Podcasts about Sesshin

Im 73. Fall des Hekiganroku bittet ein Mönch Zenmeister Baso um die endgültige Erklärung zur Bedeutung von Bodhidharmas Kommen aus dem Westen, die über die vier Lehrsätze und die hundert Verneinungen der buddhistischen Philosophie hinausgeht. Doch statt einer Antwort begegnen ihm Müdigkeit, Kopfschmerz und schließlich ein schlichtes Eingeständnis des Nichtwissens. Am Ende bleibt nur ein einfacher Satz: »Shisos Kopf ist weiß, Kais Kopf ist schwarz.« In diesem Teisho führt Christoph Rei Ho Hatlapa durch die philosophischen Hintergründe des buddhistischen Tetralemmas und der Lehre Nagarjunas vom Mittleren Weg und verbindet sie mit Einsichten aus dem Daoismus. Dabei wird deutlich, dass Zen die Wahrheit nicht in immer feineren philosophischen Unterscheidungen sucht. Vielmehr führt der Weg zurück zur unmittelbaren Wirklichkeit des Lebens selbst. Die Gedanken über Sein und Nichtsein, über Recht und Unrecht, über Ja und Nein verlieren ihre zwingende Macht, wenn wir den Drehpunkt des Dao entdecken. Jenen Ort, an dem sich die Gegensätze auflösen und wir die Welt wieder direkt sehen, so wie sie ist: vielfältig, verbunden und von stiller Güte durchzogen. Um für junge Erwachsene den Aufenthalt im ToGenJi zu ermöglichen, bitten wir um eine Spende: Sie finden die Kontodaten/Paypal auf unserer Website https://choka-sangha.de/spenden/ Herzlichen Dank

Sensei Sangen Salon teisho kesäkuun sesshinillä Sannejissa, Karjaalla 2026, Suomi (in Finnish).

Bernd Bender, Dharma-Vortrag, Sommer-Sesshin, 22. Juli 2026 in WilhelmsaueIm Zuge unseres Sommer-Sesshins hielt Bernd einen Vortrag über die Kunst der Untätigkeit und ihre Verbindung zur Zen-Praxis. Da Untätigkeit in unserer Gesellschaft als Defizit abgewertet wird, das es schnellstmöglich zu beheben gilt, entgeht uns „das Reich und der Reichtum der Untätigkeit,“ wie der Philosoph Byung-Chul Han sich ausdrückt. Zen kann ein Zugang zu diesem Reich gewähren. Indem wir lernen, in den Dingen zu Ruhen, können wir erfahren, dass alles hier und jetzt da ist, dass nichts hinzugefügt werden muss, und dass wir, so wie wir sind, vollkommen sind. Support the show

Sensei Sangen Salon teisho kesäkuun sesshinillä Sannejissa, Karjaalla 2026, Suomi (in Finnish).

July 2026 Sesshin, Day 6 Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.  Automated Transcript The post Mumonkan #2, Hyakujo and the Fox appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Im 58. Beispiel des Hekiganroku wird Meister Joshu gefragt, warum er den Satz: »Der wahre Weg ist nicht schwer; er verabscheut nur Wahl und Festhalten«, so oft zitiere. Joshu entgegnet, dass er dafür keine Rechtfertigung habe. Was Wahl bedeutet und wie wir dem Anhaften entgehen können, ist ein wiederkehrendes Thema. Joshus Botschaft bleibt dabei stets dieselbe: Der wahre Weg (Dao) ist einfach, nur unser Denken macht ihn kompliziert. Steven Mitchell schreibt dazu in seinem Buch »The Second Book of the Dao«: »Wir glauben die menschliche Natur zu kennen. Doch was, wenn unsere liebsten Annahmen falsch sind? Was, wenn alles Leid aus verwirrten Gedanken resultiert?« In diesem Teisho stellt Christoph Rei Ho Hatlapa dem analytischen Verstand die Wahrnehmung mit dem Herzen zur Seite. Aus ihr erwachsen Mitgefühl und die Einsicht, dass wir nicht von den Wesen um uns herum getrennt sind. Die praktische Aufgabe besteht darin, immer wieder zu unserer eigenen Mitte zurückzukehren, auch wenn in uns viele unterschiedliche Stimmen sprechen: die des inneren Kindes, der Eltern oder unserer Erwartungen. Durch die Zen-Praxis können wir lernen, diese Stimmen wahrzunehmen und den inneren Frieden zwischen ihnen wiederherzustellen. Indem wir unsere mentalen Konstruktionen loslassen und die Wirklichkeit unmittelbarer erkennen, kann Klarheit entstehen. In dieser Klarheit ist der Weg nichts Fernes oder Geheimnisvolles, sondern etwas, das bereits im gegenwärtigen Moment vorhanden ist. Literatur: Stephen Mitchell: The Second Book of the Tao, 1. Auflage, Penguin Publishing Group, 2010, ISBN: 0143116703, 9780143116707 Um für junge Erwachsene den Aufenthalt im ToGenJi zu ermöglichen, bitten wir um eine Spende: Sie finden die Kontodaten/Paypal auf unserer Website https://choka-sangha.de/spenden/ Herzlichen Dank

July 2026 Sesshin, Day 5 Roshi Kjolhede discusses the teachings of Zen Master Dahui. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.  Automated Transcript The post Zen Essence #5 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Sensei Sangen Salon teisho kesäkuun sesshinillä Sannejissa, Karjaalla 2026, Suomi (in Finnish).

