Awakening & the Independent Dimension (Absolute)
Bodhisattva Activity
Buddha’s Teachings
Buddhist History: Chronological
Buddhist History: Life of Shakyamuni
Buddhist Practice
The Buddhist Tradition
Dogen’s Teachings
Emotions
Precepts
The Self
Six Realms of Existence (Wheel of Life, Wheel of Samsara)
Sutras/Suttas
Ten Fields of Zen Practice
Zazen and Meditation
Zen Teachings

Awakening & the Independent Dimension (Absolute)

Shakyamuni Buddha’s Enlightenment: What Did He Realize?
It-with-a-Capital-I: The Zen Version of God
The Koan of Awakening: Do You Know the Essential Truth Yet, Or Not?
The Practical Value of Awakening to the Absolute Aspect of Reality
Facing Impermanence? Fortunately, Buddhism Is All About Life and Death
Suchness: Awakening to the Preciousness of Things-As-It-Is
Unconditional Strength and Gratitude: The Medicine of Suchness
A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 4: Enlightenments
A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 5: Finding What I Was Looking For
Two Truths: Everything is Okay and Everything is NOT Okay at the Same Time
The Wisdom of Play
One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 1: Emptiness
One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 2: Suchness or Thusness
One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 3: Buddha-Nature
One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 5: The Two Truths of Absolute and Relative
Do Your Own Practice: Spiritual Translation Versus Transformation

Bodhisattva Activity

The Bodhisattva Vows

The Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow Part 1: Freeing All Beings
The Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow Part 2: Ending All Delusions
The Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow Part 3: Entering Dharma Gates & Attaining Buddhahood

Real Life Problems

Buddhists: It’s Time to Address the Climate Emergency
Talk at San Francisco Zen Center: A Sermon for Buddhists in the Climate Crisis
Engaging Our Climate Emergency as a Koan and Opportunity
Declaring a Climate War and What That Means to a Buddhist
What Does Practice Look Like When Your Country Is Broken?
Western Zen Grows Up and Faces the Koan of Race
Confronting the Buddha’s Sexist Discourse
Eco-Anxiety and Buddhism
What Would the Buddha Say About the Suffering in the World?

Sustaining Our Bodhisattva Practice

Active Hope: Finding and Enacting Our Best Response to the World’s Suffering
Crisis Buddhism: Sustainable Bodhisattva Practice in a World on Fire – Part 1
Bearing Witness: Exposing Ourselves to the Suffering in the World (Crisis Buddhism Part 2)
Taking Action: Getting Out of the House and Helping Others (Crisis Buddhism Part 3)
Sustainable Bodhisattva Practice when the World is (Literally) on Fire
Three Ingredients for a Generous Life in a Crazy World
Bearing Witness without Burning Out
Contemplating the Future: The Middle Way Between Dread and Hope
Neither Avoidance nor Identification: Being with the Reality of Painful Situations
The Medicine of Emptiness When Witnessing Suffering and Injustice

Buddha’s Teachings

1.The Buddha’s Life Story as Archetype and Teaching
2:The Three Marks and the Teaching of Not-Self (Anatta)
3: The Four Noble Truths
4: The Noble Eightfold Path
5: Right Speech – Factual, Helpful, Kind, Pleasant, and Timely
6: Karma, the Law of Moral Cause-and-Effect
7: The Three Poisons as the Root of All Evil
8: The Four Brahmaviharas, or Sublime Social Attitudes – Part 1 (Intro)
9: The Four Brahmaviharas, or Sublime Social Attitudes – Part 2 (Metta)
10: The Four Brahmaviharas, or Sublime Social Attitudes – Part 3 (Karuna, Mudita, Upekkha)
11: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
12: The Five Hindrances – Part 1 (Introduction)
13: The Five Hindrances – Part 2 (Worldly Desire and Ill-will)
14: The Five Hindrances – Part 3
15: The Five Skandhas as Focus for the Practice of Not-Self (Anatta)
16: Nibbana (Nirvana) as the Ultimate Goal
The Eight Worldly Winds: Gain, Loss, Status, Disgrace, Praise, Censure, Pleasure, Pain

