The Upaya Dharma Podcast features Wednesday evening Dharma Talks and recordings from Upaya's diverse array of programs. Our podcasts exemplify Upaya’s focus on socially engaged Buddhism, including prison work, end-of-life care, serving the homeless, training in socially engaged practices, peace & nonviolence, compassionate care training, and delivering healthcare in the Himalayas.
The Grandchildren of Huineng
In this Fall Practice Period and Wednesday night Dharma talk, Senseis Monshin and Shinzan share stories of ancient masters. Shinzan reflects on a fundamental question we must grapple with, why do we sit at all, what are […]
10/21/2024 • 43 minutes, 16 seconds
Wise Women of the Golden Age of Zen
In this Fall Practice Period Wednesday night Dharma talk, Sensei Monshin discusses women ancestors of the Golden Age of Zen. “Women were practicing zen from the beginning, how is it they did not become […]
10/14/2024 • 39 minutes, 33 seconds
Gifts from T’ang Dynasty China: The Golden Age of Zen
Senseis Kozan and Monshin introduce 2024 Upaya’s Fall Practice Period exploring the golden age of Zen during the Tang Dynasty, focusing on its cultural influences and historical challenges. They bring […]
10/7/2024 • 48 minutes, 42 seconds
Engaged Dharma in Israel-Palestine
Natalie Goldberg introduces an extraordinary Wednesday night Dharma talk, in which human rights activist Aviv Tatarsky calls in from Jerusalem to offer his candid view into the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Aviv […]
9/30/2024 • 59 minutes, 43 seconds
Gathering Dharma with Joan Halifax & Matthew Kozan Palevsky: The Bodhisattva’s Secret and Wild Promise
In this session of Gathering Dharma Roshi Joan Halifax points unwaveringly to the heart of our deeply held questions and commitments, asking, “What is it to connect… to foster community, […]
9/29/2024 • 1 hour, 32 minutes, 53 seconds
A Posture of Unprejudiced Attention
In this Wednesday night Dharma talk and the first talk in the Fall Chaplaincy Sesshin, we are gracefully reminded by Sensei Monshin of the roots and foundation of practice. Monshin […]
9/23/2024 • 36 minutes, 56 seconds
The Responsibility to Awaken with All Beings
Sensei Kozan discusses the practice and realization of “suchness” in Zen Buddhism. He explores Dogen’s essay of the same name, and relates the practice of suchness to our work for […]
9/16/2024 • 44 minutes, 10 seconds
Way-Seeking Mind: Instruction and Experience
This “way-seeking mind” Dharma talk given by Tony Back, MD precedes the upcoming G.R.A.C.E. weekend program. Through the context of his work as a medical professional Tony shares his journey […]
9/9/2024 • 34 minutes, 49 seconds
Love and Death 2024: Grief, Loss, and a Welling Heart Part 2 (8 of 8)
This episode is a continuation of the 8/25/24 morning session of Love and Death program where … Frank Ostaseski tenderly leads participants into the concepts and practice of metta. Frank discusses […]
9/8/2024 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 33 seconds
Love and Death 2024: Grief, Loss, and a Welling Heart Part 1 (7 of 8)
In this Love and Death program session Frank Ostaseski tenderly leads participants into the concepts and practice of metta. Frank discusses near and far enemies of the four brahmaviharas (loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity) […]
9/8/2024 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 7 seconds
Love and Death 2024: Sharing Their Lives with Us (6 of 8)
In this Love and Death program session Frank Ostaseski and Roshi Joan guide participants to notice what attracts them and repels them in a series of photos of dying persons. Frank sobers and grounds participants before […]
9/8/2024 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 32 seconds
Living Peace, Practicing Nonviolence
Renowned peace activist Father John Dear speaks passionately on the actively nonviolent life and introduces his new book “The Gospel of Peace.” He insists with Martin Luther King: it is […]
9/2/2024 • 50 minutes, 18 seconds
Love and Death 2024: Near and Far Enemies: The Four Brahmaviharas Part 2 (5 of 8)
This episode is a continuation of the 8/24/24 afternoon session of Love and Death where … Frank Ostaseski tenderly leads participants into the concepts and practice of metta. Frank discusses near and […]
