Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchMeditation is about life and death. Nirvana is not. The thundering silence. 1990 Sesshin Friday
Season 1 Episode 30
We are born with this body which brings with it our parents, our grandparents and other lives. Then our essence is added. Then circumstances.Then the…
2 years, 2 months ago
Learning to differentiate what you see, what you think and what you feel. Aug 16, 1981
Season 1 Episode 29
Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, asks: who will tell you when your mind is playing tricks on you? The importance of learning to differentiate what you s…
2 years, 2 months ago
Your ego has no power to do anything. It’s impotent. Dec 6, 1981
Season 1 Episode 28
Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, asks: If you were absolutely alone on the planet, would you be rich or poor? Would you be beautiful or ugly? Your ego, …
2 years, 2 months ago
Misfortune and our identity. And the tale of the farmer who asks God to let him choose the weather. Dec 03, 1981
Season 1 Episode 27
Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, explains how many of us create an identity around our misfortune. But it is life’s challenges that helps us find our tr…
2 years, 2 months ago
Lao Tzu uses the metaphor of a vessel to show that while existence renders it (and us) actual, it is the vessel's non-existence (or emptiness) that renders it useful. Aug 23, 1981
Season 1 Episode 26
Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, explains passages from Lao Tzu’s book, The Tao Te Ching. Elaborating on the metaphor of the knave of a wheel, or the em…
2 years, 3 months ago
What is consciousness? Does a rock have consciousness? Who are we? Summer 1990 Wed Night Sesshin
Season 1 Episode 25
One of the later talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee. Mid-way through a sesshin, this talk discusses what consciousness is. And how much do we know…
2 years, 3 months ago
The mind-body relationship. And breathing from the Hara. Apr 14, 1981
Season 1 Episode 25
Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, explores the mind-body relationship. And breathing from the Hara. Apr 14, 1981
2 years, 3 months ago
Lola shares the tale of the monk and the bottomless pitcher. And how to focus with a no-thinking mind. 1990 Summer Sesshin Monday
Season 1 Episode 24
Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, gives this talk at night during a week-long sesshin. We hear the crickets chirping and a dog barking. We can sense the …
2 years, 3 months ago
When you're fast asleep and hear a noise you wake up. What wakes up? What was awake to hear the noise? Jan 27, 1985.
Season 1 Episode 23
Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, explores the Hindu concepts of Prakriti and Purusha. And the nature of karma. Lola also asks, When you're fast asleep,…
2 years, 3 months ago
First one finds quiet, explains Lola. Then one goes further and finds silence, or Shunyata. Mar 28, 1982.
Season 1 Episode 22
Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, explains what is meant by Shunyata, or emptiness. First you find quiet. Then go further and find silence, or Shunyata.…
2 years, 3 months ago