Buddhist History: Chronological

1: Arising of Buddhism Part 1 of 2 – Historical and Religious Context
2: Arising of Buddhism Part 2 of 2 – New Religious Developments
3: Life of Shakyamuni Buddha Part 1 – Birth through Homeleaving
4: Life of Shakyamuni Buddha Part 2 – Before and After Enlightenment
5: Life of Shakyamuni Buddha Part 3 – Early Teaching and Sangha
6: Life of Shakyamuni Buddha Part 4 – More Teachings and Stories
7: Indian Buddhism After the Buddha – The First 200 Years
8&9: Aśoka, First Buddhist Emperor – Facts and Legend
10: Early Indian Buddhism – Stupas and Devotional Practice – Part 1

Buddhist History: Life of Shakyamuni

Life of Shakyamuni Buddha Part 1 – Birth through Homeleaving
Life of Shakyamuni Buddha Part 2 – Before and After Enlightenment
Shakyamuni Buddha’s Enlightenment: What Did He Realize?
Life of Shakyamuni Buddha Part 3 – Early Teaching and Sangha
Life of Shakyamuni Buddha Part 4 – More Teachings and Stories

Buddhist Practice

The Nature of Practice

What Is “Zen Practice” Anyway?
What Zen “Acceptance” and “Non-Attachment” Really Are
To Study Buddhism Is to Study the Self (and Why That’s Not Selfish)
The Practice of Not-Knowing: Relief, Intimacy, and Ground for Effective Action
The Two Sides of Practice: Samadhi Power and Karma Relationship
Taking Care of Our Lives: More About the Karma Relationship Side of Practice
Spiritual Inquiry Part 1: What Spiritual Questions Are and Why They Matter
Spiritual Inquiry Part 2: Resistance to Questions and Karma Work Versus Awakening
Spiritual Inquiry Part 3: Identifying our Karmic Issues
Spiritual Inquiry Part 4: Investigating and Resolving Karmic Issues
Spiritual Inquiry Part 5: Koans and Awakening
Practice is How You Live Each and Every Moment
Do Your Own Practice: Spiritual Translation Versus Transformation

Attitude & Effort

I Shouldn’t Feel Like This: A Practitioner’s Conundrum
Why Is Self-Esteem Essential When the Self is Empty?
No Matter What Happens to You, You Have Choice in the Matter
You Don’t Need to Improve or Get Anything to Fulfill the Buddha Way
Sustainable Buddhist Practice: Creating Form But Keeping It Flexible
Ebb and Flow in Buddhist Practice: Cycles of Energy, Inspiration, and Focus
Am I a Good Buddhist?
If You’re Not Making Mistakes, You’re Not Practicing
Is My Practice Languishing? If So, What Can I Do About It?
Motivation for Practice: What Do You Love Most Deeply?
We Will Die Soon: Contemplating Impermanence to Motivate Practice
Skillful Self-Discipline Part 1: Balancing Discipline and Gentleness
Skillful Self-Discipline Part 2: Clarity of Purpose and Patient Determination
The Importance of Bodhi-Mind, or Way-Seeking Mind
What Does It Mean to Waste Time?​

Practice in Daily Life

Work as Spiritual Practice According to Dogen’s “Instructions to the Cook”
Being the Only Buddhist in Your Family
Looking to Buddhism to Support Values and Beliefs We Already Hold
Five Requirements for Effective Practice with Any Issue
The Profound and Difficult Practice of Putting Everything Down
Integrating Insights
Nyoho: Making Even Our Smallest, Mundane Actions Accord with the Dharma
How to Relate to Worldly Pleasure as a Buddhist
Are the Buddha’s Teachings on Renunciation Relevant for Householders?
The Value, Care, and Feeding of Dharma Friendships

Domyo’s Story

A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 1: Conveyor Belt to Death
A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 2: Why I Think Buddhism Is Awesome
A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 3: A Phoenix Rises from the Ashes of Despair
A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 4: Enlightenments
A Story of My Spiritual Journey Part 5: Finding What I Was Looking For

The Buddhist Tradition

Is Buddhism Religious, Spiritual, or Secular?
How Does Zen Buddhism Fit Within the Context of Buddhism as a Whole?
The Three Treasures of Buddhism: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
Sangha: The Joys, Challenges, and Value of Practicing in a Buddhist Community
Sangha Challenges: How and Why to Open Up to the Treasure of Sangha – Part 1, 2, 3
Relating to Buddhist Teachings 1: Their Abundance, Diversity & Authenticity
Relating to Buddhist Teachings 2: Wrestling with the Teachings
The Buddhist Practice of Vow: Giving Shape to Our Lives
Confronting the Buddha’s Sexist Discourse
Sesshin: 24-7 Silent Meditation Retreats
Collecting the Heart-Mind: A Celebration of Sesshin

