Talks that center on the basics of Zen practice
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The Ebb and Flow of Zen Practice
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:45 — 18.4MB)
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Conditions come and go. At times, one may feel motivated and energized by practice, and, at other times, discouraged and stuck in a rut. How do we stay engaged in the midst of changing conditions? Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript
Our Attitude Toward Practice
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:53 — 47.5MB)
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Finding a way beyond grasping and rejecting, beyond success and failure. Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript
Working with Pain
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:16 — 36.9MB)
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The experience of physical pain is part of the human condition. In taking up a sitting practice, we have the opportunity to learn how to work with pain and transform our relationship to it. Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript
Outrage
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:47 — 38.3MB)
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Full Title: Outrage, Resentment, Acceptance, and Forgiveness. Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript
The Precepts: Beyond Pride and Perfection
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:09 — 47.8MB)
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Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript
Work Practice
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:09 — 14.7MB)
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How to engage your practice in the midst of activity, whether it involves manual work or intellectually-demanding tasks. Resources: Sweeping Changes: Discovering the Joy of Zen in Everyday Tasks by Gary Thorp (Walker Books, 2000). “The Value of ‘Deep Work’ in an Age of Distraction,” Hidden Brain podcast featuring Cal Newport (July 25, 2017). Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Transcript
Boredom
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:04 — 41.3MB)
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Our eagerness to cut short whatever feels tedious by chasing after distractions and excitement comes to diminish our lives. Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript
Practice Off the Mat
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:32 — 36.2MB)
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Zen practice has the potential to change our lives for the better. So what are we doing when we’re not facing a wall? (See also the teisho Stop Fixing Yourself.) Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Transcript
Ups and Downs of Practice
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:17 — 13.0MB)
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Cultivating openness and awareness in the face of habit energies that pull us in the other direction. Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Transcript
Twenty-eight Benefits of Meditation
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:44 — 12.5MB)
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Teisho by Bodhin Kjolhede. From a 1st-century Buddhist text. Unedited transcript Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Transcript
More Basics for Zen Practice
What’s the Rush?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:24 — 40.6MB)
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Dropping our habitual, compulsive busyness and finding our refuge in the direct experience of this moment. Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript
Coming to the Path Talk by Christopher Maley
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:56 — 38.4MB)
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Coming to the Path Talk by Christopher Maley. Automated Transcript
Advice on Sesshin Practice #2
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:57 — 30.2MB)
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February 2024 Sesshin, Day 2
Chan Master Sheng Yen’s Helps and Hindrances to Sesshin Practice, Part 2. Sources: Faith in Mind: A Commentary on Seng Ts’an’s Classic by Chan Master Sheng Yen; Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart by Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield; One Hand Clapping: Zen Stories for All Ages by Rafe Martin; Taking Flight: A… Dharma Talk by Ven. Jissai Prince-Cherry. Automated Transcript
Advice on Sesshin Practice #1
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:06 — 36.7MB)
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February 2024 Sesshin, Day 1
Chan Master Sheng Yen’s Helps and Hindrances to Sesshin Practice, Part 1. Sources: Faith in Mind: A Commentary on Seng Ts’an’s Classic by Chan Master Sheng Yen; Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart by Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield; One Hand Clapping: Zen Stories for All Ages by Rafe Martin; Taking Flight: A… Dharma Talk by Ven. Jissai Prince-Cherry. Automated Transcript
Establishing and Sustaining Zen Practice
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:51 — 43.8MB)
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Practice and our lives are not two. Insight comes when the thinking mind falls silent. Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript
Working With Obstructions in Our Zazen
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:28 — 42.5MB)
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September 2023 Sesshin, Day 2
Reading from Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana. Dharma Talk by Ven. Trueman Taylor. Automated Transcript
Meditation: Why Bother?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:12 — 36.8MB)
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September 2023 Sesshin, Day 1
Meditation: Why Bother? Developing the Right Attitude. Reading from Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana. Dharma Talk by Ven. Trueman Taylor. Automated Transcript
Taking the Precepts: An Introduction
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:40 — 45.5MB)
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How do we embody the Precepts in our everyday lives? An overview of morality in Zen and the RZC’s Taking the Precepts Ceremony. Teisho by Sensei Donna Kowal. Automated Transcript
Not Too Hard, Not Too Soft: Finding the Sweet Spot in Practice
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:22 — 22.6MB)
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May 2023 Sesshin, Day 2
Question: Should I try or should I not try? Do I apply effort in practice or do I surrender? Ought there be discipline or should it come naturally? Answer: Yes! Sources: Awakening to Zen by Roshi Philip Kapleau; Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart by Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield. Dharma Talk by Ven. Jissai Prince-Cherry. Automated Transcript
Making the Most of Each Moment of Sesshin
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:45 — 48.0MB)
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May 2023 Sesshin, Day 1
How to make the most of chanting, talks, and personalized instruction during sesshin. Sharing the teachings of Roshi Philip Kapleau, founder of Rochester Zen Center, on the 19th anniversary of his death. Source: Zen: Merging of East and West by Roshi Philip Kapleau. Dharma Talk by Ven. Jissai Prince-Cherry. Automated Transcript
Skillful Effort, Skillful Concentration
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:03:12 — 73.2MB)
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Zen practice is a method, not a technique. As a result, practice can sometimes feel frustrating since there’s no step-by-step instruction manual telling us “Exactly What to Do.” (Nor will there ever be.) So how do we practice? Dharma Talk by Ven. Trueman Taylor. Automated Transcript
Practicing with Our Whole Being
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:19 — 41.5MB)
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We’re socially conditioned to lead with the head, however Zen is not a mental activity. How do we get our practice into the body-mind? Teisho by Sensei Donna Kowal. Automated Transcript
Zen and Religion
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:48 — 45.8MB)
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Separating Dharma from Dogma. Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript
OK with Things as They Are
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:25 — 38.8MB)
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By trying to wall off the inevitable pain we encounter, we make it hurt more and last longer. Acceptance and practice show us another way. Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript
Being Sangha
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:40 — 35.5MB)
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On taking refuge in Sangha (Community). Dharma Talk by Sensei Donna Kowal. Automated Transcript
Learning to Want What We Have
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:19 — 31.1MB)
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Advice from a 21st century Stoic. Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript
Zen and the Body (Part 2)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:04 — 12.6MB)
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Working with the body and attitudes towards the body in Zen practice. Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript
Zen and the Body (Part 1)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:29 — 13.9MB)
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Body awareness as a key to Zen practice. Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript
Untangling the Knots, Engaging with the Practice
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:59 — 12.9MB)
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On working with habit forces and boredom. Commentary on excerpts from Ordinary Wonder: Zen Life and Practice by Charlotte Joko Beck, edited by Brenda Beck Hess (Shambhala, 2021). Dharma Talk by Donna Kowal. Automated Transcript