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Meditation Is NOT About Stopping Thoughts
Episode 122
In this episode, I talk about why we long to be thought-free. Then I discuss how meditation is not about stopping thought, but instead is a practice …
6 years, 8 months ago
Facing Extinction 2: A Personal Journal (Nov 14-22)
Facing Extinction: A Personal Journal about Trying to Do the Right Thing in a Climate Emergency. Topics: I Need You(r support for my activism); What …
6 years, 8 months ago
The Practical Value of Awakening to the Absolute Aspect of Reality
Episode 121
Next week I'll take a break from my busy life and projects in order to attend a silent meditation retreat. After spending the half-a-year since my la…
6 years, 8 months ago
Dogen's Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings - Part 5 - Identity Action
Episode 120
I finish up our study of Zen master Dogen's essay "Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings" with a discussion of "identity action," or "being in…
6 years, 8 months ago
Brightening the Mind: Refusing to be Tyrannized by Negative States
Episode 119
Practice can help us "brighten the mind" when we're feeling trapped in negativity, hopelessness, despair, discouragement, depression, lack of confide…
6 years, 9 months ago
Facing Extinction 1: Nov. 3rd - 9th, 2019
This episode is a part of series I'm trying, "Facing Extinction: Trying to do the right thing in a climate emergency." What does it have to do with Z…
6 years, 9 months ago
Buddha's Teachings 15: Nirvana as the Ultimate Goal of Original Buddhism
Episode 118
Nibbana means "extinguished," and attaining it means you have extinguished the "outflows" of sensuality, ignorance, and the desire for further existe…
6 years, 9 months ago
Clarifying the Mind Ground According to Keizan's "Zazen-Yojinki"
Episode 117
In his essay "Zazen Yojinki," or "Points to Keep in Mind When Practicing Zazen," 13th-century Zen master Keizan Jokin presents "clarify[ing] the mind…
6 years, 9 months ago
Do You Need a Zen or Buddhist Teacher?
Episode 116
Every few weeks or so, I get an email from a listener who feels they need a Zen teacher. Some people have asked whether I might be able to function a…
6 years, 10 months ago
Dogen's Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings - Part 4 - Beneficial Action
Episode 115
In this episode I continue our study of 13th-century Zen master Dogen's essay, "Bodaisatta Shishobo," or what I'm calling the "Four Ways Bodhisattvas…
6 years, 10 months ago