Zencare Podcast

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

“Even if we encounter hardships and difficulties we should always be united with the one mind and be willing to walk hand and hand through it all.”- Keizan Jokin Zenji     With whom are you willing to unite and walk through hard times? Whose hand will you hold, and who will hold your hand, […] The post Enter the City of Reality | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“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 […] The post Auspicious Day | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“This sangha, here and on Zoom, represents 88 generations of practitioners—how incredible to be part of this living lineage.”   Our upcoming Commit to Sit is starting this week and so we share one final dharma talk from last summer's Commit to Sit with you.   In this moving talk, Chodo Sensei weaves personal stories with […] The post The Resilience of a Daffodil | Chodo Robert Campbell appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“The world will always need compassion and wisdom. In our lifetime and after our lifetime.” – Koshin   The interconnectedness of everything is not an idea or a belief. No separation is a truth to experience. How can we allow the thorough, inherent relatedness of all things to inform how we think, feel, and act […] The post Seeing This Whole Body | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Taking refuge in sangha is taking refuge in diversity—diversity inside and diversity in the world.”   We share this profound and tender opening dharma talk from our recent Summer Commit to Sit in honor of our upcoming Commit to Sit starting January 22nd.   In it, Koshin Sensei opens the 90-day practice period by weaving timeless teachings […] The post The Great Challenge of Sangha | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Taking refuge in Sangha is taking refuge in diversity—diversity inside and diversity in the world.”   We share this profound and tender opening dharma talk from our recent Summer Commit to Sit in honor of our upcoming Commit to Sit starting January 22nd.   In it, Koshin Sensei opens the 90-day practice period by weaving timeless teachings […] The post The Great Challenge of Sangha | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“There is not a moment when you can't practice.” – Koshin   Many of us are busy. We often share with one another just how busy our lives feel. Can we slow down, pause, and experience each moment? Koshin Sensei reminds us that “Zazen teaches us how to find a stillpoint in the midst of […] The post Boundlessness Not Perfection | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“What do you need to set aside?”   How often do we get stuck on ‘rightness' and ‘wrongness'?  These judgements separate us from actually experiencing our lives moment by moment. Keizan Jokin invites us to free ourselves from such considerations and rest comfortably in our true nature for the sake of all beings. In this […] The post Set Aside Entangling Affairs and Associations | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Zazen is an attitude for how you live.”   For many of us, showing others who we really are is rare. But why? What causes and conditions; stories and identities do you drape around yourself? Keizan Jokin says that the practice of sitting zazen is like coming home. How can we set down what is […] The post Zazen as an Attitude for Life | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“What have you discovered that is reliable, no matter what?” – Koshin   Like a plum blossom blooming in the winter, possibilities can emerge even when new life seems inconceivable. Koshin Sensei encourages us to stop indulging our deadening habits and to work with our minds to get clear moment by moment. Can we walk […] The post Intimately Connected and Constantly Turning | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“It turns out that we don't really change until we completely commit, especially when things are hard.”    We all can feel lonely and isolated sometimes. And, at the very same time, we are often reluctant to participate and engage with what is all around us. Koshin Sensei encourages us not to hold back. Perhaps, […] The post Clarifying the Mind-Ground | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“We are caught in unawareness, in delusion, when our minds grasp after what isn't really here and right in front of us.” – Chodo   Our minds are constantly grasping after shiny objects – names, concepts, ideas, stories. There is a long history in Buddhism of referring to this cognitive tendency as our monkey mind. […] The post Aspiring, Not Grasping | Chodo Campbell appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Why are you seeking liberation outside of yourself?” – Jianzhi    We all can feel bound up sometimes. And for good reason, depending on the life circumstances we find ourselves in. Over time and with practice, Koshin Sensei encourages us, we can learn to avail ourselves of the freedom and clarity that are always available […] The post Who is Binding You? | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“How open am I? Who and what do I not welcome in?” – Koshin   Providing safe harbor and true welcome to all others is deeply courageous. The Statue of Liberty symbolizes the bodhisattva vow to exclude nothing and no one from our care and compassion. “How many of us are that open?”     […] The post Actively Welcoming All Beings | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“When the mind calms down, we can treat ourselves and others more authentically.” – Chodo Campbell    Morality and right ethical conduct is not about appearing a certain way or trying to look good. Doing what is right is about owning your own shit, vowing with every misstep to act more skillfully, and continuing to […] The post Pulling Yourself Together | Chodo Campbell appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Living fully is not an idea. Tenderness and compassion are always the barometer of how practice is going.” – Koshin Paley Ellison   Uncertainty about elections. Dozens of active wars around the globe. “Where do you focus?” Koshin Sensei asks. What practice guides your life?      In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei names […] The post Full Functioning Tenderness and Compassion | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“If we are going to maintain our practice carefully, we have to pay careful attention to what we think is not welcome.” – Koshin Paley Ellison   Our lives are complicated. Full of love and light; anger and judgment. Can we resist deciding too quickly what should and should not be welcomed in?    