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Zen Studies Podcast!
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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.
However, we all need to make a living, and I spend 10-12 hours a week on the podcast. Members support the podcast with a small monthly pledge. If you want to help me keep generating great content, consider becoming a member!
Recent Episodes
318 – Loving Your Enemies: Extending Metta Does Not Mean Capitulation
Unlike Jesus, the Buddha didn’t explicitly instruct us to “love our enemies.” However, he did instruct us to extend goodwill, or Metta, to all beings unconditionally – including, of course, our enemies. In this time of growing divisiveness, what does it really mean to follow this teaching? Most people will admit that nurturing resentment and hatred is probably a bad idea, but on the other hand it feels completely unacceptable to capitulate to – surrender to or stop resisting – those who we perceive as causing harm. Fortunately, there are many benefits to loving our enemies, and doing so does not mean capitulating to them.
317 – Keizan’s Denkoroku Chapter 1: Mahakashyapa’s Smile
In this episode I read and reflect on Chapter One of Keizan’s Denkoroku: Record of the Transmission of Illumination. In it, Shakyamuni Buddha holds up a flower and blinks. Keizan says, "No one knew his intention, and they were silent." Then Mahakashyapa gives a slight smile, and the Buddha acknowledges him as his Dharma heir. What is going on in this koan? Keizan challenges our ideas about awakening, time, causation, and the nature of self.
316 – Buddhist Communities and Public Political Stands: A Moral Quandary
When should Buddhist communities take public stands on issues that could be seen as political? If politics is about how we make decisions in groups (local communities, towns, cities, states, nations), are Sanghas really be free from politics when they are embedded in these larger groups? Silence can function as tacit approval, so is maintaining neutrality in keeping with our Buddhist values? On the other hand, there are many good reasons for Sanghas to avoid bringing discussions of politics in their places of practice, and I discuss them.
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