Podcasts about Sesshin

Dharma talk by Melissa Myozen Blacker, Rōshi, on April 26, 2025

Der Mönch in Koan 29 des Hekiganroku befürchtet jedoch, dass selbst ES vergehen könnte, wenn der Kosmos im Kalpafeuer untergeht. Daher befragt er Zen-Meister Daizui, der ihm jedoch bestätigt, dass ES mit dem anderen untergehen wird. So wie dem verzweifelten Mönch ergeht es vielen von uns angesichts der aktuellen Situation in Europa, die von Unsicherheit und Konflikten geprägt ist, die uns aus der scheinbaren Sicherheit reißen. Auch Christoph Rei Ho Hatlapa lädt uns in diesem Teisho ein, die Illusion der Angst zu durchschauen, indem wir ein tieferes Verständnis für das große Gewebe des Lebens gewinnen. Zazen ermöglicht uns einen erfahrungsbasierten Zugang zur unbeschränkbaren Wirklichkeit. So begeben wir uns auf eine Reise des Mitgefühls und Vertrauens, die uns auch unsere Feinde mit anderen Augen sehen lässt. Denn auch sie sind uns in dem Sinne verwandt, dass sie von den gleichen Bedürfnissen bewegt werden. Nur wählen sie andere Strategien als wir. Der Psychologe C.G. Jung ermutigt uns, zu prüfen, ob wir nicht auch eine Verbindung zu den Eigenschaften haben, die wir beim anderen vehement ablehnen. Letzten Endes gehört jeder und alles zum Daseinsgewebe des großen Lebens. Die Erfahrung dieser Zugehörigkeit berührt unsere Herzen und wirkt befreiend. Dieses Teisho wurde während eines Zen-Tages der offenen Meditationsgruppe Potsdam (https://www.meditation-in-potsdam.de) gehalten. 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

Sesshin Dharma talk given May 18, 2025, by David Dae An Rynick, Rōshi, at Boundless Way Zen Temple in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Prajñā ist der Sanskrit-Ausdruck für Weisheit, als eine selbstständige, dem Kosmos innewohnende Qualität, die das gesamte Lebensgewebe durchdringt. »Die Auster verschlingt den Vollmond«, beschreibt Chimon im Koan 90 des Hekiganroku das Wesen von Prajñā und bezieht sich damit auf das vom Mond initiierte Ereignis, bei dem Korallen auf der ganzen Welt gleichzeitig ihre Samen und Eizellen ins Meer entlassen. Wie die Korallen ist alles Lebendige in den Kontext der Leere eingebunden, in dem es keine geistige Urheberschaft gibt. Aus der Verbundenheit alles Lebendigen entsteht ein reales Feld des Mitgefühls, aus dem nichts und niemand herausfallen kann. Nur unsere ursprüngliche Verblendung, dass wir von diesem Netz getrennt sind, macht uns einsam oder ängstlich. Durch die Zazen-Praxis nähern wir uns der Weisheit von Prajñā und kommen wieder in Kontakt mit dem Daseinsgewebe des großen Lebens. Darin geborgen, vertrauen wir uns dem Kreislauf von Geborenwerden und Sterben, von An- und Abwesenheit an. So verliert die Vergänglichkeit ihren Schrecken und es fällt zunehmend leichter, mit Veränderungen umzugehen und den Nächsten nicht als Feind zu betrachten. Im Daodejing heißt es dazu: Wenn das Dao im Kosmos anwesend ist, fahren die Pferdewagen Mist aus. Fehlt das Dao im Universum, werden Kriegspferde außerhalb der Stadt gezüchtet. 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

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZMM - 7/25/25 - What we do, how we use our minds and our time, can transform our lives. When we can quiet the constant referencing of a “self,” our internal preoccupations and obsessions, we begin to find the still point and rest there. In this Sesshin talk, Hojin Sensei invokes the stillness of a mountain range, and the stilling of turbid water as it settles, and the whole of reality that this can reveal.

Dharma talk by Melissa Myozen Blacker, Rōshi, on May 17, 2025

July 2025 Sesshin, Day 6 Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.  Automated Transcript The post Shoyoroku #20: Dizang's “Most Intimate” appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

July 2025 Sesshin, Day 5 Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.  Automated Transcript The post Mumonkan #15: Tozan and Sixty Blows appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

July 2025 Sesshin, Day 4 A commentary on the teachings of Zen Master Daikaku, Part 2. Source: The Original Face: An Anthology of Rinzai Zen by Thomas F. Cleary (Editor). Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.  Automated Transcript The post Teachings of Zen Master Daikaku #2 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

July 2025 Sesshin, Day 3 A commentary on the teachings of Zen Master Daikaku, Part 1. Source: The Original Face: An Anthology of Rinzai Zen by Thomas F. Cleary (Editor). Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.  Automated Transcript The post Teachings of Zen Master Daikaku #1 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

