American Zen teacher and author
POPULARITY
ADZG 1240 ADZG Monday Night Dharma Talk by Brian Taylor The post Practicing with Joko Beck in the 1990s first appeared on Ancient Dragon Zen Gate.
In this dharma talk I share my latest understanding of the Practice Principles, originally formulated by Joko Beck and as interpreted by my teacher Barry Magid. The practice principles give us a condensed way of understanding ordinary mind zen practice. However, they do miss out some important aspects of practice, such as the importance of supportive relationships and mutual recognition. This talk covers how they are a re-working of the four noble truths and the four great vows. The two couplets represent the Two Truths, the absolute or ultimate truth and the relative or conventional truth. The first two lines focus on how suffering arises in our everyday lives of problems and relationships. They also give us a clue to the ending of suffering. The final two lines emphasise the koan aspect of zen embodied in our zazen practice of just-sitting. Paradoxically, the end of suffering is the end of the resistance to suffering.
ADZG 1232 ADZG Sunday Morning Dharma Talk by Hōgetsu Laurie Belzer The post Joko Beck's Compassion arising and melting reactivity first appeared on Ancient Dragon Zen Gate.
ADZG 1231 ADZG Sunday Morning Dharma Talk by Hōgetsu Laurie Belzer The post Practice Period 2025 – Joko Beck first appeared on Ancient Dragon Zen Gate.
In this lecture today, we will first review the discussion about the “three natures” that I introduced last month from the work of the Yogacara philosopher, Vasubandhu. Then we will begin to discuss a contemporary philosophical school called Phenomenology and its similarities to Yogacara. We will then finish today's lecture by reading and discussing a chapter from Joko Beck's first book called Experiencing and Behaviour which I think will help us make the link between what these Yogacarins and Phenomenologists are on about because Joko has this way of being able to express these complex ideas in a simple and straightforward way.
Berry Crawford first started practicing Zen meditation in 1992. He lived at the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center and practiced as a resident in the mid 1990s. Afterwards, he practiced with Diane “Eshin” Rizzetto in the Ordinary Mind Zen School started by Joko Beck. Later, Berry became a student of John “Shoji” Sorenson and in 2022 was authorized to independently teach Zen. He is a koan student of Russell “Kyofu Seikyo” Mitchell in the Open Mind Zen School and was authorized by him as an Assistant Teacher in June 2023.Simplicity Zen Podcast:https://simplicityzen.com/
September 2023 Sesshin, Day 5 Commentary on the teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck (Part 3). Source: Everyday Zen: Love and Work by Charlotte Joko Beck. Edited by Steve Smith. Harper Collins, 1989. Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck #3 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.
September 2023 Sesshin, Day 4 Commentary on the teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck (Part 2). Source: Everyday Zen: Love and Work by Charlotte Joko Beck. Edited by Steve Smith. Harper Collins, 1989. Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck #2 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.
September 2023 Sesshin, Day 3 Commentary on the teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck (Part 1). Source: Everyday Zen: Love and Work by Charlotte Joko Beck. Edited by Steve Smith. Harper Collins, 1989. Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Teachings of American Zen teacher Joko Beck #1 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.
2023-08-20 Dharma Talk | Joko Beck: Seeing Beliefs and Strategies | Joel Barna by Appamada
2022-12-18 Dharma Talk | Joel Barna | Joko Beck's “Relationships Don't Work" by Appamada
In this talk I share some understandings of enlightenment that have in the context ongoing dialogue with Joko Beck through her books and Barry Magid as my teacher. I begin my discussing two common curative fantasies of what enlightenment is. I then share one understanding of enlightenment that is found in both Joko Beck and Barry Magid - what I will call our Original OK-ness – the sense of being at home in our world and being at home with others harmoniously. I finish with discussing enlightenment as a life-time journey that we are all on.
This talk explores the relationship between sitting meditation (zazen) and attentiveness in everyday life. It's starts with Joko Beck's definition of enlightenment as the "ending in yourself of that hope for something other than life being as it is" and unfolds practice as the effortless effort to allow one's experience to be exactly what it is at this time—that is, to fully commit to the present moment. Feeling unconditionally alive instead of chasing happy feelings is the fruit of this practice.Welcome to Zen Mind!THE PATH OF ALIVENESS is now on sale!Become a Boulder Zen Center Member! It is the best way to support Zenki Roshi and the continuation of this podcast.See all events and join our mailing list at www.boulderzen.org. Email us at office@boulderzen.org or give us a call: (303) 442–3007.If you're enjoying these talks, please subscribe and leave us a rating or review!Zenki Christian Dillo Roshi is the the guiding teacher at the Boulder Zen Center in Colorado, USA. This podcast shares the regular dharma talks given at the center. Zenki Roshi approaches Zen practice as a craft of transformation, liberation, wisdom and compassionate action. His interest is to bring Buddhism alive within the Western cultural context, while staying committed to the traditional emphasis on yogic embodiment.
Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript The post March 2022 Sesshin, Day 7: Ordinary Wonder: Zen Life and Practice by Joko Beck appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.
Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript The post March 2022 Sesshin, Day 6: Ordinary Wonder: Zen Life and Practice by Joko Beck appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.
Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript The post March 2022 Sesshin, Day 5: Ordinary Wonder: Zen Life and Practice by Joko Beck appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.
In this talk I explore The Observing Self. I often say to my students, stand as Awareness, and be kind to self and others. Joko Beck said “That which observes cannot be found and cannot be described. If we look for it there is nothing there. Since there is nothing we can know about it, we can almost say it is another dimension” 1989: 123. In the end, we are all a mystery to ourselves. At the core of our being lies a mystery – what Joko Beck, following Arthur Deikman (1982) called the Observing Self. In this talk we explore the far-out realm of the Observing Self, the Open Door. I would like to invite you to come on this journey with me - You might be surprised as to what you might find!
Originally formulated by Joko Beck, the practice principles are common to all the different centres of the Ordinary Mind Zen School around the world. In this dialogue we explore our mutual understanding of the practice principles and how we can use them to remind us how to practice, both formally, in our Zazen practice, and informally in our everyday life.
2022-01-17 | Depth In Practice | Ordinary Wonder | Joko Beck by Appamada
2021-12-13 | Depth In Practice | Ordinary Wonder | Joko Beck by Appamada
2021-12-07 | Depth In Practice | Ordinary Wonder | Joko Beck by Appamada
2021-11-29 | Depth In Practice | Ordinary Wonder | Joko Beck by Appamada
2021-11-22 | Depth In Practice | Ordinary Wonder | Joko Beck by Appamada
2021-11-15 | Depth In Practice | Ordinary Wonder | Joko Beck by Appamada
2021-11-08 | Depth In Practice | Ordinary Wonder | Joko Beck by Appamada
2021-11-01 | Depth In Practice | Ordinary Wonder | Joko Beck by Appamada
2021-10-25 | Depth In Practice | Ordinary Wonder | Joko Beck by Appamada
2021-10-18 | Depth in Practice | Ordinary Wonder | Joko Beck by Appamada
This interview continues the exploration of the common ground between the teachings of Gurdjieff and Joko Beck. It begins with a brief biography of Elisabeth's journey with the Gurdjieff teachings. The interview then stays on practice issues such as waking up through self-observation and self-remembering and non-identification. It also clarifies the meaning of no-self and Self in Zen teaching.
Joko Beck often quoted an expression from the Hebrew Bible: “Be still, know I am”. It describes our practice of just sitting or silent illumination. Silence is the stillness – it is the anchor, the stabiliser that naturally allows clear seeing to arise. The light that illuminates all phenomena is awareness. The Buddha said be a light unto yourself. You are the light. Recognise yourself as the light of knowing. This awareness is who we are. To “know I am” is to recognise who we truly are. We hold the body still and the light of awareness illuminates impermanence – the cosmic dance.
In this talk, Senior Student Kenko points to, explores, and engages in the practice of this moment. Joko Beck’s four practice commitments offer a framework for seeing how we get caught in separating (and suffering), how we hold tight onto “me,” “myself,” and “mine” (and how we can experience that holding in the body). Each […] The post Talk by Kenko “The Practice of This Moment” first appeared on The Village Zendo.
"We have to face the pain we have been running from. In fact, we need to learn to rest in it and let its searing power transform us." Welcome to Mind Brain Musings, your daily dose of philosophy viewed through the lens of two people that have no professional knowledge on the topic. Each day we'll bring you philosophical quotes from some of history's greatest thinkers, and discussing whether they were talking rubbish or if they may have been on to something. Let us know your thoughts on each quote or our take on them, and tune in every day for more Mind Brain Musings!
