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One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 6: The Two Truths of Absolute and Relative 2
Episode 258
The Two Truths teaching is another classic Chan/Zen description of Reality-with-a-Capital-R. Reality has two aspects, often called relative and absol…
2 years, 7 months ago
One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 5: Awakening & the Independent Dimension: The Two Truths of Absolute and Relative – Part 1
Episode 257
The Two Truths teaching is another classic Chan/Zen description of Reality-with-a-Capital-R. Reality has two aspects, often called relative and absol…
2 years, 7 months ago
256 - Do Your Own Practice: Spiritual Translation Versus Transformation
Episode 256
One way to frame our practice is to say it has a "translation" aspect and a "transformation" aspect. Translation means to apply Buddhist teachings an…
2 years, 8 months ago
The Medicine of Emptiness When Witnessing Suffering and Injustice
Episode 255
When we witness - or experience - suffering or injustice, the medicine of emptiness can give us strength and equanimity. It should also increase our …
2 years, 8 months ago
Practice is How You Live Each and Every Moment – Part 2
Episode 254
Everyday life gives us countless opportunities for "awakening work." I discuss ways to practice each and every moment in order to awaken to the truth…
2 years, 8 months ago
253 - Practice is How You Live Each and Every Moment – Part 1
Episode 253
The formal aspects of Buddhist practice – the things you can look at and identify as "Buddhist practice" – are very important. These include meditati…
2 years, 9 months ago
Reflections on Dogen's "Bussho, The Buddha-Nature" Part 2: Total Existence
Episode 252
In my second episode reflecting on Dogen's "Bussho," or "The Buddha-Nature," I discuss how Buddha-Nature is a teaching about our existential koan as …
2 years, 9 months ago
Reflections on Dogen's "Bussho, The Buddha-Nature" Part 1: Being
Episode 251
In his essay "Bussho," or "The Buddha-Nature," Dogen explores and expands a classic Mahayana Buddhist teaching. I reflect on a few central concepts f…
2 years, 9 months ago
In Zazen We Stop Imposing Ourselves on the World and Meet It Instead
Episode 250
In zazen we stop imposing ourselves on the world either through our habitual thinking or through any effort to control or judge our meditative experi…
2 years, 10 months ago
Are the Buddha's Teachings on Renunciation Relevant for Householders? – Part 2
Episode 249
In this second half of a two-episode discussion, I briefly review the limitations of sensual or worldly pleasures. Then I explore how engagement with…
2 years, 10 months ago