The Upaya Dharma Podcast features Wednesday evening Dharma Talks and recordings from Upaya's diverse array of programs. Our podcasts exemplify Upaya’s focus on socially engaged Buddhism, including prison work, end-of-life care, serving the homeless, training in socially engaged practices, peace & no…
Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot
Santa Fe, NM
Listeners of Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast that love the show mention: dharma talks, zen, thank, great, roshi joan, upaya.
The Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Buddhist teachings and mindfulness practices. Hosted by Roshi Joan Halifax, the podcast offers a wide range of topics presented by esteemed teachers in the field. The podcast is freely available to all, and I am grateful for the generosity of Upaya in sharing these teachings.
One of the best aspects of this podcast is the quality of the teachings and the authenticity of the speakers. Roshi Joan Halifax is a genuine and compassionate teacher, and her clarity shines through in each episode. The podcast covers a wide range of topics, allowing listeners to explore different aspects of Buddhism and mindfulness practice. Additionally, the Zen Brain series is a highlight with its engaging discussions on neuroscience and awareness.
Another positive aspect is that the episodes often begin with a meditative bowl sound, creating a calming atmosphere from the start. This attention to detail enhances the listening experience and helps set a pleasant mood for exploring these profound teachings.
While there are many positive aspects to this podcast, one potential downside is that it may not be as accessible for those new to Buddhist teachings or meditation practice. The episodes assume some level of familiarity with these concepts, which might make it difficult for beginners to fully grasp certain teachings.
In conclusion, The Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast is an exceptional resource for individuals interested in deepening their understanding of Buddhism and mindfulness practices. With its diverse range of topics and esteemed teachers, this podcast offers valuable insights and guidance on living a more mindful and compassionate life. Despite potentially being less accessible for beginners, this podcast remains a treasure trove for those seeking authentic dharma teachings.
In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Roshi Joan Halifax is joined by Senseis Kodo, Dainin, and longtime Upaya friend and master Zen gardener Sensei Wendy Johnson to set the roots of the month-long Winter Ango (peaceful dwelling). Roshi traces Ango's history to ancient traditions of seasonal retreat and offers careful instruction not to trample what arises—no longer avoiding snakes, insects… Source
On the final day of Rohatsu sesshin, the faculty turn toward presence as the heart of the bodhisattva way. Sensei Kaz Tanahashi reflects on the final full day not as a rush toward the end, but as an invitation to be more fully present with each moment, as practice settles into quiet confidence and seamless activity. Roshi Joan Halifax deepens this inquiry by asking, What is a bodhisattva? Source
On the fifth day of Rohatsu sesshin, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi explores Indra's Net—jewels “reflecting one another forever” in “inter-illumination”—showing how Buddhist teachings illustrate the reality of interconnected actions and outcomes. Kaz assures us that every humble action contributes to breakthrough. Reflecting on his anti-nuclear activism in the 1970s and '80s, he says, “Everything I did… Source
On the fourth day of Rohatsu sesshin, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi reflects on the previous evening's full moon atonement ceremony, revealing that “I think to be ethical is … life with ease and joy. You don't have to hide anything. You don't have to fear.” Kaz references the teaching to “thoroughly engage in each activity” to transform the world. He reframes “continuous failure” as “continuous missing”… Source
On the third full day of Rohatsu sesshin, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi illuminates the radical teaching at the heart of Zen practice: we begin with enlightenment itself. Tracing the tension between seventh-century China's scholarly Huayan school—requiring lifetimes of gradual study—and Huineng's “illiterate school” of sudden enlightenment, Kaz reveals how Dogen went even further… Source
On the second full day of Rohatsu sesshin, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi explores the Avatamsaka Sutra's vision of Shakyamuni Buddha as Vairocana—the Dharmakaya itself—and the bodhisattva path through its metaphoric landscape. Kaz teaches that bodhisattvas become bridges, letting beings cross the ocean of life and death. He offers practical guidance for working with sleepiness… Source
In this year's Gratefulness and Generosity program Roshi Joan Halifax and Frank Ostaseski explore gratefulness and generosity as essential Buddhist practices for navigating “the pressure of the time we're in.” Roshi Joan situates generosity as the first paramita—a boundless state of mind—and invites participants to hold both sorrow and beauty, acknowledging the painful histories and difficult… Source