In […] The post Direct and Unflinching | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Are you indulging your bulls@$t, your mistaken understandings?” – Koshin Paley Ellison    The awakening Way is not an idea. How can we free ourselves from the ideas of practice in order to practice?    In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei continues to engage with Dogen Zenji's “Deportment of the Practicing Buddha” by paying […] The post Bonds of the Buddha | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“It is not enough that your carcass is here. Are you really alive to who you are, who you're with, and what is around you in this moment?”  – Koshin Paley Ellison    Can you bring more liveliness into your life? Whether walking down the street or sitting zazen, Koshin Sensei invites us to practice […] The post Bringing Liveliness into Everything You Do | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“We need enthusiasm for practice to meet this opportunity, to show up to our life, right now.” – Koshin   Can you bring increased vigor and enthusiasm to your relationships, to your life? The pāramitā of virya is active and connecting. It does not have to appear or sound a certain way, but being vigorous […] The post Enthusiasm In Relationship | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Compassion only really happens in community.” – Koshin   How does the nobility of our imperfection become a place of deep connection?    In this dharma talk from the opening night of the Contemplative Care Retreat, Koshin Sensei introduces us to the Six Paramitas, often called the ‘six perfections,' of dana, sila, ksanti, virya, dhyana, […] The post The Nobility of Imperfection | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Moments in extremis point us to what is important, what is real.” – Koshin   How do you come know who you really are and what you truly care about? Opportunities to learn are constant.    In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei speaks to us from within the waning moments of an unpleasant physical […] The post Exhausted, Emptied, Lively, and Curious | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“If the duality of good and bad is broken through, then there is real good.” – Harada Roshi     Aphids, flies, worms, tigers, all living beings move away from discomfort. “Most of us spend most of our time sealing ourselves off from real connection,” Koshin Sensei observes. What Shakyamuni Buddha understood is that the […] The post The Beauty of Buddhahood | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Devotion is expressed through your dedicated practice.” – Harada Roshi     Many of us hold back. Why not completely throw yourself in? Wholehearted commitment is about showing up to every moment of your life. This is the practice and, for Chodo Sensei, what devotion looks like.       In this recent dharma talk, Chodo […] The post The Gifts of Devotion | Chodo Campbell appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“We are always at war with what is. We are creating suffering for others and in this way we are creating suffering for ourselves.” – Harada Roshi     We are constantly dividing the world, each other, and ourselves in half. We expend so much energy and effort picking sides and pointing fingers. “The beauty […] The post All Inclusive Practice | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“This life, all is well. Can we really say this? Is it alright to say that life is good?” —Harada Roshi    In this dharma talk from summer sesshin, Koshin Sensei reflects on his first sesshin sitting between two participants – one steady and grounded the other fidgety and agitated. They each represent a different […] The post Get Out of the Groove | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“The heart believes in tomorrow's cherry blossoms. The storm comes at night and blows them away.”     Everything is subject to change. We all experience loss. Can this inevitability spark in us an urgency to practice diligently and to live our lives fully?          In this recent dharma talk from Summer Sesshin, […] The post Subject to Change | Chodo Campbell appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Everything is encouraging you to awaken to your life.”   In the midst of our lives, we need to experience moments of respite. Twice a year, the New York Zen Center holds a silent retreat, or sesshin. The word sesshin means “to touch the heart-mind” and for thousands of years practitioners of the awakening way […] The post Set It Down | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Don't just stand there, one foot in and one foot out. Throw yourself in.”   The great matter of life and death is an ever present reality. Whether we are ready to face this reality or not, there is no guarantee we will see tomorrow or even take a next breath. How can this truth […] The post Sweeping the Mind Clear | Chodo Campbell appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Inattention is harmful. Attention is a refuge.”   Have you noticed how often we can lose contact with what's around us? Even with the ones we love the most? Koshin Sensei invites us to consider this separation – to actually notice it and be embarrassed by the distances we create – and change our behavior. […] The post The Dignity of Each Moment | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“There is so much energy around being sure. Thinking ‘I know,' we become so narrow.”       Do you ever think ‘I am right' and ‘you are wrong'? “I, you, all of us, can get caught up in deeply entrenched ideas of truth.” Koshin Sensei invites us to pay attention to our minds, to […] The post Are We Seeking Controversy and Creating Deep Divisions? | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“How does what you say and do really benefit living beings?”     We live in a world filled with beauty and terror. Whether we are experiencing euphoric glee, wrenching pain, or something in between, can our feelings lead to actions that benefit living beings? And not just some beings from the specific groups we […] The post Doing What is Beneficial and True, Not Popular | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Our commitment to distractions and our commitment to not committing actually takes a lot of effort.”       The newest telescopes can see stars being born hundreds of millions of lightyears away. Innumerable stars, like the sun in our solar system, are scattered across the farthest reaches of the cosmos. It boggles the mind, […] The post Returning to the Original Place | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Those without virtue are to be pitied.”          As Dogen Zenji reminds us, giving, kind speech, beneficial actions, and cooperation are the “Four Attractions of the Bodhisattva”. How often throughout your day do you lift these virtues up, even praise them? What would it look like in your life to embody the […] The post Practicing Interdependence Through Kind Speech | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