9/1/2024 • 42 minutes, 57 seconds
Love and Death 2024: Near and Far Enemies: The Four Brahmaviharas Part 1 (4 of 8)
In this Love and Death program session Frank Ostaseski tenderly leads participants into the concepts and practice of metta. Frank discusses near and far enemies of the four brahmaviharas (loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity) […]
9/1/2024 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 4 seconds
Love and Death 2024: May You Be Safe Part 2 (3 of 8)
This episode is a continuation of the 8/24/24 morning session of Love and Death where … Frank Ostaseski and Roshi Joan touch into the heart of compassion through grief. Roshi Joan walks us tenderly […]
9/1/2024 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 8 seconds
Love and Death 2024: May You Be Safe Part 1 (2 of 8)
In this session of Love and Death, Frank Ostaseski and Roshi Joan touch into the heart of compassion through grief. Roshi Joan walks us tenderly and skilfully through a journey from her past, a journey […]
9/1/2024 • 54 minutes, 45 seconds
Love and Death 2024: Opening the Great Gifts: Warm Welcome (1 of 8)
Roshi Joan and Frank Ostaseski offer their warm welcome in this first session of Love & Death: Opening the Great Gifts. Roshi Joan reflects on the impacts of the pandemic, not only on medicine […]
9/1/2024 • 56 minutes, 18 seconds
Gathering Dharma with Kathie Fischer: Early Buddhist Women: Messages in a Bottle Carried by the Currents
In this Gathering Dharma 2024 program session, Sensei Kathie Fischer discusses the stories and awakenings of women ancestors. In the midst of these poems of awakening Kathie picks on an important interpretation of meditation […]
8/26/2024 • 1 hour, 31 minutes, 50 seconds
Everything is Connected, Everything Changes
Rebecca Solnit offers a fresh and poetic narrative of hope in which we are urged to view our burning world in a way that acknowledges the deep and well tended […]
8/26/2024 • 46 minutes, 53 seconds
Taking Refuge in Gaia and Responding to Her Summons: A Dharma Path for Our Times
In this Wednesday night public Dharma talk Cynthia Jurs breathes life into our commitment to caring for the Earth. Cynthia shares her touching story of being called into a practice […]
8/19/2024 • 45 minutes, 49 seconds
When You Find Yourself Where You Are
Sensei Kozan uses the koan Baizhang’s Fox to explore cause and effect. Without an understanding of cause and effect it is impossible to maintain a clear view of what aspects of […]
8/12/2024 • 41 minutes, 17 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2024 (9 of 9)
This is the closing session of this program stewarded by Roshi Joan Halifax with comments from program participants. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by […]
8/12/2024 • 44 minutes, 19 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2024 (8 of 9)
In this session Roshi Norman Fischer brings the conversation to the acute point of what we lose when reading material in the non-native language of the text. He highlights the double edge […]
8/12/2024 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 53 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2024 (7 of 9)
Roshi Joan and the faculty open this session with warm reflections and stories of friendship and gratitude. Sensei Kathie Fischer takes over the session and brings in the topic of trust, sincere trust. […]
8/12/2024 • 57 minutes, 22 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2024 (6 of 9)
Sensei Genzan flashes to us in this brief fifty minute session his deep knowledge and love for Dogen. He opens by offering practical study advice which he implements in his own […]
8/12/2024 • 56 minutes, 22 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2024 (5 of 9)
After a delightfully endearing reading of his own fist impressions of Dogen Henry Shukman explores passages of Dogen’s work and their potential implications on practice. A main theme Henry returns to is […]
8/11/2024 • 56 minutes, 54 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2024 (4 of 9)
In this talk Natalie Goldberg puts the focus onto the relevance of Dogen’s writings and teachings in our modern world. She shares anecdotes related to Dogen’s teachings and she embodies her prowess […]