In this penultimate session of Awareness in Action (2025), Roshi Joan Halifax gathers with Sharon Salzberg and Frank Ostaseski to explore love as the foundation for engaged Buddhism, acknowledging the collective “upwelling of perturbation” many feel about the body politic. Roshi describes how spiritual community calls us back into love, noting the nation's parallel journey: “We fell out of love… Source
In this penultimate session of Awareness in Action (2025), Roshi Joan Halifax gathers with Sharon Salzberg and Frank Ostaseski to explore love as the foundation for engaged Buddhism, acknowledging the collective “upwelling of perturbation” many feel about the body politic. Roshi describes how spiritual community calls us back into love, noting the nation's parallel journey: “We fell out of love… Source
In this Winter Solstice gathering, Roshi Joan Halifax offers a grounded teaching on awareness amid darkness. Speaking during the longest night of the year, she introduces the Zen phrase ekō henshō—“turning the light around”—as the practice of directing awareness toward awareness itself. Through a story from a vinaya gathering in Thailand and a single word—“phenomena”—Roshi explores how we meet… Source
In this Way-Seeking Mind Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, resident Clayton Genryu Dalton charmingly shares his unexpected path to Zen and reflects on meaningful moments and insights from his life. From bathroom graffiti at UT Austin to Alan Watts, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, emergency medicine, and the abrupt end of his marriage, Genryu embodies life as process. Smiling at his own mistakes and… Source
In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Hoshi Senko reflects on Radiant Light as the everyday experience of being alive. Drawing on Dōgen Zenji's Komyō (Radiant Light) and Koun Ejō's sole surviving work, Komyōzō Zanmai (The Practice of the Treasury of Radiant Light), Senko traces how the ancestors point to what is closest and most easily missed—summarized by Wittgenstein: “It is not how things are in… Source
On the first full day of Rohatsu sesshin, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi and Roshi Joan Halifax open practice with teachings on non-division and “undivided activity.” Kaz reminds practitioners that Rohatsu marks the Buddha's awakening—“birth, enlightenment, and […]
In this session of Awareness in Action, spiritual teacher, psychologist, and author Tara Brach begins by acknowledging the profound pressures in our society and the importance of building solidarity in these times. She […]
This is the 2nd half of the closing session of the Awakened Action series begins with Christiana Figueres joining from Costa Rica, fresh from COP30 in Berlin. She shares her striking observation of […]
This is the 1st half of the closing session of the Awakened Action series begins with Christiana Figueres joining from Costa Rica, fresh from COP30 in Berlin. She shares her striking observation of […]
In the sixth session of Awareness in Action, Christiana Figueres discusses Brazil's Climate Conference, reflecting on our collective anxiety about present conditions and future uncertainties. She emphasizes that “the future is not waiting […]
In the fifth talk of the Awakened Action series, Rebecca Solnit invites participants to name acts of moral beauty—from tribal leaders honoring Japanese American internment survivors to the Rainbow Defense Coalition protecting LGBTQ+ events. […]
In the fourth session of the Awakened Action series, Terry Tempest Williams shares the quiet, touching story she “could never write”—the killing of Harvard Divinity School's beloved 200-year-old red oak in 2019. Sleeping beside […]
In part three of the Awakened Action series, Roshi Joan Halifax invites participants to imagine the world in 20 years, revealing how we're often “living in dread” rather than envisioning liberating possibilities. She distinguishes between […]
In this second session of Awakened Action, Valerie Brown explores where we encounter the charnel grounds—a Buddhist metaphor for places where deep suffering is present, including in our own minds. Valerie shares her […]
The opening session of Awakened Action lead by Roshi Joan, Rebecca Solnit, Valerie Brown, and Terry Tempest Williams, participants are invited to explore how futures are shaped through attention, relationship, and imagination. The teachers […]
In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Roshi Joan Halifax, joined by Senseis Kodo and Dainin, reflects on how Thanksgiving is both a time of festivity and a day of mourning for Native peoples. She raises […]
In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Rebecca Solnit explores empathy as an act of imagination—the capacity to feel beyond the boundaries of one's own body. She begins with Roshi Joan's distinction between empathy […]
In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Monshin explores what it means to be truly nourished. While attending to a full day of cooking chiles rellenos, Monshin opened to how her ingredients […]
In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, delivered under the largest supermoon in two years, Sensei Kodo reflects on fusatsu—the full moon ceremony of vow renewal—his own marriage vows, and the absence of regular […]
In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Valerie Brown honors the life and legacy of Dr. Larry Ward, a pioneering African-American Dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition. Valerie recounts Larry's journey from his […]
