The Zen Studies Podcast
Dharma Talks (a bit more personal take on Dharma topics)
241 – ¿Qué significa perder el tiempo?
Category: Práctica Budista ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 241 Los maestros Budistas y Zen a lo largo de los siglos nos han suplicado que no “perdamos...
read more241 – What Does It Mean to Waste Time?
Buddhist and Zen masters through the ages have begged us not to “waste time.” What does this really mean? How do we know if we’re wasting time, and does it really matter?
read more240 – Una Realidad, Muchas Descripciones Parte 4: Naturaleza de Buda 2
Category: Enseñanzas Budistas ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 240 Esta es la cuarta parte de mi serie llamada “Una realidad, muchas...
read more240 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 3: Buddha-Nature 2
This is part four of my series called “One Reality, Many Descriptions,” Buddha-Nature Part 2. I first talk about Buddha-Nature as trust. Then I offer the requisite discussions of what Buddha-Nature is not, and how it is necessary for us to awaken to our own Buddha-Nature in order to fully partake of the associated joy, redemption, and faith.
read more239 – Una Realidad, Muchas Descripciones Parte 3: Naturaleza de Buda 1
Category: Enseñanzas Budistas ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 239 Esta es la tercera parte de mi serie llamada “Una realidad, Muchas...
read more239 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 3: Buddha-Nature 1
This is part three of my series called “One Reality, Many Descriptions.” While experiences of Emptiness and Suchness (or Thusness) may be liberating and transformative, we may be left with the question of how our limited, embodied existence relates to these profound truths. Our natural inclination toward self-preservation, our appetites and shortcomings, our ingrained habits, our complacency – these things can seem at odds with the greater Reality we have started to perceive. The teaching of Buddha-Nature points to the marvelous and redemptive fact that we too – just as we are – are Thus: Luminous and miraculous in and of ourselves.
read more238 – Eco-Ansiedad y Budismo – Parte 2
Category: Budismo Hoy ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 238 Es natural sentir algo de ansiedad ecológica a medida que los sistemas naturales de...
read more238 – Eco-Anxiety and Buddhism – Part 2
It's natural to feel some eco-anxiety as the earth’s natural life-support systems break down. Buddhism clearly admonishes us to refrain from killing, to actively care for all life, and see ourselves as being in the “same boat” with all beings. In what ways can our practice help us stay strong, and how can it help us respond to our climate and ecological crisis in a way that’s consistent with our Buddhist values?
read more237 – Eco-Ansiedad y Budismo – Parte 1
Category: Budismo Hoy ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 237 La ansiedad ecológica es el temor de que los sistemas de soporte de vida natural de...
read more237 – Eco-Anxiety and Buddhism – Part 1
Eco-anxiety is fear that our earth’s natural life-support systems are in the process of a collapse that will be catastrophic to life as we know it. This fear may range in intensity between a vague, pervasive sense of worry to a debilitating condition. What does Buddhism have to say about eco-anxiety, and what does it offer us if we want to be responsible citizens and true to our aspirations as Buddhists – but we also want to avoid being overwhelmed with fear, despair, or a sense of powerlessness?
read more236 – Preguntas Espirituales Parte 5 : Koans y Despertar
Category: Práctica Budista ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 236 Las Preguntas Espirituales tienen como objetivo despertar a lo que he estado...
read more236 – Spiritual Inquiry Part 5: Koans and Awakening
Awakening Inquiry is aimed at awakening to what I’ve been calling Reality-with-a-Capital-R. How do we inquire into aspects of Reality we have not yet even imagined? How do we even know what we don’t know? How can we see what we have not yet seen? How do we even know where to look? In Zen, we do this through the use of koans, whether those are traditional koans or natural ones. I discuss the nature of awakening inquiry and how to find koans to focus your practice.
read more235 – Una Realidad, Muchas Descripciones Parte 2: Talidad o Asidad
Category: Enseñanzas Budistas ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 235 ¿Qué quieren decir los Budistas con los términos “Talidad” o “Asidad”?...
read more235 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 2: Suchness or Thusness
What do Buddhists mean by the terms “Suchness” or “Thusness”? Over the millennia, Buddhists have employed many concepts to point us toward Reality-with-a-Capital-R, because awakening to Reality is profoundly liberating. This series of episodes discusses five classic descriptions of Reality. In Episode 229 I talked about the first of these, Emptiness (One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 1: Emptiness). In this episode I explore Suchness, or Thusness.
read more234 – Preguntas Espirituales Parte 4: Investigación y Resolución de Problemas Kármicos
Category: Práctica Budista ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 234 Este es mi cuarto episodio sobre indagación espiritual. En el último episodio...
read more234 – Spiritual Inquiry Part 4: Investigating and Resolving Karmic Issues
This is my fourth episode on spiritual inquiry. In the last episode I discussed “karma work,” or the process of noticing the underlying reasons for our selfish, harmful, or less-than-enlightened behaviors of body, speech, and mind, and then working to resolve them. I talked about how to identify our karmic issues. In this episode I discuss what to do once you’ve identified a karmic issue you’d like to work on, taking you through the process of delving into the underlying causes of your negative karmic patterns, and then finding greater freedom through insight and through habit change.
read more233 – Preguntas Espirituales Parte 3: Identificando nuestros problemas kármicos
Category: Práctica Budista ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 233 Una parte importante de la práctica Budista es la indagación espiritual. El...
read more233 – Spiritual Inquiry Part 3: Identifying our Karmic Issues
An important part of Buddhist practice is spiritual inquiry. Buddhism teaches us that there are underlying reasons for every selfish and neurotic thing we do, and that we can discern what those reasons are and work on them. This karma work can lead to lasting and transformative change. In this episode I describe karma work and discuss how to identify your karmic issues. In the next episode I will talk about the process of karmic inquiry once you have identified a karmic issue you would like to resolve.
read more232 – Preguntas Espirituales Parte 2: Resistencia a las Preguntas y el Trabajo del Karma Frente al Despertar
Category: Práctica Budista ~ Translator: Claudio Sabogal Click here for audio + English version of Episode 232 En este episodio, el segundo de una breve serie sobre preguntas espirituales,...
read more232 – Spiritual Inquiry Part 2: Resistance to Questions and Karma Work Versus Awakening
In this episode, my second in a short series on spiritual questions, I talk about various reasons for resistance to coming up with or asking spiritual questions. Then I discuss the relationship between karma work and awakening, because in my next episode or two I’ll explore in depth how to come up with karmic questions, and then how to come up with awakening questions.
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