My teacher's teacher, Joko Beck, was once asked, if she could summarize all her years of practice in one word, what would it be? And she said, kindness. This guided meditation takes us on a journey into the experience of kindness and cultivating kindness. As the heart opens, we become free from our reactions and are able to respond to the world, to relationships, from this place of loving kindness and compassion. What does kindness feel like? This natural, effortless awareness that is presencing, is totally complete, just as it is. Lacking nothing, it desires nothing. From this place of completeness, kindness as a response to the world can arise. What are the qualities of kindness? There is a natural attentiveness, expecting nothing in return, no agenda other than to be kind. Openness, vulnerability, tenderness. Seeing our self in the eyes of the other.
Erleuchtung wie ein Zug aus Nirgendwo? Schschsch... und schon ist er vorbei. Aber irgendwann bleibt er stehen und eröffnet eine verblüffende Erkenntnis. Eine (von mir gekürzte) Zen-Erzählung von Joko Beck.
2020-10-18 | Dharma Talk | Joko Beck’s ‘The Pools’ | Joel Barna by Appamada
Uma gota de sabedoria por Joko Beck. Voz: Monja Shôwa, Londrina - PR.
We all want things to work out exactly as we want them to. When they don’t we try again, or develop new strategies. If that doesn’t work, we start blaming others, or ourselves. The great Zen teacher Joko Beck said that practice only begins when you’ve been disappointed enough. When that happens, you’re willing to give up all your strategies, stop imposing your will on life and to open to a harmonious life, lived from the bottom of your heart..
We talk a lot about the futility of arguing with reality. As Byron Katie so perfectly says, “When I argue with reality I lose. But only 100% of the time.” (Hah.) Today we’re going to take another look at that wisdom from a slightly different angle. We’ll invite a couple of modern Zen Masters to the party: Joko Beck and Phil Jackson. We’ll start with legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson’s wisdom. In his book Sacred Hoops, he tells us: “In Zen it is said that the gap between accepting things the way they are and wishing them to be otherwise is ‘the tenth of an inch of difference between heaven and hell.’ If we can accept whatever we’ve been dealt—no matter how unwelcome—the way to proceed eventually becomes clear. This is what is meant by right action: the capacity to observe what’s happening and act appropriately, without being distracted by self-centered thoughts. If we rage and resist, our angry, fearful minds have trouble quieting down sufficiently to allow us to act in the most beneficial way for ourselves and others.” Thank you, Phil. Now for Joko Beck. In Everyday Zen, she tells us: “If we require that life be a certain way, inevitably we suffer—since life is always the way it is, and not always fair, not always pleasant. Life is not particularly the way we want it to be, it is just the way it is. And that need not prevent our enjoyment of it, our appreciation, our gratitude.” That’s Today’s +1. When/if we find ourselves a little (or a lot annoyed) Today—whether that’s with our kids or our colleagues or ourselves—let’s see if we can step back and notice the gap between what’s happening in the moment and what we want to be happening in the moment. That tenth of an inch? Let’s close it. -1. -1. -1. for the +1 win! P.S. If you’re getting all crazy-ragey? Well, you just fell into a mile-long chasm between reality and your fantasy of what should be happening. Good news? Just snap your fingers, love what it is and that gap magically vanishes.
We talk a lot about the futility of arguing with reality. As Byron Katie so perfectly says, “When I argue with reality I lose. But only 100% of the time.” (Hah.) Today we’re going to take another look at that wisdom from a slightly different angle. We’ll invite a couple of modern Zen Masters to the party: Joko Beck and Phil Jackson. We’ll start with legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson’s wisdom. In his book Sacred Hoops, he tells us: “In Zen it is said that the gap between accepting things the way they are and wishing them to be otherwise is ‘the tenth of an inch of difference between heaven and hell.’ If we can accept whatever we’ve been dealt—no matter how unwelcome—the way to proceed eventually becomes clear. This is what is meant by right action: the capacity to observe what’s happening and act appropriately, without being distracted by self-centered thoughts. If we rage and resist, our angry, fearful minds have trouble quieting down sufficiently to allow us to act in the most beneficial way for ourselves and others.” Thank you, Phil. Now for Joko Beck. In Everyday Zen, she tells us: “If we require that life be a certain way, inevitably we suffer—since life is always the way it is, and not always fair, not always pleasant. Life is not particularly the way we want it to be, it is just the way it is. And that need not prevent our enjoyment of it, our appreciation, our gratitude.” That’s Today’s +1. When/if we find ourselves a little (or a lot annoyed) Today—whether that’s with our kids or our colleagues or ourselves—let’s see if we can step back and notice the gap between what’s happening in the moment and what we want to be happening in the moment. That tenth of an inch? Let’s close it. -1. -1. -1. for the +1 win! P.S. If you’re getting all crazy-ragey? Well, you just fell into a mile-long chasm between reality and your fantasy of what should be happening. Good news? Just snap your fingers, love what it is and that gap magically vanishes.
