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Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 5: Finding What I Was Looking For
Episode 201
This episode is the fifth and final installment – at least for now – of the story of my spiritual journey. I share a few more of what I call "enlight…
4 years, 4 months ago
Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 4: Enlightenments
Episode 200
This episode is the story of my spiritual journey, part 4. I start sharing a series of what I'm calling "enlightenments" I experienced over the cours…
4 years, 4 months ago
Is My Practice Languishing? If So, What Can I Do About It?
Episode 199
It's not unusual for our practice to languish at times. "Languish" means to be or become weak or feeble, to lose vigor or vitality, to be subjected t…
4 years, 4 months ago
Renunciation as an Act of Love
Episode 198
Buddhism is a path of renunciation. Many people assume this means we aim to separate ourselves from the things and beings of the world and work ourse…
4 years, 5 months ago
Neither Avoidance nor Identification: Being with the Reality of Painful Situations
Episode 197
Sometimes there is no avoiding painful situations, whether the difficulty is arising in our own life or from witnessing suffering in the world around…
4 years, 5 months ago
Death and the Emptiness of Self: What's the Meaning of Life If You've Got No Soul?
Episode 196
Do we think there's life after death in Soto Zen? I discuss the Soto Zen perspective on consciousness and whether some kind of consciousness continue…
4 years, 5 months ago
Hongzhi's "Wander into the Center of the Circle of Wonder"
Episode 195
In this episode I explore a teaching from 12th-century Chan master Hongzhi, in which he instructs us to "wander into the center of the circle of wond…
4 years, 6 months ago
Pain in Meditation 2: Adjustments to Posture and When to Tolerate Discomfort
Episode 194
This is episode 2 in my discussion of physical discomfort in seated meditation. I discuss how to do it with a minimum of discomfort, including tips o…
4 years, 6 months ago
193 - Pain in Meditation 1: Why the Seated Posture?
Episode 193
Most meditators experience some physical discomfort during seated meditation, ranging from restlessness to severe pain. In this episode I talk about …
4 years, 6 months ago
The Eight Worldly Winds: Gain, Loss, Status, Disgrace, Praise, Censure, Pleasure, Pain
Episode 192
According to one of the foundational Buddhist teachings, we are doomed to be "blown about" by Eight Worldly Winds unless we engage in spiritual pract…
4 years, 7 months ago