Podcasts about Roshi

Continued Dharma discourse on Chapter 7 of the Vimalakirti Sutra, given by Reverend Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on September 24, 2025.

In this opening session of the Winter Practice Period, Roshi Joan Halifax, alongside Senseis Wendy Johnson, Dainin, Kodo, and Hoshi Senko, names this month of practice as movement “against the stream”. Roshi suggests this step into structure, silence, and relationality is expressed not through personality, but through respect. Ango, she reminds us, is not only “peaceful dwelling” but safety: a… Source

Dharma discourse given by Reverend Do'on Roshi on Chapter 7 of the Vimalakirti Sutra.

In this New Year's talk, Hogen reflects on impermanence as the ground of freedom, showing how the fluid, flickering nature of body, mind, and world makes transformation always possible. Through the traditional elements of letting go, clarifying vow, and living with ethical integrity, he points to the deep creativity inherent in each moment and the unique aspiration alive in every person. By trusting direct experience, releasing fixed self-images, and aligning our actions with our deepest heart, we discover that a new year is not merely a date on a calendar, but an ever-present opportunity to awaken, to serve, and to allow the world itself to become a place of greater clarity, kindness, and possibility. ★ Support this podcast ★

Podcast audio: The post Talk by Shinryu Roshi “The Infinite Precepts” first appeared on The Village Zendo.

Sharing a depth of attention for what stands to be lost in our relationship with the seasons, Volume 6 contributors Terry Tempest Williams and Susan Murphy Roshi come together to explore the theme of requiem in this first conversation of a companion series to Seasons. Drawing on their respective essays, “A Hollow Bone” and “Alive In the Skin of a River's Flow,” Terry and Susan contemplate what becomes present amid absence, a love for the burning world, and ways we can move with flock consciousness through this time of ecological uncertainty. Read the transcript.  Discover our latest print edition, Volume 6: Seasons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this closing sesshin talk, Hogen reflects on faith not as belief, but as the lived courage to step into the unknown moment by moment. He speaks of karma as an unfolding stream, of practice as learning to trust the next step without grasping at outcomes, and of life's purpose as simply being fully alive in what is. Through images of walking, breathing, and letting go of fixed identity, he points to a deep confidence in the present moment and in the heart's aspiration, inviting us to meet the future with clarity, curiosity, and a faith grounded in direct experience. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this Rohatsu sesshin talk, Chozen reflects on awakening, silent mind, and the constructed personality that both protects and confines us. Drawing on the Buddha's own awakening, the teaching of “don't-know mind” from Seung Sahn Sunim, Eckhart Tolle's modern account of disidentification from thought, and the koan of Isan tipping over the water bottle, she points to the moment when thinking falls away and original mind reveals itself—vast, intimate, and free from entanglement. The invitation is to trust this silence, let personality become optional, and allow awakening to flow through the body and into everyday life. ★ Support this podcast ★

This Teisho was given by the Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on July 30, 2025. In this talk Do'on Roshi continues her discussion on the 8th case from the Blue Cliff Record known as Suigan's Eyebrows.   If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.   Part of Rev. Do'on Roshi's Teisho on the Blue Cliff Record series.

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

This Teisho was given by the Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on July 23, 2025. In this talk Do'on Roshi discusses the 8th case from the Blue Cliff Record known as Suigan's Eyebrows.   If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.   Part of Rev. Do'on Roshi's Teisho on the Blue Cliff Record series.

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

This Teisho was given by the Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on July 16, 2025. In this talk Do'on Roshi continues the discussion of the 6th case from the Blue Cliff Record known as Yun Men's Every Day Is a Good Day.   If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.   Part of Rev. Do'on Roshi's Teisho on the Blue Cliff Record series.

What is here before the mind contracts around thought, identity, or effort? This talk points to the moment prior to grasping—where awareness is open, unconfined, and quietly alive—and offers guidance on recognizing and resting in that simplicity. ★ Support this podcast ★

Podcast audio: The post Talk By Ryotan Roshi “Moment to Moment Non-Stop Flow” first appeared on The Village Zendo.

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

Please note the video was recorded in two parts. The second part can be found here. Podcast Audio: The post Talk by Shinryu Roshi “The Weave of Life and Death” first appeared on The Village Zendo.

