The Zen Studies Podcast

Dharma Talks (a bit more personal take on Dharma topics)

243 – The Buddha’s Life Story as Archetype and Teaching

by | Jun 30, 2023
243 – The Buddha’s Life Story as Archetype and Teaching

Understanding the teachings of Buddhism starts with becoming familiar with the Buddha's life story. This isn't because he is believed to have been divine, or even a prophet. Instead, his story is important because it serves as an archetype for the Buddhist vision of spiritual seeking and development. There are many teachings embedded in the story of the Buddha, who is regarded as having been a remarkable human being – but just a human being, like you or me.

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242 – Reflections on Sansuikyo, Dogen’s Mountains and Waters Sutra

by | Jun 23, 2023
242 – Reflections on Sansuikyo, Dogen’s Mountains and Waters Sutra

One of Zen master Dogen’s most beloved writings is a relatively short essay called “Sansuikyo,” or the Mountains and Waters Sutra. In this episode, I reflect on two aspects this work: The statement that mountains and waters are, in of themselves, words of the Buddha, and the fantastic imagery of “mountains walking.” I only cover a few paragraphs of the Sansuikyo, but it is enough to open up a profound spiritual inquiry.

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239 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 3: Buddha-Nature 1

by | May 28, 2023
239 – 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.

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238 – Eco-Anxiety and Buddhism – Part 2

by | May 12, 2023
238 – 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?

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237 – Eco-Anxiety and Buddhism – Part 1

by | Apr 29, 2023
237 – 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?

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236 – Spiritual Inquiry Part 5: Koans and Awakening

by | Apr 19, 2023
236 – 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.

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235 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 2: Suchness or Thusness

by | Apr 12, 2023
235 – 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.

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234 – Spiritual Inquiry Part 4: Investigating and Resolving Karmic Issues

by | Mar 30, 2023
234 – 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.

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