July 2025 Sesshin, Day 2 A commentary on the teachings of Zen Masters Foyan and Daikaku. Sources: Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present by Thomas Cleary (Translator) and The Original Face: An Anthology of Rinzai Zen by Thomas F. Cleary (Editor). Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.  Automated Transcript The post Teachings of Zen Masters Foyan and Daikaku appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

July 2025 Sesshin, Day 1 A commentary on the teachings of Zen Master Foyan. Source: Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present by Thomas Cleary (Translator). Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede.  Automated Transcript The post Teachings of Zen Master Foyan appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

In diesem Teisho schildert Christoph Rei Ho Hatlapa die Entwicklung des Buddhismus vom rein monastischen Theravāda-Weg über das Vimalakīrti-Sūtra, in dessen Mittelpunkt ein auseinandersetzungsfreudiger Laie steht, hin zum Mahayana-Buddhismus, der das Ideal des Arhat in das des Bodhisattva transformiert. Letztere haben das Erwachen in ihrem Leben verwirklicht, verzichten aber auf den Eintritt ins Nirvana und stehen stattdessen allen fühlenden Wesen zur Seite, damit auch diese zum Erwachen gelangen. Im Koan 89 des Hekinganroku wird Avalokiteshvara erwähnt, der große Bodhisattva der Barmherzigkeit. Beim Zuhören erkannte er, dass dieser Prozess in das Abwesende eingebettet ist, als ein Feld des Mitgefühls, das alles miteinander verbindet. Indem sich Avalokiteshvara beim Zuhören darauf konzentrierte, ermöglichte er den Wesen, dem Klang ihrer eigenen Stimme zu lauschen und sich selbst zu verstehen. Dieses raumgebende Zuhören bezeichnete der Buddha als den besten Weg zur Erleuchtung. Dabei tritt Avalokiteshvara mit seinem ganzen Körper in einen offenen und wahrhaftigen Kontakt mit seinem Gegenüber, der immer auf der Verbindung mit dem Abwesenden beruht. Diesem Fluidum der Grenzenlosigkeit, aus dem wir alle hervorgehen und zu dem wir alle zurückkehren, nähern wir uns im tiefen Samadhi während der Zazen-Übung. 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 kolmen päivän sesshinillä Sannejissa, Karjaalla 2025, Suomi (in Finnish).

Greetings Friends,I am just getting back from our Interdependence Sesshin— five-days of residential silent retreat practice in the hills of West Virginia with the Mud Lotus Sangha. It was moving for me to practice sesshin in a new environment with many people who it was their first longer retreat.Sesshin is healing, no matter what the theme, it transforms us to sit and live in silence together, to practice opening the senses and seeing into our nature. It's a non-linear practice that awakens faith, vow, deep love and interconnection. As well as a confidence in the imperturbability of Mind itself.Returning from sesshin is its own practice. One that I am getting more familiar with outside of the monastery walls. Our lives are interdependent, so naturally sesshin flows into the structures and routines of our living. The heart-mind awake in the play of work, relationship, driving, eating—as the many hands and eyes of compassion express and manifest so seamlessly.What is this wonder? Alertly seeing through confusion is the way of silent illumination and the way of subtle radiance. —HongzhiOn Monday nights I lead an online drop-in meditation group through ZCO. We are currently doing a summer read of the Hidden Lamp: 25 Centuries of Awakened Women. You are welcome to join, click the link for the schedule below.This past Monday we read Case 6: Bhadda Kundalakesa Cannot Answer. Here is a short version of the story.Bhadda is a wandering Jain ascetic very skilled in debate. Wherever she goes she throws down a rose apple branch signifying that she is challenging any who dare engage with her to debate. When she is seventy years old, Shariputra (the Buddha's disciple) challenges Bhadda. Bhadda asks him several philosophical questions and he answers them all. Finally he says to her. I have one question for you. And proceeds to ask:“ One—what is that?”Bhadda can not answer.Shariputra then begins to teach her the dharma. Bhadda asks to take refuge and meets the Buddha who says to her.“One phrase that brings peace is better than a thousand words that have no use.”At these words Bhadda awakens. This koan feels particularly relevant in the charged political climate we find ourselves in. The nature of debate so often is a practice of proving ourselves, trying to convince the other how our perspective is the right one. We can feel self-righteous in our views, or morally superior or better then.When you debate or argue with someone, are you actually open to hearing what they have to say? How do we stay curious in the face of differences? What is it like to stay connected to your heart's aspiration when engaging in speech?In the story, Shariputra asks a mind-stopping question to Bhadda.One—what is that?The question itself doesn't really even make sense. As I repeat the phrase my mind has no where to go with it. It stops, opens, all that is left is space—quiet, wakefulness.I imagine this is what happened for Bhadda. Has anyone ever asked you a question that you could not answer? What did you do?This moment of not being able to answer left Bhadda open to the dharma—to the truth before words.Our words, our thoughts, our fears are often the source of division. We get so caught up in them, in being right or needing to defend ourselves or prove our position—that we forget that we are all made of the same stuff. That we all share the same nature, that quite literally and experientially our lives contain each other.If interdependence is our nature. How do we realize it?What is this One?This is the theme we explore in this dharma talk, feel free to listen and leave a comment. I'd love to hear your reflections on this koan as well.* Who are you when you aren't identified with your thoughts? When your mind is silent, open, awake? * Have you ever had the experience of not being able to answer? What happened next?* What is your experience of the Buddha's teaching to Bhadda—one phrase that brings peace is better than a thousand words that have no use?Next week we will continue the theme of oneness and interconnection through the practice of listening. To follow along and join the conversation read Case 10: Asan's Rooster in the Hidden Lamp. I'm Amy Kisei. I am a Zen Buddhist Teacher, Spiritual Counselor, Astrologer and Artist. I offer 1:1 Spiritual Counseling sessions using IFS and somatic mindfulness. I also offer astrology readings. Check out my website to learn more. I currently live in Columbus, OH and am a supporting teacher for the Mud Lotus Sangha.Weekly Online Meditation EventMonday Night Dharma — 6P PT / 9P ET Join weekly for drop-in meditation and dharma talk. This is where the Summer Read is happening if you want to join the discussion and practice live. Schedule here.Feel free to join anytime. Event lasts about 1.5 hours. ZOOM LINKZen Practice opportunities through ZCOGrasses, Trees and the Great Earth Sesshin—August 11 - 17, in-person at Great Vow Zen Monastery (this retreat is held outdoors, camping is encouraged but indoor dorm spaces are available)In-Person in Columbus, Ohio through Mud Lotus SanghaWeekly Meditations on Tuesday, Wednesday and ThursdayRetreats, Meditation instruction and other events can be found on our website. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amykisei.substack.com/subscribe