8/11/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2024 (3 of 9)
In this session the well of Dogen’s teachings is tapped by the master translator Sensei Kazuaki. Sensei Kozan traverses the path of history with Sensei Kaz, asking questions and clarifying for participants […]
8/11/2024 • 59 minutes, 46 seconds
Bodhidharma’s Two Ways
Sensei Shinzan explores the story of Bodhidharma and then delves into his teaching on the two paths: that of reason and that of practice. Shinzan emphasizes the importance of connecting […]
8/5/2024 • 35 minutes, 26 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2024 (2 of 9)
Steven Heine, an expert in Asian Studies and Zen Buddhism, discusses Zen master Dogen’s teachings and the tradition of koan practice. The session explores Dogen’s views on endeavor, exertion, or vinaya. It also […]
8/5/2024 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 10 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2024 (1 of 9)
The 2024 Dogen seminar kicks off with introductions and a warm welcome. The week’s schedule is laid out, and the topics for the weekend discussions are unveiled. Each speaker gives […]
8/5/2024 • 50 minutes, 9 seconds
Uncertainty and Possibility—Meeting the Climate Future (3 of 3)
This series features thought leaders Christiana Figueres, Rebecca Solnit, and Roshi Joan Halifax as they explore the complex interplay between climate change, loss, technology, narratives, and action. Throughout the series, […]
8/2/2024 • 39 minutes, 51 seconds
Uncertainty and Possibility—Meeting the Climate Future (2 of 3)
This series features thought leaders Christiana Figueres, Rebecca Solnit, and Roshi Joan Halifax as they explore the complex interplay between climate change, loss, technology, narratives, and action. Throughout the series, […]
8/2/2024 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 3 seconds
Uncertainty and Possibility—Meeting the Climate Future (1 of 3)
This series features thought leaders Christiana Figueres, Rebecca Solnit, and Roshi Joan Halifax as they explore the complex interplay between climate change, loss, technology, narratives, and action. Throughout the series, […]
8/2/2024 • 57 minutes, 23 seconds
Lost in Translation
Sensei Genzan shares his deep and transformative relationship with the great Zen poet, practitioner, and Soto founder Dogen Zenji. He discusses the importance of wholehearted practice, receiving precepts, and how […]
7/29/2024 • 52 minutes, 20 seconds
Advice from Dogen for Difficult Times
Sensei Cynthia Kear discusses the parallels between our modern socio-political crisis and those faced by Soto Zen founder Eihei Dogen 800 years ago. Sensei Kear goes over Dogen’s four methods […]
7/22/2024 • 48 minutes, 24 seconds
Writing on Empty
Natalie Goldberg, best selling author of Writing Down the Bones and fifteen other celebrated works, discusses and reads a selection from her newest publication, Writing on Empty: A Guide to […]
7/15/2024 • 44 minutes, 5 seconds
Gathering Dharma With Tara Brach and Frank Ostaseski: Bridging the Divide
Tara Brach and Frank Ostaseski lead this tenderly delivered Gathering Dharma session. Together with participants Tara and Frank explore a range of topics including post pandemic reflections, the divide in personal narratives, and […]
7/14/2024 • 1 hour, 29 minutes, 52 seconds
Keizan’s Compassion
In this beautiful talk, Zenshin Florence Caplow introduces us to Keizan Zenji, particularly the deep love between Keizan and his mother, and his subsequent dedication to including women in the […]
7/8/2024 • 35 minutes, 16 seconds
From Anatomy Lab to Dharma Lab
Wendy Dainin Lau, MD, a Zen priest and emergency medicine physician and addiction specialist, shares her unique journey from software engineering, to working in some of the busiest emergency rooms […]
7/1/2024 • 33 minutes, 13 seconds
Gathering Dharma With Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Only A Buddha And A Buddha
In this installment of Gathering Dharma, Roshi Joan sets the stage by reminding us “the terrible impact of war” and reminds the group the importance of our resolve to face this deep […]
7/1/2024 • 1 hour, 34 minutes, 43 seconds
Liberation – Always Being, Always Becoming