Ceremonies, Forms & Rituals

Zen Forms (Customs and Rituals) and Why They Matter
The Parinirvana Ceremony and the Teaching of the Buddha’s Dying and Death
The Wesak Ceremony: Celebrating and Expressing Gratitude for Our Teachers
Making Peace with Ghosts: Unresolved Karma and the Sejiki (Segaki) Festival
The Value of Buddhist Prayer: Paradox of Prayer in a Nontheistic Spiritual Tradition

Vows & Teachers

How Buddhists Should Behave: Evolution of the Buddhist Precepts
Taking Refuge and Precepts: The Significance of Becoming a Buddhist
Lineage in Buddhism: The Intersection Between the Individual and the Collective Tradition
Profound, Practical, Mutable: Dharma Transmission in Zen
Do You Need a Zen or Buddhist Teacher?

Dogen’s Teachings

Tenzokyokun

Work as Spiritual Practice According to Dogen’s “Instructions to the Cook”

Genjokoan

Dogen’s Genjokoan Part 1: Non-Duality, Intimacy, and Enlightenment
Dogen’s Genjokoan Part 2: Our Experience of Absolute and Relative
Dogen’s Genjokoan Part 3: Seeking, Self-Nature, and the Matter of Life-and-Death
Dogen’s Genjokoan Part 4: Moon in a Dewdrop and Views of the Ocean
Dogen’s Genjokoan Part 5: Birds Fly, Fish Swim, a Zen Master Waves a Fan

Bendowa

Dogen’s Bendowa Part 1: What’s the Big Deal about Zazen?
Dogen’s Bendowa Part 2: Inconceivable Dharma, Practice, and Realization

Bussho
Reflections on Dogen’s “Bussho: The Buddha-Nature” Part 1: Being
Reflections on Dogen’s “Bussho, The Buddha-Nature” Part 2: Total Existence

Shishobo

Dogen’s Shishobo: The Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings – Part 1
Dogen’s “Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings” – Part 2 – Giving
Dogen’s “Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings” – Part 3 – Loving Words
Dogen’s Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings – Part 4 – Beneficial Action
Dogen’s Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings – Part 5 – Identity Action

Other

Is This IT? Dogen’s Everyday Activity (Kajo) – Part 1
True Satisfaction: Dogen’s Everyday Activity (Kajo) – Part 2
Reflections on Sansuikyo, Dogen’s Mountains and Waters Sutra

Emotions

Afflictive Emotions

Dealing with Fear, Anger, and Hatred as a Buddhist
Buddhist Practice: Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts and Emotions
Brightening the Mind: Refusing to be Tyrannized by Negative States
Practicing with Fear in Buddhism
Contemplating the Future: The Middle Way Between Dread and Hope
Neither Avoidance nor Identification: Being with the Reality of Painful Situations

Positive Relationships with Emotions

Five Steps for Positive Change without Waging War on the Self
Samvega and Pasada: Two Buddhist Emotions Indispensable for Practice
Why Your (Real) Happiness Benefits Others
Grief in Buddhism 1: Buddhist Teachings on Grief and the Danger of Spiritual Bypassing
Grief in Buddhism 2: Some Buddhist Practices Helpful for Facing and Integrating Grief
Buddhist Images of Fierceness and Compassionate Anger
The Dharma of Staying Calm When Facing Challenges
Nine Benefits of Buddhist Practice in Difficult Times

Precepts

How Buddhists Should Behave: Evolution of the Buddhist Precepts
Taking Refuge and Precepts: The Significance of Becoming a Buddhist
The Buddhist Moral Precepts as a Practice for Studying the Buddha Way

The Self

Buddhist Teachings on the Nature of Self

Buddha’s Teachings 1: The Three Marks and the Teaching of Not-Self (Anatta)
Buddha’s Teachings 14: The Five Skandhas as Focus for the Practice of Not-Self (Anatta)
The Emptiness of Self and Why It Matters
To Study Buddhism Is to Study the Self (and Why That’s Not Selfish)
Death and the Emptiness of Self: What’s the Meaning of Life If You’ve Got No Soul?
Buddha-Nature: What the Heck is It and How Do We Realize It? 
Deconstructing Self: Which Aspects Are Fine, and Which Cause Suffering?
Human Nature: Why Aren’t We Born Enlightened?