On the closing day of Upaya's Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Kathy, Hoshi Senko, and Sensei Monshin offer an integrated reflection on continuing practice beyond the zendo. Sensei Kathy grounds us in the body, reminding […]
In this Day five talk during the Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Monshin weaves together stories of generosity, effort, and hummingbirds to explore “effort without desire”—the natural, uncalculated movement of life giving to […]
On Day three of the Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Hoshi Senko begins with Suzuki Roshi's simple reminder: “Appreciate your life.” Senko describes sesshin as a means for this, saying sesshin is “a kind […]
In Day two of the Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Kathie Fischer likens sesshin to an artist's colony where each practitioner's work unfolds through the act of doing itself. “Each of us is […]
In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk and Day 4 of Upaya's Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Kathie Fischer brings our attention to resonance—the way one vibration awakens or encourages another. Drawing from physics, poetry, […]
In this morning talk on the first full day of the Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Shinzan draws from Dōgen's Bendōwa (“The Wholehearted Way”) to remind us that zazen itself is the true gate of […]
In this opening session of Upaya's 2025 Fall Pratice Period Sesshin, four teachers—Sensei Kathie Fischer, Sensei Shinzan (joining remotely from San Diego), Sensei Monshin, and Hoshi Senko—welcome participants into the stillness and rhythm of this […]
In this Zazenkai Day Talk during Fall Practice Period, Chris Senko Perez reflects on Dōgen's Genjō Kōan through his image of sailing far out to sea, where the ocean appears perfectly round. Dōgen comments on […]
In this Fall Practice Period session, Senseis Kathie, Monshin, and Shinzan, with reflections from Hoshi Senko, open the study of Dogen's Bendowa and Genjokoan. They invite participants to encounter Dogen not as a distant master to be analyzed but […]
In this Zazenkai Day talk during Upaya's Fall Practice Period, Sensei Kathie Fischer offers her reflections on the simplicity and depth of Zen practice. She begins by exploring the role of language in […]
Senseis Monshin, Kathie Fischer, and Shinzan, together with Hoshi Senko, open Upaya's Fall Practice Period by welcoming participants from around the world into a month of deep study of Dogen's Genjokoan. “To study the way is […]
In this talk from Upaya's Awareness and Action series, Dr. Guo Gu, founder of the Tallahassee Chan Center, explores Embodiment and Engaged Practice—how awakening through the body becomes the ground for compassionate action in […]
In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk during Fall Practice Period at Upaya, Sensei Monshin explores the meaning of dharma position. Building from Dogen's Genjokoan, she explains dharma position as an expression of the inseparability of self and […]
In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk during the Fall Practice Period, Sensei Shinzan turns to Dōgen's Genjō Kōan, drawing on the image of a monkey grasping at the moon's reflection to reveal how our search for […]
In this Way-Seeking Mind Dharma Talk, resident Tuck Butsumon Stibich offers a moving reflection on his path from intellectual inquiry to embodied Zen practice. Raised in Dayton, Ohio, in a family grounded in […]
In this session of Upaya's Awareness in Action series, Bhikkhu Bodhi offers a penetrating teaching on discernment as the heart of engaged Buddhism in times of crisis. He reflects on his journey from 1960s […]
In Part 4 of Upaya's Love and Death program, Frank Ostaseski and Roshi Joan invite participants to “bring death into the room” through a mindfulness practice with photographs of people who stepped through the threshold of […]
This is the 2nd half of … part 3 of Upaya's Love and Death program, Frank Ostaseski and Roshi Joan Halifax explore the tension between belonging and accommodation. Through personal stories of illness, recovery, and […]
In Part 3 of Upaya's Love and Death program, Frank Ostaseski and Roshi Joan Halifax explore the tension between belonging and accommodation. Through personal stories of illness, recovery, and care, they show how dignity in receiving […]
This is the 2nd half of … part two of Upaya's Love and Death weekend program, Roshi Joan Halifax and Frank Ostaseski deepened the exploration of how personal love can open into universal compassion. Framed […]
In part two of Upaya's Love and Death weekend program, Roshi Joan Halifax and Frank Ostaseski deepened the exploration of how personal love can open into universal compassion. Framed by the bodhisattva path, Roshi Joan recounted […]
In the opening session (part 1) of Love and Death, Roshi Joan Halifax and Frank Ostaseski welcomed more than 1,300 participants into a shared inquiry of love and mortality. Framed by Rainer Maria Rilke's insight that […]
In this intriguing Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Kodo inspires us with the lion's roar of Queen Srimala. Beginning with reflections on how motivations and intentions consciously and unconsciously impact behavior, Kodo guides […]
In this timely session of Awareness in Action, Father John Dear confronts the urgency of our times with an echo from Martin Luther King Jr.: “The choice is no longer violence or non-violence… It's […]
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