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Zen Studies Podcast!
Study Buddhism Online for Free
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I offer all of the content on the Zen Studies Podcast for free, because I want the Dharma (Buddhist teachings) to be available to everyone. Plus, I enjoy creating episodes – audio and text – about this ancient, incredibly rich spiritual tradition.
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Recent Episodes
330 – Teisho: Awakening Bodhicitta, Seeking Your Heart’s Inmost Desire
This is a teisho – like a cross between a Dharma Talk and guided meditation. Last week I led a sesshin, or a silent Zen retreat. Participants participated in a 24-hour schedule of zazen, chanting,...
329 – No Buddhist Bible: A Brief Overview of 2500 Years’ Worth of Buddhist Texts (2 of 2)
In Part 2 of this episode, I continue giving my “2,500 years’ worth of Buddhist texts in a nutshell,” an overview of texts in my Zen lineage. I cover Mahayana philosophers, Chinese Chan literature, and the writings of two of the main Japanese Zen ancestors in my lineage.
327 & 328 – A Place Where Everybody Knows Your Name: Sangha as Community
In Buddhism, we have three treasures: Buddha, teachers or our own awakened nature; Dharma, the teachings or the truth itself, and Sangha, the community of people who practice and maintain the tradition together. From the beginning of Buddhism, then, community has been considered essential – but in what sense? We may think of Sangha primarily as an impersonal institution providing access to Buddhist teachings and practice. It certainly fulfills that function, but I believe it’s equally important that our Sanghas be welcoming, loving, joyful, mature communities: A place where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.