Koshin Sensei was recently featured on the KevinMD podcast where he explored the transformative power of contemplative medicine.   Koshin and Kevin also delve into topics such as reconnecting with patients, navigating difficult emotions in the workplace, and cultivating resilience and compassion in health care practice.   We share the twenty minute clip of the […] The post “How Contemplative Medicine Revived a Doctor's Passion”: KevinMD with Koshin Sensei appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“It is not enough to have good intensions. It really matters what you do. It really matters what you say.”       Our human ancestors have been caring for one another for at least 75,000 years. We survive, carry on, thrive, and even flourish when we show compassion.  It is not about what we […] The post Just Do. Without Regressing, Without Adulteration | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“This practice has kept me alive.”     When what has been lost brings the return of something new, when the debilitations of illness remind us of the deep dignities of being alive, these are the healing stories of care and compassion.         During the final evening of the Closing Retreat for […] The post Stories of Loss and Return, Illness and Healing | Chodo Campbell appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“…those whose lose mindfulness, lose.”       From Shakyamuni Buddha, down through generations of ancestors, including Dogen Zenji, and into the present moment have come a series of teachings on the eight awarenesses of awakened beings. One is called Maintaining Right Mindfulness or Not Neglecting Mindfulness. Practicing this in the midst of our tumbling […] The post Always New and Coming Back | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“This practice is actually about liberation, not about being comfortable, feeling good, or getting a reward.”         What are you afraid of? Can we remain focused and grounded when what we fear is right in front of us?       In this recent Zazenkai dharma talk, Koshin Sensei challenges us to […] The post Facing Your Fear | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Treat others with great care.”   What is possible when we disbelieve our doubt? When we show up to wholeheartedly practice together, worlds come alive. There is an expansive reservoir of compassion and care for all beings.     In this dharma talk, Koshin Sensei shares a few teachings that are staying with him from […] The post Three Worlds and All Beings | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Non-doing allows us to cultivate compassionate presence.”         Doing nothing is not about inaction. In this dharma talk, Chodo Sensei invites us to set down our preoccupation with doing – excessive striving, frenetic working – and consider the generative possibilities of non-doing. Can we practice full presence, broad awareness, and deep compassion? […] The post The Art of Non-Doing | Chodo Campbell appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“The way of belonging is doing.”         On the occasion of Hana Matsuri, a ceremony to celebrate the Buddha's birth, Koshin Sensei invites us to set down our demand for things to be a certain way, for things to be perfect, and to fully enter the world in all its messy beauty. […] The post The Magic of Entering the World | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“How do you practice not wasting time?”         Stories have impact. Our thoughts and beliefs can take over our minds and actually take us out of relationship. Koshin Sensei reminds us, “We waste a lot of time indulging our thoughts.”       In this recent dharma talk, Koshin draws on the […] The post Availing Not Awaiting | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“It is a form of generosity, how we show up.”         What do we do with the stories we often tell ourselves about ourselves? Many of us worry, ‘Am I good?' or think, ‘I am no good'. Many of us feel, ‘No one sees me,' or are sure that ‘Everyone is judging […] The post Engaged and Playful | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“How do your opinions and preferences take you out of relationship and a life of practice?”     Honoring the Buddha's death, Nehan-e observance is an opportunity to pay closer attention to your life, to show up and step forward. How will you life your life without regret?       In this dharma talk, […] The post Step In | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“We indulge in our fears way too much in the guise of protecting our freedom.”     In this dharma talk, Koshin Sensei asks us to look closely at what separates us from ourselves and each other. There is difference and we are all one. But our fears hold us back and create distance between […] The post Difference and Oneness | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“If the practice is going well no one is becoming like anyone else.”     In this dharma talk, Koshin Sensei invites us to experience what happens when we wholeheartedly practice. What changes within ourselves? What blooms between one another?     Genyu Kojima Roshi asks his sangha to consider what ‘bad' religion is. It […] The post Blooming Takes Time | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“Do not take anything for granted. See everything as a gift.”   The sixteen bodhisattva precepts are guidelines to live by, aspirations to live into. In this talk, Chodo Sensei introduces us to an extended study of the precepts with a moving story from his experience as a hospice chaplain. It is about a “tiny […] The post Affirm Life In All Its Forms | Chodo Campbell appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“How do we create the conditions to become more free?”    We are here because of those who came before us. In this talk, Koshin Sensei gratefully reminds us that our continuing practice and commitment have deep roots going back eighty eight generations through ancestors from India, China, and Japan. From teacher to student, or […] The post Seeing Things Through | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“How often do you live in fear of what is going to happen?”    Can you actually be where you are and nowhere else? In this talk, Koshin Sensei explores this simple question as an invitation to experience its truth in your everyday life. Zen ceremonies are about bringing your mind's full attention to this […] The post Being Here & Nowhere Else | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.