ADZG 734 ADZG Monday Night Dharma Talk by Brian Taylor
This talk is a commentary on the chapter “The Razor’s Edge” by Joko Beck. It distinguishes the activity of the self-centred self, which is the attempt to control and resist impermanence in order to avoid feeling emotional pain from what Joko called embeddedness in life. When we are embedded in life there is no separation and hence no problem. We allow our lives to flow. However, when we feel threatened or hurt, we are thrown out of embeddedness and back into separateness (duality). We need to join together these broken pieces to become whole again. How? By experiencing the pain, we are trying to avoid. This is walking the razor’s edge. Practice is walking this edge. But we don’t want to do this. We want to fix the problem, solve it, get rid of it. Experiencing is the practice of waking the razors edge. The first step is to become ware of what it is we are feeling. To walk the edge is to experience the pain and realise we can endure and survive it. We have to arrive at the emotion before we can move on. “When we are experiencing nonverbally we are walking the razor’s edge – we are the present moment”. Walking the razor’s edge is what Zen practice is. “In fact the enlightened life is simply being able to walk that edge all the time”. The paradox: only in walking the razor's edge, in experiencing the fear directly, can we know what it is to have no fear”. Walking the razor’s edge is how peace is found. Experiencing the body and breath is being on the razor’s edge. How does the razor’s edge relate to enlightenment? It is enlightenment. Keep the question with you: Right now, am I walking the razor’s edge?
This talk reflects on the nature of the observing self as described by Joko Beck. The observing self is distinguished from the conceptual or personal self. In a sense it is a knowing or awareness that is embodied. We are aware of being aware. This is the miracle. This body is aware. We can see and describe our body as object, but we cannot describe the body as subject. The body as subject cannot be observed. The observing self is no other than the body as subject. We can describe our experience of the contents of awareness but not that which is the experiencer. Awareness is the light or the lamp that “lights up” these contents. Practice is to illuminate these contents and explore them at greater and greater depth. When we are “lost in thought” we have fallen asleep, and we have lost the observing function. We have identified with the thought. In order to “wake-up” from the dream we return to the observing function. We wake up to the “wonder”. What is this wonder? “This space of wonder- entering into heaven – opens when we are no longer caught up in ourselves: when it is no longer “I”, but “Thou”. There is no barrier. The gate is really no-gate. The barriers are the veils – the dualistic emotions and constructs that blind us to the wonder that is always here. This very body is Buddha!
Joko Beck, following the Dalia Lama, said that if she had only one word to summarise Zen practice, it would be kindness. As we relax deeply into this moment our hearts naturally open and we let go of our protective armouring. As we allow this process to unfold, we meet the inherent kindness of our true self. This kindness flows in both directions, inwards and outwards, towards our self and towards others, transforming the world. If you found Andrew’s talks or meditations helpful, please consider donating to Ordinary Mind Zen Mid North Coast at https://www.ordinarymind.com.au/donate
Ellen Richter began her zen practice with Kobun Chino Roshi 40 years ago in Santa Cruz. Later she resided at the Zen Center of Los Angeles for two years where she was lay ordained by Maezumi Roshi and studied with Joko Beck. After a three-year stay in Japan, Ellen returned to Santa Cruz to raise her son, David, and to continue working as an early childhood educator. In 2013 she was ordained as a priest by Angie Boissevain.
Dharma talk by Kathryn Argetsinger. Reading and discussion of selections from "Nothing Special" by Joko Beck.
Dharma talk by Kathryn Argetsinger. Reading and discussion of selections from "Nothing Special" by Joko Beck.
This talk is a commentary on the talk given by Joko Beck, published in her first book.
I have always found Joko Beck’s distinction between Necessary and Unnecessary suffering as very helpful. This insight or discernment between these two allows us to suffer intelligently. Accepting pain or change without resistance is a form of intelligent suffering.