In this Rohatsu Sesshin talk, Chozen reflects on the meaning of awakening—not as a one-time event, but as an ongoing opening into reality beyond self, time, and conceptual division. Drawing on classic Zen stories, Dōgen's teaching of non-thinking, and stages of meditative settling described in the Chan tradition, she explores how sustained concentration and a quiet, even silent mind allow the constructed sense of self to loosen and fall away. Through vivid examples, humor, and practical guidance, the talk emphasizes awakening as something that must be clarified, embodied, and continually refined through committed practice, ethical living, and ongoing housecleaning of habitual patterns—revealing a way of being aligned with impermanence, intimacy, and boundless clarity. ★ Support this podcast ★

This Teisho was given by the Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on July 09, 2025. In this talk Do'on Roshi continues the discussion of the 6th case from the Blue Cliff Record known as Yun Men's Every Day Is a Good Day.   If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.   Part of Rev. Do'on Roshi's Teisho on the Blue Cliff Record series.

Podcast Audio: The post Talk by Ryotan Roshi, “Leaving Home Bye Bye” first appeared on The Village Zendo.

In this talk, Hogen explores how the teachings of Affirming Faith in Mind illuminate the way we meet family, conflict, and connection—especially during the holiday season. He reflects on the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as refuges that steady us in the midst of strong opinions, old patterns, and the familiar dynamics that arise when we gather with others.This talk was given on November 30th 2025. ★ Support this podcast ★

Podcast audio: The post Talk by Shinryu Roshi “Seeking Fire” first appeared on The Village Zendo.

 This Teisho was given by the Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on July 02, 2025. In this talk Do'on Roshi discusses the 6th case from the Blue Cliff Record known as Yun Men's Every Day Is a Good Day.   If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.    Part of Rev. Do'on Roshi's Teisho on the Blue Cliff Record series.

In this week's story, Australian writer and Zen roshi Susan Murphy explores how haiku's reflections of the seasons are being disrupted by the climate crisis. How will this poetic form bear witness to the ferocity of change reshaping the seasons? Woven with verses from Bashō, Buson, Issa, and fellow Volume 6 contributor Ron C. Moss, this story contemplates whether haiku may, in fact, be a vessel for holding the paradox of the seasons in this moment: allowing us to both mourn and love a rapidly evolving Earth.  Read the essay.  Discover our latest print edition, Volume 6: Seasons. Image: Asako Narahashi, Kawaguchiko #5, 2003 © Asako Narahashi / Courtesy of Ibasho Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, the Abbot of the Zen Mountain Monastery, about the intersection of traditional Buddhist practice and modern American life. Shugen elucidates the role of an Abbot as both a spiritual teacher and administrator before diving into core Buddhist concepts, explaining how the suffering caused by clinging to a permanent sense of self can be alleviated through the "Middle Way" and non-attachment. The conversation explores Shugen's personal journey, from his upbringing in Atlanta during the Civil Rights movement—where the societal silence regarding segregation prompted his deep questioning of culture and history—to his transition from a budding career in mathematics and music to a disciplined monastic life in the Hudson Valley. They conclude by discussing the delicate balance between maintaining a cloistered environment for deep meditation and fulfilling the Bodhisattva vow of service, highlighting the monastery's efforts to engage with the wider community through social justice initiatives and anti-bias training. Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi is the Head of the Mountains and Rivers Order and Abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery. Shugen entered full-time residential training in 1986 after studying mathematics and receiving a degree in classical music. He received dharma transmission from John Daido Loori, Roshi in 1997. His teachings on Zen, social justice and environmental stewardship have appeared in various Buddhist journals, and The Best Buddhist Writing 2009 (Shambhala Publications). His book of poetry, O, Beautiful End (https://monasterystore.org/o-beautiful-end/), a collection of Zen memorial poems, was published in 2012. https://zmm.org/

2025.12.07 | Rohatsu Ceremony | Nishijima Roshi on the Buddha's Enlightenment | Nate Smalley by Appamada

This Teisho was given by the Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on June 25, 2025. In this talk Do'on Roshi discusses the 5th case from the Blue Cliff Record known as Hsueh Feng's Grain of Rice.   If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.    Part of Rev. Do'on Roshi's Teisho on the Blue Cliff Record series.

In this sesshin talk, Hōgen Roshi reflects on the heart of practice through the teachings of the Xin Xin Ming. He emphasizes that “what we turn our attention to becomes our world,” encouraging practitioners to stop believing the habitual thoughts that create suffering and to turn instead toward the intimate, living ground of experience—breath, aliveness, clarity, and ease. Through stories, humor, and examples from daily life, he illustrates how fixed beliefs obscure this root and how sesshin supports us in seeing beyond them. Hōgen reminds us that spiritual maturity does not come from thinking or emotion but from repeatedly returning to the still, spacious refuge at the center of our being. From this foundation, doubts fall away and genuine confidence in our true nature begins to grow.This talk was given during the 2025 Ancient Way Sesshin. ★ Support this podcast ★

 This Teisho was given by the Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on January 15, 2025. In this talk Do'on Roshi discusses the 4th case from the Blue Cliff Record known as Deshan Carrying His Bundle.   If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.    Part of Rev. Do'on Roshi's Teisho on the Blue Cliff Record series.