On the anniversary of the emancipation of black slaves in the United States, Sensei Kodo and Sensei Kozan inquire into the meaning of freedom. For black people and many others in this […]
6/24/2024 • 39 minutes, 18 seconds
Planting Life 2024: Growing Culture and Kinship (11 of 11)
In this final gathering of Planting Life 2024, Roshi Joan leads an open circle of sharing with the community who participated virtually in this program. The group shares their commit to personal […]
6/20/2024 • 54 minutes, 9 seconds
Planting Life 2024: Growing Culture and Kinship (10 of 11)
In this talk Melissa Nelson shares her deep passion and understanding of economies of wellbeing, regenerative practices, environmental justice movements, and decolonizing philanthropy. Dr. Nelson connects the dots, identifying the […]
6/20/2024 • 58 minutes, 29 seconds
Planting Life 2024: Growing Culture and Kinship (9 of 11)
In this talk Roxanne Swentzell discusses her work in cultural continuity and the founder of Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute. She speaks to the importance of preserving traditional crops and maintaining traditional foodways. […]
6/19/2024 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 4 seconds
Planting Life 2024: Growing Culture and Kinship (8B of 11)
This is the 2nd half of the session where Porter Swentzell explores the history and culture of Pueblo peoples, focusing on the impact of Spanish colonization and American policies. He discusses […]
6/19/2024 • 19 minutes, 46 seconds
Planting Life 2024: Growing Culture and Kinship (8A of 11)
In this talk Porter Swentzell explores the history and culture of Pueblo peoples, focusing on the impact of Spanish colonization and American policies. He discusses the persistence of Pueblo culture, the transformation […]
6/19/2024 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 18 seconds
Planting Life 2024: Growing Culture and Kinship (5 of 11)
The Upaya garden ceremony begins with Wendy Johnson and Alonso Méndez preparing elements of fire, incense, seeds, water, and flowers while discussing their significance and importance in ceremony. The session moves to the practical […]
6/19/2024 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 50 seconds
Planting Life 2024: Growing Culture and Kinship (4b of 11)
This is a continuation of the May31st afternoon session, where Alonso Méndez explores the intriguing history and relationship between plants, particularly corn, and celestial forces. He delves into the significance of […]
6/19/2024 • 52 minutes, 31 seconds
Planting Life 2024: Growing Culture and Kinship (4A of 11)
In this session, Alonso Méndez explores the intriguing history and relationship between plants, particularly corn, and celestial forces. He delves into the significance of corn as a life-sustainer, its domestication process, and […]
6/19/2024 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 39 seconds
Planting Life 2024: Growing Culture and Kinship (3B of 11)
This is a continuation of the May31st session with Wendy Johnson and Alonso Méndez where they delve into the symbolism and significance of various elements in indigenous communities of growers and creators. […]
6/18/2024 • 43 minutes, 47 seconds
Planting Life 2024: Growing Culture and Kinship (3A of 11)
Wendy Johnson and Alonso Méndez delve into the symbolism and significance of various elements in indigenous communities of growers and creators. They highlight the importance of caves, prayers, ceremonies, and the three friends […]
6/18/2024 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 19 seconds
Planting Life 2024: Growing Culture and Kinship (2 of 11)
Roshi Joan, Wendy Johnson, and Alonso Méndez open this program by sharing their sincere appreciation and commitment to the value of land and ancestors and the importance of bring that value into our […]
6/18/2024 • 59 minutes, 31 seconds
Shoshin: Beginner’s Mind
At the opening of Upaya’s Young Adult retreat, Sensei Shinzan speaks on the practice of beginner’s mind. In our culture, we are deeply conditioned to know, to think linearly, and […]
6/17/2024 • 36 minutes, 36 seconds
Mountains Are Mountains, Rivers Are Rivers
In this dharma talk, Sensei Kozan dives into Dogen’s “Mountains and Rivers Sutra”. In this esoteric fascicle, Dogen engages in the impossible task of naming the unnamable – the fundamental […]
