Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Juneteenth and the Work of Ultimate Liberation
We can celebrate the 1865 Emancipation while acknowledging the enduring shackles of systemic racism and those of our own afflictions. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
No Teachers, No Students, Nothing To Be Taught
A look at the teacher-student relationship generally, with a focus on the implications of it at the RZC now that Roshi and John Pulleyn-sensei will both be giving dokusan and formally accepting students. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
The Illusion of Human Identity
The Heart Sutra (Prajna Paramita) reminds us that none of the five skandhas (constituents of personhood) have any substantiality to them. To cling to any imagined identity, then, is to invite suffering. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.
Love Makes the World Go ‘Round
Miscellaneous reflections on love, seen through the lens of Dharma. Source Referenced Soul Food: Stories to Nourish the Spirit and the Heart. Jack Kornfield and Christina Feldman. HarperOne, 1996. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Sangha Sculpting Sangha
A look at what the Buddhist Sangha, or community, meant in Asia, how it has changed since coming to Western countries, and what it might become for the Rochester Zen Center. Sources Quoted: Stephen Batchelor. “Creating Sangha.” Tricycle, Winter, 1995. Thich Nhat Hanh. “The Fertile Soil of Sangha.” Tricycle, Summer, 2008. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
Jukai–the Ceremony of Taking the Precepts
A look at the several elements of the ceremony. The ten cardinal precepts are examined in the context of the “five trials” of 2020: the pandemic; its financial consequences; the intensifying effects of climate change; the clearer revelation of systemic racism and its ongoing wounds; and the alarming rise of political divisiveness. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.
Twenty-eight Benefits of Meditation
Teisho by Bodhin Kjolhede. From a 1st-century Buddhist text. Unedited transcript Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript
The Buddhist Precepts in the Context of Environmentalism
With our annual ceremony of Receiving the Precepts (Jukai) coming up, here Roshi applies those precepts to the growing threat of climate change and how we might reduce the harm we are inevitably causing to the environment. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.
Shoyoroku #32, “Yangshan’s ‘Mind and Environment’”
November 2019 Sesshin, Day 7
Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.
Philip Kapleau: Planting Seeds While Trailing Vines
A report on the Duke University conference celebrating the installation of Roshi Kapleau’s archives. Roshi Kjolhede focuses on the unique challenges Kapleau faced — and we continue to face — in adapting Zen to the West. His archives can be found at the Duke University Libraries’ Philip Kapleau papers, 1952-2009 and undated. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.
Jukai, Buddhist (Non-)Identity, and the Power of Vows
The ceremony of Jukai (Taking the Precepts) is basically an initiation into the Dharma. To be a Buddhist is to commit to aligning oneself with what is real–direct experience, not thoughts. It is to see things as they are in order to be with things as they are. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.