In this talk, Hogen Roshi explores the Zen chant Affirming Faith in Mind, showing how its guidance is rooted in direct, present-moment experience. He emphasizes that the “great way” is not difficult when we are fully present and free from the disease of the mind—the constant vacillation between likes and dislikes. Through vivid examples from daily life and practice, he demonstrates how anchoring in the now allows creativity, responsiveness, and deep appreciation to emerge naturally. Hogen also offers insight into non-duality, reminding us that reality is already inclusive and non-dual, and that awakening arises when we directly experience what is, right here and now. ★ Support this podcast ★

This Teisho was given by the Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on November 8, 2024. In this talk Do'on Roshi discusses the 3rd case from the Blue Cliff Record known as Master Ma Is Unwell.   If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.    Part of Rev. Do'on Roshi's Teisho on the Blue Cliff Record series.

In this talk, Hogen Roshi explores the opening line of Affirming Faith in Mind—“The Great Way is easy”—and shows how quickly the mind complicates even the simplest instruction: just feeling our toes or our breath. Through humor, examples, and vivid demonstrations of how attention creates our experience moment by moment, he reveals how the body, thoughts, and sense of self arise and disappear with each flicker of awareness. He encourages practitioners to return again and again to direct experience—free of belief, story, or self-image—so the primal source of life can reveal itself. With clarity and compassion, Hogen emphasizes that the Way is both the easiest and the hardest thing in the world: resting with things exactly as they are.This talk was given during the 2025 Ancient Way Sesshin. ★ Support this podcast ★

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi and Danica Shoan Ankele, Sensei - ZMM - 11/16/25 - After introducing Shoan Sensei, and after Shoan offers her Vows to the sangha, Shugen Roshi begins his discourse with the story of one of our great women ancestors, Moshan Liaoran Daiosho. It is a story pointing to the intimacy of the path itself, and to the question of how we understand "transformation." Told on the morning after Shoan Sensei received dharma transmission, the story becomes a beautiful acknowledgment of lineage—how each of us steps forward, intimately entering the life of the Way—and the responsibility of each of us to be a student first and foremost. After sharing his words, Shugen Roshi warmly invites Shoan Sensei to finish the talk.

A talk given at Berkeley Zen Center on Saturday, November 15th 2025 by Ross Blum.

In this conversation from our archive, Australian writer and Zen roshi Susan Murphy immerses us in the ancient tradition of koan and the power of the “not-knowing mind” to open a treasury of resources for meeting the climate crisis. Sharing several koans from Zen masters that push at the boundaries of our consciousness, she speaks to the way they can draw us deeper into kinship and reminds us that the Earth Herself is a koan waiting to be known.  Read the transcript. Photo by Warren Summers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harada Sekkei Roshi (1926-2020) was the abbot of Hosshin-ji, a Soto Zen training monastery and temple, in Fukui Prefecture, near the coast of central Japan. He was born in 1926 in Okazaki, near Nagoya, and was ordained at Hosshin-ji in 1951. In 1953, he went to Hamamatsu to practice under Zen Master Inōe Gien (1894-1981), and received inkashomei (certification of realization) in 1957.In 1974, he was installed as resident priest and abbot of Hosshin-ji and was formally recognized by the Soto Zen sect as a certified Zen master (shike) in 1976. Since 1982, Harada traveled abroad frequently, teaching in such countries as Germany, France, the United States, and India. He also led zazen groups within Japan, in Tokyo and Saitama. From 2003-2005, he was Director of the Soto Zen Buddhism Europe Office located in Milan.Harada Sekkei Roshi died on Saturday, June 20, 2020 at the age of 93. He had been in hospice care for more than a year at a small hospital run by one of his students in the town of Obama, Fukui Prefecture.These selected pointers have been taken from various newsletters as well as the text, The Essence of Zen: The Teachings of Sekkei Harada.https://www.amazon.com.au/Essence-Zen...Music: Swami Madhuram - 'Rainy Day Retreat'.For more of Swamiji's music please find it here: https://insighttimer.com/swamimadhuram

 This Teisho was given by the Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on October 12, 2024. In this talk Do'on Roshi discusses the 2nd case from the Blue Cliff Record known as The Ultimate Path Is Without Difficulty.   If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.    Part of Rev. Do'on Roshi's Teisho on the Blue Cliff Record series.

This Taisho was given by Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on September 13, 2025   In this discourse, Do'on Roshi discusses the Vimalakīrti Sūtra and how take our practice as Bodhisattvas seriously. If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.