6/10/2024 • 40 minutes, 52 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2024: Sentience and Intelligence (6B of 6)
This is John’s part of the dialogue led in two parts by Richard Davidson and John Dunne explores topics on meditation beyond commodification, the transformation in neuroscience, and the importance of flourishing for […]
6/5/2024 • 1 hour, 35 minutes, 47 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2024: Sentience and Intelligence (6A of 6)
This is Richard’s part of the dialogue led in two parts by Richard Davidson and John Dunne explores topics on meditation beyond commodification, the transformation in neuroscience, and the importance of flourishing for […]
6/5/2024 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 44 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2024: Sentience and Intelligence (5 of 6)
In this lecture physicist Adam Frank delves into the blind spot in science, a concept that has led to a crisis in physics and issues in quantum mechanics. The discussion explores quantum […]
6/5/2024 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 42 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2024: Sentience and Intelligence (4B of 6)
This is Kristin’s part of the two lectures given by Evan Thompson and Kristin Andrews delve into the concept of life as sensemaking and its implications for artificial intelligence (AI) and consciousness. The speakers […]
6/5/2024 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 47 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2024: Sentience and Intelligence (4A of 6)
This is Evan’s part of the two lectures given by Evan Thompson and Kristin Andrews delve into the concept of life as sensemaking and its implications for artificial intelligence (AI) and consciousness. The speakers […]
6/5/2024 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 8 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2024: Sentience and Intelligence (3B of 6)
This is the 2nd part of the lecture featuring Molly Crockett and Luc Steels, we dive deep into complex systems of science, interdependence, and knowing. The speakers discuss the shift from in-person […]
6/5/2024 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 36 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2024: Sentience and Intelligence (3A of 6)
This is the 1st part of the lecture featuring Molly Crockett and Luc Steels, we dive deep into complex systems of science, interdependence, and knowing. The speakers discuss the shift from in-person […]
6/5/2024 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 41 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2024: Sentience and Intelligence: AI, the More-Than-Human, and Us (2 of 6)
The opening of this Varela Symposium focuses on welcoming participants both onsite and online, highlighting access to a vast repository of wisdom through virtual means. The symposium, originally named Zen […]
6/5/2024 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 38 seconds
Planting Life, Growing Community
Wendy Johnson, dedicated Zen Buddhist practitioner and gardener, weaves together threads of her life from her early Zen training years to her work establishing organic farms. For Wendy, there is […]
6/3/2024 • 38 minutes, 58 seconds
Gathering Dharma With Paula Arai: Healing Wombs of Liberation
In this Gathering Dharma session, Rev. Joan Halifax sets the stage with a poignant reading from the Dhammapada on the theme of overcoming hatred through non-hatred, discusses the universal suffering […]
5/28/2024 • 1 hour, 36 minutes, 40 seconds
Gathering Dharma With Chenxing Han: Listening to the Buddhists in Our Backyard, Learning the Dharma Everywhere All at Once
This talk given by Chenxing Han emphasized the interconnectedness of global and personal suffering and the transformative power of community, compassion, and active engagement. She discussed the challenges and polarizations facing society […]
5/28/2024 • 1 hour, 31 minutes, 48 seconds
Gathering Dharma With Rhonda Magee: Leading with Clarity, Courage, & Compassion
Roshi Joan begins by reflecting on the inception of socially engaged Buddhist training during the pandemic, highlighting the growing need for community and service amidst global crises. Roshi then introduces […]
