June 2023 Sesshin, Day 6
Commentary on dialogues between Bankei and students (Part 2). Source: The Unborn: The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, 1622-1693. Revised edition translated with an introduction by Norman Waddell. North Point Press, 2000. Teisho by Sensei Donna Kowal.  Automated Transcript

June 2023 Sesshin, Day 5
Commentary on dialogues between Bankei and students (Part 1). Source: The Unborn: The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, 1622-1693. Revised edition translated with an introduction by Norman Waddell. North Point Press, 2000. Teisho by Sensei Donna Kowal.  Automated Transcript

June 2023 Sesshin, Day 4
Commentary on Bankei’s public talk delivered during a training period at Ryumon-ji (Part 2). Source: The Unborn: The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, 1622-1693. Revised edition translated with an introduction by Norman Waddell. North Point Press, 2000. Teisho by Sensei Donna Kowal.  Automated Transcript

June 2023 Sesshin, Day 3
Commentary on Bankei’s public talk delivered during a training period at Ryumon-ji (Part 1). Source: The Unborn: The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, 1622-1693. Revised edition translated with an introduction by Norman Waddell. North Point Press, 2000. Teisho by Sensei Donna Kowal.  Automated Transcript

June 2023 Sesshin, Day 2
Commentary on the life of 17th-century Japanese Zen Master Bankei Yotaku (Part 2). Source: The Unborn: The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, 1622-1693. Revised edition translated with an introduction by Norman Waddell. North Point Press, 2000. Teisho by Sensei Donna Kowal.  Automated Transcript

June 2023 Sesshin, Day 1
Commentary on the life of 17th-century Japanese Zen Master Bankei Yotaku (Part 1). Source: The Unborn: The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei, 1622-1693. Revised edition translated with an introduction by Norman Waddell. North Point Press, 2000. Teisho by Sensei Donna Kowal.  Transcript

Two of the four Brahma-viharas. Dharma Talk by Eryl Kubicka.  Automated Transcript

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

Exploring the intersection between Zen practice and neuroscience on our capacity for experiencing awe in ordinary activities. Commentary on Dacher Keltner’s “The Quiet Profundity of Everyday Awe”, The Atlantic: January 13, 2023. Teisho by Sensei Donna Kowal.  Automated Transcript

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