330 – Teisho: Awakening Bodhicitta, Seeking Your Heart’s Inmost Desire

330 – Teisho: Awakening Bodhicitta, Seeking Your Heart’s Inmost Desire

by | Apr 30, 2026 | Teisho / Dharma Talk

Teisho are sometimes called “encouragement talks,” and they are meant to help listeners connect with the Dharma in the spaciousness and silence of zazen. Teisho are not about explanations or the imparting of information, and they generally are not recorded. They are offered spontaneously, just for the moment, just for those listening. Although you may not be sitting zazen while you listen to this episode, I thought I would offer you a teisho as if you are.

327 & 328 – Un Lugar Donde Todos Conocen Tu Nombre: La Sangha como Comunidad

327 & 328 – A Place Where Everybody Knows Your Name: Sangha as Community

by | Mar 31, 2026 | Buddhist Practice

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.

329 – Sin Biblia Budista: Breve Panorama de 2500 Años de Textos Budistas (2 de 2)

326 – No Buddhist Bible: A Brief Overview of 2500 Years’ Worth of Buddhist Texts (1 of 2)

by | Mar 17, 2026 | Buddhist Texts

You may have discovered there are lots of Buddhist texts and teachings. Jews have their Torah, Christians their Bible, Muslims their Quran, and Hindus their Vedas, but Buddhists have no divinely-inspired central text, or even collection of texts, to serve as a definitive source of orthodox teachings. The texts considered authoritative in at least one sect of Buddhism would fill a decent-sized library. This episode (along with Part 2) is meant to be a brief and broad overview of 2500 years’-worth of Buddhist texts in the Zen lineage. Hopefully, it can give you some context for whatever text you might find yourself reading.

325 – Imagínate Como un Buda y Desbloquea tu Generosidad Natural

325 – Imagine Yourself as a Buddha and Unblock Your Natural Generosity

by | Feb 28, 2026 | Buddhist Practice

In Buddhism, we are guided by the ideal of a Buddha, or awakened being. One of the characteristics of a Buddha is unconditional and selfless generosity, and when your generosity is blocked, you can be sure that some part of you still needs understanding, healing or liberation. On the other hand, when you’re able to set aside your self-doubt and imagine yourself as a Buddha, when you look on other beings as if they were your children, you may find your generosity flows more naturally.

323 – Zazen Como Autocuidado Desafiante

323 – Zazen As Defiant Self-Care

by | Jan 29, 2026 | Meditation

Since the term arose in 1950’s, “self-care” has referred to a number of different things. If we consider self-care to be things you do to remain physically and mentally healthy, then Zazen – simple, goalless, Zen meditation – can be seen as excellent self-care. In these troubled times, such self-care can even be seen as defiant – refusing to be broken down by challenging circumstances. Other forms of meditation can also be seen as self-care, of course, but Zazen can be a little difficult to get your mind around. Framing it as self-care may help you appreciate what it’s all about.

321 – How Buddhist is Zen? The Buddha’s Teachings Compared to Radical Nondualism

321 – How Buddhist is Zen? The Buddha’s Teachings Compared to Radical Nondualism

by | Dec 31, 2025 | Zen Teachings

Viewed historically, Zen is a form of Mahayana Buddhism that evolved from the original forms Buddhism that were established in India after the Buddha’s death around 2,500 BC. Many aspects of original Buddhism are retained in Zen, including respect for Shakyamuni Buddha and his teachings. However, the degree of transformation Buddhism underwent when it took root in China and evolved into Chan (later called “Zen” in Japan) is difficult to overestimate, resulting in a path of radical nondualism. Both the ultimate goal of practice and the means to achieve that goal changed so radically that it’s legitimate to question whether Chan is even Buddhism. If you want to walk the path of Zen/Chan, it’s essential to understand how it differs from original Buddhism.

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