Working with the Self

Why Is Self-Esteem Essential When the Self is Empty?
You Don’t Need to Improve or Get Anything to Fulfill the Buddha Way
Inadequacy to Abundance: Rewriting Our Self-Narrative
I Shouldn’t Feel Like This: A Practitioner’s Conundrum
Am I a Good Buddhist?
If You’re Not Making Mistakes, You’re Not Practicing
Five Steps for Positive Change without Waging War on the Self
Why Your (Real) Happiness Benefits Others
Leaping Beyond Fear of Rejection: Giving the Gift of Self

Six Realms of Existence (Wheel of Life, Wheel of Samsara)

Six Realms of Existence Part 1: Introduction and the Heaven Realm
Six Realms of Existence Part 2: Asura, Beast, and Hell Realms
Six Realms of Existence Part 3: Hungry Ghost and Human Realms

Sutras/Suttas

Pali Canon

Twelve Pali Canon Suttas Every Buddhist Should Know

Heart Sutra

The Heart Sutra Part 1: Introduction to the Most Common Mahayana Text
The Heart Sutra Part 2: Line by Line Explanation, Continued

Lotus Sutra

Lotus Sutra 1: What Is Devotion, and How Does It Fulfill the Buddha Way?
Lotus Sutra 2: Wake Up! The Parable of the Burning House
Lotus Sutra 3: This Means YOU – The Lost Son Parable
Lotus Sutra 4: Parable of the Plants – Superior, Middling, or Inferior Beings and the Dharma
Lotus Sutra 5: Step Right Up to Get YOUR Prediction of Buddhahood

Other

Avatamsaka Sutra – Each One of Us Has Unique Bodhisattva Gifts to Offer

10 Fields of Zen Practice

Zazen & Meditation

How-To

A Zazen Pamphlet: Essential (and Brief) Instructions for the Practice of Zazen
In Zazen We Stop Imposing Ourselves on the World and Meet It Instead
Mini Episode – A Four “S” Approach to Shikantaza: Sit Upright, Still, Silent, Simply Be
Zazen (Seated Meditation) Part 1: What Zazen Is and How to Do It
Zazen Part 2: How to Deal with Thinking, Stay Engaged, and Maintain a Practice
The Soto Zen Goal of Goallessness: How to Awaken Without Trying
Deepen Your Zazen by Not Getting Stuck in Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction
Book Review: Issho Fujita’s “Polishing a Tile”
How Do You DO Zazen, Anyway?

Troubleshooting

Meditation Is NOT About Stopping Thoughts
14 Ways to Enliven Your Zazen
Pain in Meditation 1: Why the Seated Posture?
Pain in Meditation 2: Adjustments to Posture and When to Tolerate Discomfort
The Profound and Difficult Practice of Putting Everything Down
How to Guide Your Own Meditation Part 1: Do Something, Don’t Just Fall Asleep
How to Guide Your Own Meditation Part 2: First-Person Stories

Celebration/Exploration of Zazen

Zazen as a Religious Act
Zazen as the Dharma Gate of Joyful Ease
Active Receptivity in Zazen: Surrounded by a Symphony
Dogen’s Bendowa Part 1: What’s the Big Deal about Zazen?
Shikantaza: Having the Guts to Just Sit and Let Go of Doing Anything
Buddha’s Teachings 10: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
Four Foundations of Mindfulness Practice and Similarities in Zen
Two Paths to Meditative Concentration: Directed Effort Versus Letting Go

Other

Sesshin: 24-7 Silent Meditation Retreats
Collecting the Heart-Mind: A Celebration of Sesshin – Part 1
Clarification: It’s Okay to Use Multiple Types of Meditation
Teisho, An Encouragement Talk During Zazen

Zen Teachings

Also see Dogen’s Teachings

Hongzhi’s “Wander into the Center of the Circle of Wonder”
Sekito Kisen’s Sandokai: The Identity of Relative and Absolute
Death and the Emptiness of Self: What’s the Meaning of Life If You’ve Got No Soul?
Buddha-Nature: What the Heck is It and How Do We Realize It?
The Wisdom of Play