The Zen Studies Podcast

Recent Episodes

15 – To Study Buddhism Is to Study the Self (and Why That’s Not Selfish)

May 18, 2017 | Categories: Zen Teachings.

Liberation from self-concern is central to all forms of Buddhism, although the methods used to achieve that liberation differ widely. In this episode, I present a classic Zen teaching on not-self: Zen Master Dogen’s statement that “to study Buddhism is to study the self” and "to study the self is to forget the self."

14 – Buddha’s Teachings Part 1: The Three Marks and the Teaching of Not-Self (Anatta)

May 11, 2017 | Categories: Buddhist Teachings.

This episode explains several of the Buddha's first teachings: the Three Marks and the teaching of Anatta, or Not-Self. From the beginning, the Buddha's teachings featured the Three Marks, or Characteristics, of Existence: anicca (impermanence), dukkha (dissatisfactoriness), and anatta (not-self). Here I introduce the Three Characteristics and then go into the teaching of not-self in detail - what it means and doesn't mean. For example, did you know the Buddha did not teach that we have no self?