5/28/2024 • 1 hour, 35 minutes, 39 seconds
Gathering Dharma With Joan Halifax: The Eight Realizations
Roshi Joan Halifax emphasizes the profound suffering caused by wars and genocides around the world, advocating for deep dialogue, recognition of humanity, and the importance of addressing the structures that […]
5/28/2024 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 46 seconds
Gathering Dharma With Norman Fischer
Norman Fischer discusses the profound costs of war and the importance of recognizing humanity and sanity for the sake of all and future generations. He reflects on the both difficulty […]
5/28/2024 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 49 seconds
Intelligence and Wisdom: A Crucial Distinction
In the opening talk for the Varela Symposium, Professor John Dunne explores the relationship between wisdom and intelligence, particularly in the context of artificial intelligence (AI). He differentiates between intelligence […]
5/27/2024 • 41 minutes, 37 seconds
The Possibility of Forgiveness
For many religions and cultures, forgiveness is “the right thing to do.” But outside of moral judgements, why forgive? Frank Ostaseski, approaching forgiveness as a possibility, not an ethical imperative, […]
5/20/2024 • 52 minutes, 42 seconds
Spring Practice Period 2024: Sesshin Closing with Overley, Braz, & Palma
In this closing talk for the Spring practice period sesshin, the teachers reflect on the essence of continuous practice beyond the confines of the retreat environment, emphasizing the importance of […]
5/20/2024 • 45 minutes, 40 seconds
Spring Practice Period 2024: Sesshin Dharma Talk with Alcio Braz
In this intimate and reflective Dharma talk, Sensei Alcio emphasizes the joyful and pure essence of Zen practice, countering any misconceptions that Zen involves a somber or stern attitude. Alcio […]
5/20/2024 • 47 minutes, 8 seconds
Spring Practice Period 2024: Sesshin Dharma Talk With Monshin Nannette Overley
In this Dharma talk, Sensei Monshin reflects on the second day of a Spring Practice Period Sesshin, acknowledging the variety of experiences participants might have, from elation to frustration. Monshin […]
5/20/2024 • 42 minutes, 23 seconds
Spring Practice Period 2024: Sesshin Dharma Talk With Norman Fischer
Roshi Norman reminds us the method prescribed for touching peace is Zazen. He emphasizes resting deeply to let the true essence emerge naturally without force. Norman speaks to the power […]
5/19/2024 • 50 minutes, 27 seconds
Spring Practice Period 2024: Dharma Talk with Alcio Braz
In this talk Sensei Alcio Braz draws from Vasubandu’s teachings, exploring the notion that recognizing and acknowledging the non-self aspects of our experiences—such as sensations, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness—can […]
5/19/2024 • 40 minutes, 6 seconds
Spring Practice Period 2024: Dharma Talk with Shinzan Palma
In this talk, Sensei Shinzan explores the teachings of Yogachara, a school of Mahayana Buddhism, emphasizing the union and practice that leads to understanding the self and transcending it towards […]
5/19/2024 • 35 minutes, 16 seconds
Spring Practice Period 2024: Opening Session
The program opexning warmly welcomes participants to Upaya’s spring practice period. Roshi Joan emphasizes the importance of this practice period, dedicated to exploring the teachings of Vasubandu, a fourth and […]
5/19/2024 • 40 minutes, 42 seconds
Buddhas and ancestors of old were as we
Sensei Monshin assures us that we are not so different from the Buddhas and ancestors that inspire us. ”The Buddha way has been kept alive in so many cultures, conditions, […]
5/13/2024 • 38 minutes, 31 seconds
Reflections from Japan
Fresh off a two-week pilgrimage to Japan, Roshi Joan and Upaya’s priests share reflections on their experience. For Roshi Joan, this pilgrimage was about connecting to the historical roots of […]
5/6/2024 • 51 minutes, 46 seconds
The Way Of Haiku: Waking Up Through Writing (9 of 9)
This is the closing session of this program with Roshi Joan leading it with comments from the participants. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by […]
5/6/2024 • 32 minutes, 49 seconds
The Way Of Haiku: Waking Up Through Writing (8 of 9)