Sensei Sangen Salon teisho kesäkuun kolmen päivän sesshinillä Sannejissa, Karjaalla 2025, Suomi (in Finnish).

Norman gives his third and last talk to the Samish Island 2025 Sesshin on the chant "En Mei Jukku Kannongyo. 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/2025/07/En-Mei-Jukku-Kannongyo-Samish-Island-Sesshin-Talk-3-6-17-25.mp3

Norman gives a talk on "Opening the Hand of Thought" to the Samish Island 2025 Sesshin. 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/2025/07/2025-06-16-ZoketsuNorman-Openingthehandofthought-SamishIslandSesshin-Zoom.mp4  

Norman gives a talk on the Koan "What do You Call the World" to the Samish Island 2025 Sesshin. 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/2025/07/2025-06-15-ZoketsuNormanFischer-Whatdoyoucalltheworld-SamishIslandSesshin-Zoom.mp4

06/14/2025, Monitsu Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. Monitsu Pamela Weiss explores the final section of the Eihei Koso Hotsuganmon by Dogen Zenji.

06/13/2025, Monitsu Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. Monitsu Pamela Weiss explores the second section of the Eihei Koso Hotsuganmon by Dogen Zenji.

June 2025 Sesshin, Day 6 Commentary on “Everyday Zen: Love & Work” by Charlotte Joko Beck, Part 2 Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn.  Automated Transcript The post Everyday Zen #2 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

06/12/2025, Monitsu Pamela Weiss, dharma talk at City Center. Monitsu Pamela Weiss explores the opening paragraphs of the Eihei Koso Hotsugonmon by Dogen Zenji.

June 2025 Sesshin, Day 5 Commentary on “Everyday Zen: Love & Work” by Charlotte Joko Beck, Part 1 Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn.  Automated Transcript The post Everyday Zen #1 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

June 2025 Sesshin, Day 4 Commentary on “Being Dharma: The Essence of the Buddha's Teachings” by Ajahn Chah, Part 4 Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn.  Automated Transcript The post Being Dharma #4 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

June 2025 Sesshin, Day 3 Commentary on “Being Dharma: The Essence of the Buddha's Teachings” by Ajahn Chah, Part 3 Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn.  Automated Transcript The post Being Dharma #3 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

June 2025 Sesshin, Day 2 Commentary on “Being Dharma: The Essence of the Buddha's Teachings” by Ajahn Chah, Part 2 Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn.  Automated Transcript The post Being Dharma #2 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

June 2025 Sesshin, Day 1 Commentary on “Being Dharma: The Essence of the Buddha's Teachings” by Ajahn Chah, Part 1 Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn.  Automated Transcript The post Being Dharma #1 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Sesshin Day 1 - Working with Emotions in Practice by Ordinary Mind Zen School

Sesshin Day 2 - Working with the Precepts in Practice by Ordinary Mind Zen School

Spring Sesshin Opening Talk by Eran Junryu Vardi Roshi of Eiryu-ji Zen Center in Wyckoff, NJ, USA on 5/15/2025.