July 2026 Sesshin, Day 4 Roshi Kjolhede discusses the teachings of Zen Master Wuzu and Zen Master Yuanwu. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.  Automated Transcript The post Zen Essence #4 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

July 2026 Sesshin, Day 3 Roshi Kjolhede discusses the teachings of Zen Master Xuedou and Zen Master Yangqi. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.  Automated Transcript The post Zen Essence #3 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

July 2026 Sesshin, Day 2 Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede discusses the teachings of Zen Master Fenyang from the anthology “Zen Essence.”  Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.  Automated Transcript The post Zen Essence: The Teachings of Zen Master Fenyang appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

July 2026 Sesshin, Day 1 Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede discusses the teachings of Zen Master Foyan from the anthology “Zen Essence.”  Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.  Automated Transcript The post Zen Essence: The Teachings of Zen Master Foyan appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Ausgehend von Koan 6 des Hekiganroku entfaltet Christoph Rei Ho Hatlapa in diesem Teisho das Leben und Wirken des Zenmeisters Ummon, der für seine knappen Antworten bekannt war. Mit seinen wenigen Worten zielte er nicht darauf ab, etwas zu erklären. Vielmehr wollte er bei den Zuhörenden einen Durchbruch bewirken. So führt uns auch seine Koan-Aussage: »Jeder Tag ein guter Tag« mitten hinein in die Welt der Nicht-Dualität. Denn nur, wenn wir die gemeinsame Quelle aller Dinge erkennen und daraus Gelassenheit, Mitgefühl und innere Weite entstehen lassen, können wir dem Leben mit all seinen hellen und dunklen Seiten wirklich begegnen. Dabei hilft die Zazen-Übung. Sie befreit den Geist von unnützen Gedanken und schenkt dem Herzen Frieden. Ein ruhiger Geist beobachtet zunehmend das Treiben der Wesen und betrachtet ihre Rückkehr zur Quelle. Denn wer erkennt, woher er kommt, kann gelassen mit allem umgehen, was das Leben bringt – und verkörpert, wenn der Tod kommt, Ummons goldene Brise. Um für junge Erwachsene den Aufenthalt im ToGenJi zu ermöglichen, bitten wir um eine Spende: Sie finden die Kontodaten/Paypal auf unserer Website https://choka-sangha.de/spenden/ Herzlichen Dank

June 2026 Sesshin, Day 6 Teisho by Sensei Jissai Prince-Cherry.  Automated Transcript The post June 2026, Day 6, Mumonkan #29, Neither the Wind Nor the Flag appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

June 2026 Sesshin, Day 5 Teisho by Sensei Jissai Prince-Cherry.  Automated Transcript The post June 2026 Sesshin, Day 5, Mumonkan #23, Think Neither Good Nor Evil  appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

June 2006 Sesshin, Day 4 Topic: Enlightenment Poem #2 and Discouragement in Practice. Commentary on “Not One Single Thing” by Shodo Harada and “The Platform Sutra” translated by Red Pine. Teisho by Sensei Jissai Prince-Cherry.  Automated Transcript The post June 2026 Sesshin, Day 4, Platform Sutra #4  appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

June 2026 Sesshin, Day 3 Topic: Enlightenment Poem #1. Commentary on “Not One Single Thing” by Shodo Harada and “The Platform Sutra” translated by Red Pine. Teisho by Sensei Jissai Prince-Cherry.  Automated Transcript The post June 2026 Sesshin, Day 3, Platform Sutra #3  appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

June 2026 Sesshin, Day 2 Topic: Abiding Nowhere, Awakened Mind Arises. Commentary on “Not One Single Thing” by Shodo Harada and “The Platform Sutra” translated by Red Pine. Teisho by Sensei Jissai Prince-Cherry.  Automated Transcript The post June 2026 Sesshin, Day 2, Platform Sutra #2  appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

A talk given at Berkeley Zen Center on Sunday, June 14th 2026 by Linda Galijan.

