183 – Natural Koans: Engaging Our Limitations as Dharma Gates
Formal Zen koans are short stories or statements by past Chan/Zen masters which have been passed down through the generations for study and contemplation by Zen students. Each koan contains a Dharma teaching, and until you personally experience and digest that teaching, the koan remains a closed gate you need to pass through. On the other side of that gate is greater freedom, wisdom, and compassion. In this episode, I discuss “natural koans,” or Dharma gates that arise in our everyday lives, and how to work with them.
182 – Respuestas a las Preguntas de la Entrevista de la Revista Eastern Horizon
Category: Preguntas del oyente ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 182 En este episodio, comparto con ustedes preguntas y respuestas de mi entrevista escrita del 2020 para Eastern Horizon, una revista trianual de la...
182 – Answers to Interview Questions from Eastern Horizon Magazine
In this episode, I share with you questions and answers from my 2020 written interview for Eastern Horizon, a tri-annual magazine of the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM). There are some basic questions about Zen, and then some questions about what Buddhism has to offer with respect to understanding and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thought you might enjoy hearing a different kind of presentation, where I have kept my answers very succinct.
181 – Bodhicitta: Way-Seeking Mind, or the Mind of Enlightenment
Bodhicitta can be translated as Way-Seeking Mind, or the Mind of Enlightenment. Bodhicitta is the part of us that recognizes and seeks truth and goodness, inspiring our spiritual search and motivating our practice. In a sense, bodhicitta is the part of us that is already awakened, because without it we wouldn’t recognize or seek truth and goodness in the first place. In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta is essential to the path and a cause for gratitude. It also can be seen as the primary source of redemption for humankind, even when it seems the world is dominated by greed, hate, and delusion.
180 – The Dharma of Staying Calm When Facing Challenges
When we can’t – or don’t want to – avoid facing challenges (our own or those of others), what does the Dharma offer us in terms of preventing anxiety, fear, overwhelm, burnout, depression, or despair? I talk about what is really means to stay calm, the value of staying calm, and some practices that can help us do this.
179 – Inadecuado para la Abundancia: Reeescribiendo Nuestra Narrativa
Category: Práctica Budista ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 179 Como seres humanos tenemos una auto-narrativa, y para la mayoría, si no todos, de nosotros, esta narrativa incluye una sensación de...
179 – Inadequacy to Abundance: Rewriting Our Self-Narrative
As human beings we have a self-narrative, and for most – if not all – of us, this narrative includes a sense of inadequacy. When we conceive of ourselves as a “small self against the world” we will always feel inadequate, and consequently our generosity is inhibited. Fortunately, we can rewrite our self-narrative to include our buddha-nature, because the “boundless self with the world” is a conduit for abundance. The world needs and wants what you have to offer.
178 – Declarar una Guerra Climática y Qué Significa Ello para un Budista
Category: Budismo Hoy ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 178 ¿Declarar una “guerra climática”? Puede parecer extraño que un Budista sugiera que le declaremos la guerra a cualquier cosa; pero...
178 – Declaring a Climate War and What That Means to a Buddhist
It may seem strange for a Buddhist to suggest we declare war on anything, but I think it is the most natural and constructive way for us to shift into the mindset we need. In Buddhism, we wage war on the three poisons of greed, hate, and delusion, not on people. We wage war out of love for all beings. In wartime we come together for the common good. We sacrifice with dignity, and help one another summon all the strength and hope we can. We all contribute to the war effort, whether it is by serving on the frontlines, darning socks for those on the frontlines, or broadcasting messages to keep up morale.
177 – Fuerza y Gratitud Incondicionales: la Medicina de la Talidad (Talidad= Tal Como Es)
Categories: Enseñanzas Budistas, Enseñanzas Zen ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 177 La medicina de la talidad salva vidas, porque incluso la vida humana más feliz y afortunada contiene...
177 – Unconditional Strength and Gratitude: The Medicine of Suchness
The medicine of suchness is life-saving, because even the happiest and most fortunate human life inevitably contains suffering. And sometimes – in our personal lives or in the wider world – we face terrible things that arouse anxiety, depression, fear, despair, or rage. Our climate and ecological emergency is one such terrible thing, bringing us face to face with loss on a scale never before contemplated by human beings. Our Zen practice offers us suchness as a medicine that can alleviate our despair and help us access strength and gratitude.
176 – Una Historia de mi Viaje Espiritual Parte 3: Un Fénix se Levanta de las Cenizas de la Desesperación
Categories: Práctica budista ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 176 Esta es la tercera entrega de una historia sobre mi viaje espiritual personal, que cubre mi camino hacia la ordenación como monja Zen y los...
176 – A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 3: A Phoenix Rises from the Ashes of Despair
This is the third installment of a story about my personal spiritual journey, covering my path to ordination as Zen monk and the next several years of junior training, including a time I call my “dark night of the soul” and my experience of a life-affirming phoenix rising from the ashes of my despair. Check out episodes 174 and 175 for the first and second parts of the story, which took me up to the point I left home to move into a Zen center. I’ll need a fourth episode to tell you about the remainder of my junior training, up to my transmission as a Zen priest and my decision to start my own Zen center.
175 – Una historia de mi viaje espiritual Parte 2: Por qué creo que el Budismo es maravilloso
Categories: Práctica budista ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 175 Estoy en un período sabático el mes de julio, pero todavía quería lanzar tres episodios este mes, así que, como...
175 – A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 2: Why I Think Buddhism Is Awesome
I’m on sabbatical the month of July but still wanted to release three episodes this month, so as a change-up I’m telling you a story of my spiritual journey (thus far!). In the last episode, 174, I talked about my early childhood up through my encounter...
174 – Una historia de mi viaje espiritual Parte 1: Cinta transportadora hacia la muerte
Categories: Práctica budista ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 174 Es julio de 2021, y aunque me estoy tomando un período sabático tanto de mi centro Zen como de mi activismo climático,...
174 – A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 1: Conveyor Belt to Death
It’s July 2021, and although I’m taking a sabbatical from both my Zen center and my climate activism, I decided to release three episodes this month anyway. A change is sometimes as good as a break, so I figured I would change things up a little and share a story of my spiritual journey (thus far). I hope you enjoy!
173 – True Satisfaction: Dogen’s Everyday Activity (Kajo) – Part 2
The nature of true satisfaction is something explored by Zen master Dogen in his essay “Kajo,” or “Everyday Activity.” Using the imagery of having had rice, taking a leisurely nap, and living contentedly in a grass hut, Dogen emphasizes how true satisfaction is unconditional, and that we are nourished by the universe whether we are able to appreciate that fact or not.
172 – The Profound and Difficult Practice of Putting Everything Down
Putting everything down is what we do in meditation and when we’re practicing mindfulness in daily life. Caught up in things like worry, excitement, or anger, we often find it nearly impossible to put things down, but it is essential we create time and space to do so. It can help to remember that Zen practice is about getting comfortable repeatedly putting things down, picking them back up, putting them down, and picking them up.
Spanish Translations
