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Framing Your Dharma Practice in a Helpful Way
Episode 298
Chances are, whether you're aware of it or not, you have a certain way of framing your Dharma practice. That is, you function using a conceptual framework that defines your relationship to your pract…
Published on 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Investigating the Wandering Mind
Episode 297
Almost everyone who practices meditation or mindfulness encounters the phenomenon of the wandering mind – when, despite your conscious intention, your mind is filled with thoughts that have nothing t…
Published on 8 months ago
Q&A: Paramis, Mindfulness, Karma, and Enjoyment
Episode 296
This is an extemporaneous question-and-answer episode. Do you know the difference between a parami and a paramita? Do I still like to think of mindfulness as "undivided presence?" What about when Bud…
Published on 8 months, 1 week ago
295 - The Power of Equanimity
Episode 295
Equanimity is a powerful state of being that not only reduces our stress and suffering but also enables us to respond effectively. However, in our efforts to achieve some measure of equanimity, we ma…
Published on 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Ten Fields of Zen, Field 10 - Connecting with the Ineffable, or What Is Most True
Episode 294
The tenth Field of Zen is Connecting with the Ineffable. Zen is not based on a belief in God in a theistic sense. However, at its core there is a strong emphasis on a much more profound, inspiring, s…
Published on 8 months, 4 weeks ago
Q&A: Veganism, Letting Thoughts Go, and Motivation for Action
Episode 293
In this episode I extemporaneously answer questions listeners have submitted by email, including: Why aren't Buddhist vegan if the first moral precept is "do not kill?" What does it really mean to "l…
Published on 9 months, 1 week ago
292 - Ten Fields of Zen, Field 9 – Bodhisattva Activity: Enacting Vows to Benefit All Beings
Episode 292
Bodhisattva Activity is enacting vows to free all beings as well as yourself. This is an acknowledgment that you are interdependent with all beings and things, and such an aspiration can give a sense…
Published on 9 months, 2 weeks ago
291 - Keizan's Denkoroku Lead Chapter: Shakyamuni's "I and All Beings"
Episode 291
In Episode 272, I discussed the third chapter of Zen Master Keizan's book The Denkoroku, or the Record of the Transmission of Illumination. In the interest of thoroughness, I figured I'd start back a…
Published on 9 months, 4 weeks ago
Ten Fields of Zen, Field 7 – Realization: Direct Experience of Reality-with-a-Capital-R
Episode 290
The eighth Field of Zen Practice is Realization, gaining a direct, personal experience of the truth. Realization helps you respond appropriately, allowing you to live by choice instead of by karma. E…
Published on 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Ten Fields of Zen, Field 6 – Opening Your Heart: Self-Acceptance and Non-Separation (2 of 2)
Episode 289
This episode is the second half of the seventh chapter of my book-in-progress, The Ten Fields of Zen: A Primer for Practitioners. Listen to/read the previous episode (288) first, where I talk about t…
Published on 10 months, 4 weeks ago