June 2026 Sesshin, Day 1 Topic: Zazen refresher. Commentary on “Not One Single Thing” by Shodo Harada and “The Platform Sutra” translated by Red Pine. Teisho by Sensei Jissai Prince Cherry.  Automated Transcript The post June 2026 Sesshin, Day 1, Platform Sutra #1  appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

A talk given at Berkeley Zen Center on Saturday, June 13th 2026 by Linda Galijan.

A talk given at Berkeley Zen Center on Friday, June 12th 2026 by Colleen Busch.

A talk given at Berkeley Zen Center on Thursday, June 11th 2026 by Linda Galijan.

A talk given at Berkeley Zen Center on Wednesday, June 10th 2026 by Linda Galijan.

In this Teisho, given during the third full day of Spring Sesshin 2026, Rinzan Osho examines The Rinzai Roku: Jodo X. Rinzai describes four fundamental expressions of deep nature, but these are nothing to rest at, nor is anything attained in their experience. They are helpful, but Zen goes beyond.        

Dharma talk by Eran Junryu Vardi Roshi of Eiryu-ji Zen Center in Wyckoff, NJ, USA on 5/14/2026.

In this Teisho, given during the Second full day of Spring Sesshin 2026, Rinzan Osho examines The Rinzai Roku: Jodo IX. Here, we have Master Rinzai's most enigmatic and complicated case. Threes and threes and threes ... penetrating this matter, life presents itself as an unfolding fractal with no root. 

In this Teisho, given during the first full day of Spring Sesshin 2026, Rinzan Osho examines The Rinzai Roku: Jodo VII and VIII. Zen training points us toward an experience of life (a way of being) that is not divided. We open to this truth and let it express itself through our lives? How does this happen? How can we testify to the truth of Zen?

In this Teisho, given during the opening night of Spring Sesshin 2026, Rinzan Osho examines The Mumonkan: Joshu's Mu. Joshu answered the Monk's inquiry, "Does a dog have Buddha Nature or not?" by vocalizing the sound "Mu."  Mu translates as a negation: "No" or "Nothing." What is it that Joshu was pointing at? What is this Mu? How do we, as Zen practitioners use it to prod us toward greater intimacy with the ineffible.

Norman gives his thirteenth  talk on the “Awakening  of Faith in the Mahayana” at the 2026 Villa Maria del Mar Sesshin – Talk 7 referencing the book “The Awakening of Faith: Attributed to Asvaghosa.”  Asvaghosha's text, translated into Chinese in 500 AD, was written as a comprehensive summary of the essentials of Mahayana Buddhism. We study it as deep background on the principles that animate Suzuki Roshi's teaching in his book “Becoming Yourself.” Suggested donation: $7 https://bit.ly/donate-edz-online-teachings We cannot continue offering teachings online without it. Thank you. https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/edz.assets/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Awakening-of-Faith-in-the-Mahayana-Talk-13-Sesshin-Villa-Maria-Del-Mar-2026-Talk-6.mp3

Shuso Tracy Grubbs gives her second talk on the Villa Maria Del Mar Sesshin 2026 on “Everyday is a Good Day. Suggested donation: $7 https://bit.ly/donate-edz-online-teachings We cannot continue offering teachings online without it. Thank you! https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/edz.assets/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Sesshin-Villa-Maria-del-Mar-2026-Talk-6-Everyday-is-a-Good-Day-Shuso-Tracy-Grubbs.mp3  

Norman gives his twelfth talk on the “Awakening  of Faith in the Mahayana” at the 2026 Villa Maria del Mar Sesshin – Talk 5 referencing the book “The Awakening of Faith: Attributed to Asvaghosa.”  Asvaghosha's text, translated into Chinese in 500 AD, was written as a comprehensive summary of the essentials of Mahayana Buddhism. We study it as deep background on the principles that animate Suzuki Roshi's teaching in his book “Becoming Yourself.” Suggested donation: $7 https://bit.ly/donate-edz-online-teachings We cannot continue offering teachings online without it. Thank you. https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/edz.assets/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Awakening-of-Faith-in-the-Mahayana-Talk-12-Sesshin-Villa-Maria-del-Mar-2026-Talk-5.mp3

Norman gives his eleventh talk on the “Awakening  of Faith in the Mahayana” at the 2026 Villa Maria del Mar Sesshin – Talk 4 referencing the book “The Awakening of Faith: Attributed to Asvaghosa.”  Asvaghosha's text, translated into Chinese in 500 AD, was written as a comprehensive summary of the essentials of Mahayana Buddhism. We study it as deep background on the principles that animate Suzuki Roshi's teaching in his book “Becoming Yourself.” Suggested donation: $7 https://bit.ly/donate-edz-online-teachings We cannot continue offering teachings online without it. Thank you. https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/edz.assets/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Awakening-of-Faith-In-the-Mahayana-Talk-11-Sesshin-Villa-Del-Mar-2026-Talk-4.mp3