In this closing talk from the last day of Spring Practice Period Sesshin, the faculty of the practice period weave together final reflections on the vows and actions of true bodhisattvas. Sensei […]

In this opening talk for the Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Senseis Monshin, Ryotan, and Shinzan offer their remarks and suggestions to make the most of the deep quiet and practice of sesshin. Sensei Shinzan explains […]

In this talk during the Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Ryotan explores the first of Dogen's Four Methods of Guidance: Dana (generosity). Dogen himself lived in a tumultuous era of social upheaval, war, […]

In this second full day of Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Shinzan explores the Four Bodhisattva Vows as expressions of what Suzuki Roshi described as an “inflexible determination to carry out one's will […]

In this third full day of Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Monshin explores the concepts of beneficial action and identity action from Dogen's Bodhisattva's Four Methods of Guidance. She identifies beneficial action as “skillfully […]

In this talk during the fifth full day of Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Cynthia Ryotan explores the fourth of the bodhisattva's methods of guidance: kind speech. She fames the importance of […]

April 2025 Sesshin, Day 2 A commentary on Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away (Ajahn Chah). High ideals and daily frustrations- a story; Comments on Ajahn Chah's meditation instructions; and Keep at it. Dharma Talk by Ven. Trueman Taylor.  Automated Transcript The post Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

April 2025 Sesshin, Day 1 Commentary on Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha (Tangen Harada Roshi) and Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away (Ajahn Chah). Tips on zazen posture & practice; Working with pain in sesshin; Biography of Ajahn Chah; Comments on impermanence and practice. Dharma Talk by Ven. Trueman Taylor.  Automated Transcript The post Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

04/06/2025, Kokyo Henkel, dharma talk at Green Gulch Farm. Kokyo Henkel concludes sesshin and a 6-week study of Zen Ancestor Dongshan's "Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi.”

Shuso Laura Trippi gives the sixth talk of the Villa Maria Del Mar 2025 Sesshin on "Already Forgiven." 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/2025/03/Sesshin-Villa-Maria-del-Mar-2025-Talk-6-Already-Forgiven-Shuso-Laura-Trippi.mp3

Norman gives the seventh and last talk of the Villa Maria del Mar 2025 Sesshin on "Dogen's Ocean Mudra Samadhi Part 2." 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/2025/03/Sesshin-Villa-Maria-Del-Mar-2025-Talk-7-Dogens-Ocean-Mudra-Samadhi-Part-2.mp3

03/29/2025, Abbot Dōshin Mako Voelkel, dharma talk at City Center. Abiding Abbot Dōshin Mako Voelkel explores how the spirit of Dogen's “Tenzo Kyokun” extends beyond sesshin, inviting us to discover how zazen mind manifests in our homes and workplaces.

This Dharma talk was given by Hogen, Roshi at Great Vow Zen Monastery during Sound Sesshin on March 15th, 2025. In this talk Hogen Roshi discusses the foundation of Sesshin, The Platform Sutra and Bodhidharma. ★ Support this podcast ★

03/28/2025, Doshin Dan Gudgel, dharma talk at City Center. Doshin Dan Gudgel explores the idea of a ‘caretaker' as it relates to the Parental Mind that Dogen encourages in his Tenzo Kyokun text.

Norman gives the fourth talk of the Villa Maria del Mar 2025 Sesshin  "On the Meal Chant Part 2." 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/2025/03/Sesshin-Villa-Maria-Del-Mar-2025-Talk-4-On-the-Meal-Chant-Part-2-Living-by-Vow-2025-Tallk-10.mp3

Shuso Laura Trippi gives the third talk of the Villa Maria Del Mar 2025 Sesshin on her "Way Seeking Mind" journey to entering the practice. 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/2025/03/Sesshin-Villa-Maria-Del-Mar-2025-Talk-3-Shuso-Way-Seeking-Mind-Laura-Trippi.mp3

Norman gives the second talk of the Villa Maria del Mar 2025 Sesshin  "On the Meal Chant." 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/2025/03/Sesshin-Villa-Maria-Del-Mar-2025-Talk-2-On-The-Meal-Chant.mp3

Norman gives the first talk of the Villa Maria del Mar 2025 Sesshin on "Dogen's Ocean Mudra Samadhi. 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/2025/03/Sesshin-Villa-Maria-Del-Mar-2025-Talk-1-Ocean-Mudra-Samadi.mp3