In this opening talk of 2025 Ancient Way Sesshin, Hogen Roshi introduces the Affirming Faith in Mind chant—an ancient poem pointing to non-dual awareness and the ease of the great way. He reminds us that our suffering begins when we believe our thoughts, and peace appears when we let them flow without grasping. Through humor, reflection, and simple body-based practices, Hogen shows how inclusivity, satisfaction, and faith in the “heart-mind” reveal a stability beyond our judgments and preferences. The talk weaves ancient teaching, modern psychology, and poetry into a living encouragement to trust this very moment. ★ Support this podcast ★

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 10/26/25 - Shugen Roshi explores how we and all beings strive to live in harmony with our environment, with our universe. With the capacity to choose, we also have a basic ethical sense of right and wrong arising within, from our true, non-dual nature. Skillful and unskillful actions are made by us continuously, and we do sense the difference. So how do we meet ourselves, and meet others, when it matters most? Roshi meets the sangha in a tender and lively exchange. (Dharma Encounter at the conclusion of the October 2025 Harvest Sesshin.)

Podcast Audio: The post Talk by Ryotan Roshi ““The Person Who Has Everything” first appeared on The Village Zendo.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 10/19/25 - We may aspire to enlightenment, or we may simply have faith in this path that seems to be leading us in a good direction. Enlightenment can seem a far away concept from the daily struggles of being human, but that sense of distance comes from seeking something outside of ourselves. The bright, luminous mind of enlightenment, Roshi reminds us, is always so much closer than we can imagine. (Fall 2025 Ango - Genjokoan Series of Talks - Part 7)

This dharma discourse was given by Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on September 10, 2025 a few days prior to the funeral for our dear sanga member, Sokei.  In this discourse, Do'on Roshi discusses the Tibetan Book of the Dead and its importance within our lineage focusing on what happens to the body during the bardo state. If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.

Just checking in because several of you bullied me into watching the first 2 episodes of My Hero Academia's last season, and boy did these two episodes rule.     Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/dragonballsuperdope  Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/zVsV3Vyv93  Come join our Facebook group! Roshi's Secret Stash Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/34IeNX4 Follow on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2VgI5ZT Subscribe on YouTube:  http://bit.ly/362vgHs Donations: http://cash.app/$SuperDopePods Twitter: https://twitter.com/DBSuperDope1

In this talk, Hogen Roshi shares insights from a recent workshop at the monastery integrating Zen practice with Byron Katie's method of inquiry. He explores how questioning our fixed beliefs—about ourselves, others, and the world—opens freedom and flexibility, and how this investigation aligns with the heart of Zen's great inquiry: What is true? Drawing on examples from daily life, the teachings of Dao Wei, and Thich Nhat Hanh's reflections on impermanence, Hogen shows how seeing from many perspectives helps loosen identification and cultivate vow. Ultimately, he reminds us that because all things are impermanent, we have the creative potential to nurture love, equanimity, and our deepest aspiration in each moment.This talk was given during the Heart of Wisdom Sunday Evening program on September 7 2025. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this talk, Kisei shares Case 58 from The Hidden Lamp, drawn from the Vimalakīrti Sūtra, where the goddess playfully transforms Shariputra to reveal the truth of nonduality beyond male and female. She explores the Mahayana roots of the story, its revolutionary challenge to purity doctrines, and its affirmation that awakening is not bound by gender, role, or condition. Through Rinzai's “four positions” and a guided koan exercise, Kisei invites us to embody both Shariputra and the goddess, to see where our own identities and resistances arise, and to discover the freedom of dropping all positions. The talk closes with Chōzen Roshi's reflections on zazen as both microscope and telescope, returning us to spaciousness as the ground of all forms. ★ Support this podcast ★

This dharma discourse was given by Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on September 3, 2025 prior to the funeral for our dear sanga member, Sokei.  In this discourse, Do'on Roshi discusses the Tibetan Book of the Dead and its importance within our lineage. If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.  

In this talk, Hogen weaves community life, way-seeking mind reflections, and Thich Nhat Hanh's The Art of Living into a deep exploration of impermanence. He reminds us that nothing is stuck—everything is always transforming, whether in our lives, our relationships, or the world itself. By learning to meet each moment freshly, we discover freedom, appreciation, and the possibility of transformation rooted in our vows and intentions. Drawing on the Five Remembrances and the mystery of the present, Hogen points to impermanence not as loss, but as the very ground of practice and awakening. ★ Support this podcast ★

This Teisho was given by the Rev. Do'on Roshi at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on September 4, 2024. In this talk Do'on Roshi discusses the 1st case from the Blue Cliff Record known as The Highest Meaning of the Holy Truths.   If you would like to learn more about the Buddhist Temple of Toledo or to make a donation in support of this podcast please visit buddhisttempleoftoledo.org.    Part of Rev. Do'on Roshi's Teisho on the Blue Cliff Record series.