Norman gives his tenth talk on the “Awakening  of Faith in the Mahayana” at the 2026 Villa Maria del Mar Sesshin – Talk 1 referencing the book “The Awakening of Faith: Attributed to Asvaghosa.”  Asvaghosha's text, translated into Chinese in 500 AD, was written as a comprehensive summary of the essentials of Mahayana Buddhism. We study it as deep background on the principles that animate Suzuki Roshi's teaching in his book “Becoming Yourself.” Suggested donation: $7 https://bit.ly/donate-edz-online-teachings We cannot continue offering teachings online without it. Thank you. https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/edz.assets/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Awakening-of-Faith-in-the-Mahayana-Talk-10-Sesshin-Santa-Sabina-Sesshin-Talk-2.mp3

Norman gives his ninth talk on the “Awakening  of Faith in the Mahayana” at the 2026 Villa Maria del Mar Sesshin – Talk 1 referencing the book “The Awakening of Faith: Attributed to Asvaghosa.”  Asvaghosha's text, translated into Chinese in 500 AD, was written as a comprehensive summary of the essentials of Mahayana Buddhism. We study it as deep background on the principles that animate Suzuki Roshi's teaching in his book “Becoming Yourself.” Suggested donation: $7 https://bit.ly/donate-edz-online-teachings We cannot continue offering teachings online without it. Thank you. https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/edz.assets/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Awakening-of-Faith-in-the-Mahayana-Talk-9-Sesshin-Villa-Maria-del-Mar-Talk-1.mp3

Sesshin Day 1: The Habituated Mind by Ordinary Mind Zen School

Sesshin Day 2: Integrating Emotion in Practice by Ordinary Mind Zen School

Norman gives a dharma talk on “Turning the Wheels of Dharma” to the Mountain Rain Sesshin May 2026. Suggested donation: $7 https://bit.ly/donate-edz-online-teachings We cannot continue offering teachings online without it. Thank you! https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/edz.assets/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Turning-The-Wheel-of-Dharma-Sutra-Mountain-Rain-Sesshion-May-2026.mp3

Norman gives a dharma talk on “Dogen’s Refrain  From Unwholesome Action” to the Mountain Rain Sesshin May 2026.     https://s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/edz.assets/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Dogens-_Refrain-From-Unwholsome-Action_-Mountain-Rain-Sesshin-May-2026.mp3

In this first formal talk of the Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Monshin takes up virya — the Sanskrit term for joyful effort — as the essential energy of practice. What does it mean to sit day after day with the whole catastrophe of the mind: the boredom, the fear, the stories we tell about ourselves? Drawing on the ox-herding pictures' imagery of taming, she explores the difference… Source

During the second day of the Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Senko takes up the koan of relaxed effort — how effort and ease, far from being opposed, are expressed in the same movement. Drawing on Seung Sahn's story of a bear who, long after escaping his circus cage, keeps turning somersaults in the mountains hoping to be fed, Senko asks us to look honestly at the conditioning we carry into… Source

In this third-day talk, offered during the Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Ryotan takes up the habit of self-judgment — that familiar contraction after a mistake, the script of not being good enough, and the perfectionism that keeps us small. Framing her teaching through the Lotus Sutra's Never-Disparaging Bodhisattva, who bows to every being's capacity for awakening even as rocks and… Source

In this fifth-day talk, offered during the Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Senko and Sensei Monshin explore the ninth ox-herding picture, Returning to the Source — the stage where effort ceases and life simply flows. Drawing on Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, the Xin Xin Ming, and the Song of the Grass Hut, Monshin traces the difference between striving and ease, and how returning to the source is not… Source

In this final talk of the Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Ryotan and Sensei Shinzan bring the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures to their close with the tenth stage — Entering the Marketplace — the return to ordinary life, barefoot and unadorned, carrying what was glimpsed back into the world. Ryotan traces the inner movement this stage points to: the small self receding as the larger self comes… Source

March 2026 Sesshin, Day 6 Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn.  Automated Transcript The post Commentary on Joko Beck's “Everyday Zen” appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

March 2026 Sesshin, Day 5 Commentary on “Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away: Teachings on Impermanence and the End of Suffering” by Ajahn Chah  Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn.  Automated Transcript The post Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away #5 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

March 2026 Sesshin, Day 4 Commentary on “Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away: Teachings on Impermanence and the End of Suffering” by Ajahn Chah  Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn.  Automated Transcript The post Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away #4 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

March 2026 Sesshin, Day 3 Commentary on “Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away: Teachings on Impermanence and the End of Suffering” by Ajahn Chah  Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn.  Automated Transcript The post Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away #3 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

This Dharma Discourse was given by Rev Rinsen Roshi during Fall Ango of 2025.  In this discourse, Rinsen Roshi discusses the Vimalakirti Sutra and asks "Why are you here?".  The discourse discusses how a practioner can pull the thread of sesshin into their daily life.