In this impassioned talk, Jimmy Baca shares deeply personal experiences to illustrate the transformative power of writing and the significance of engaging with the present through art. He recounts his […]
5/5/2024 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 38 seconds
The Way Of Haiku: Waking Up Through Writing (7 of 9)
Pico Iyer discusses Haiku as a reflection of Japanese culture, highlighting its brevity, impermanence, and communal aspect. He notes Haiku’s integration into modern Japanese life, from education to public displays, […]
5/5/2024 • 49 minutes, 34 seconds
The Way Of Haiku: Waking Up Through Writing (6 of 9)
Jane Hirshfield reads a Haiku by Basho about a horse eating roadside rose mallow, highlighting its simplicity, descriptive nature, and the human perception it conveys. She elaborates on the poem’s […]
5/5/2024 • 49 minutes, 20 seconds
The Way Of Haiku: Waking Up Through Writing (5 of 9)
Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt’s discussion on Haiku delves into the depth and nuances of this poetic form, exploring its historical context, cultural significance, and the intricacies of its composition. […]
5/1/2024 • 50 minutes, 20 seconds
The Way Of Haiku: Waking Up Through Writing (4 of 9)
Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt’s discussion on Haiku delves into the depth and nuances of this poetic form, exploring its historical context, cultural significance, and the intricacies of its composition. […]
5/1/2024 • 53 minutes, 58 seconds
The Way Of Haiku: Waking Up Through Writing (3 of 9)
Beth Howard’s talk at a Haiku retreat delves into the transformative power of Haiku writing, both as a practice of mindfulness and as a tool for activism. She shares her […]
5/1/2024 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 3 seconds
The Way Of Haiku: Waking Up Through Writing (2 of 9)
Natalie Goldberg’s talk on Haiku delves into the life of the famous Haiku poet Matsuo Basho, particularly focusing on Basho’s years of suffering, meditation under the guidance of a Zen […]
5/1/2024 • 51 minutes, 16 seconds
The Way Of Haiku: Waking Up Through Writing (1 of 9)
In this opening session Roshi Joan outlines the schedule for the weekend. The faculty then discusses the transformative power of Haiku and shares personal experiences of haiku practice. The themes […]
5/1/2024 • 49 minutes, 52 seconds
Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World
Competitive ultra runner, author, and Zen practitioner Katie Arnold shares how she found Zen through running and, in turn, found running through Zen. Following a traumatic accident that left her […]
4/29/2024 • 38 minutes, 41 seconds
Darkness as Medicine (6 of 6)
This is part 2 of the Feb 18th session where Osho Zenju and participants engage in Q&A. In the third part of her series “Darkness is Medicine,” Zenju Earthlyn Manuel […]
4/23/2024 • 46 minutes, 16 seconds
Darkness as Medicine (5 of 6)
In the third part of her series “Darkness is Medicine,” Zenju Earthlyn Manuel delves into the ancestral perspectives on darkness, highlighting its importance and application in our lives, especially during […]
4/23/2024 • 58 minutes, 36 seconds
Darkness as Medicine (4 of 6)
This is part 2 of the Feb 11th session where Osho Zenju and participants engage in Q&A. In the second talk of the series “Darkness as Medicine,” Zenju Earthlyn Manuel […]
4/22/2024 • 40 minutes, 21 seconds
Darkness as Medicine (3 of 6)
In the second talk of the series “Darkness as Medicine,” Zenju Earthlyn Manuel begins with Prajnaparamita, an ancient deity representing the perfection of wisdom, often associated with the removal of […]
4/22/2024 • 59 minutes, 33 seconds
Darkness as Medicine (2 of 6)
This is part 2 of the Feb 4th session where Osho Zenju and participants engage in Q&A. “Darkness as Medicine” delves into the concept of societal and personal ailments as […]
4/22/2024 • 48 minutes, 27 seconds
Darkness as Medicine (1 of 6)
“Darkness as Medicine” delves into the concept of societal and personal ailments as opportunities for profound spiritual reflection and transformation. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel articulates a cycle where love can turn […]
4/22/2024 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 5 seconds
The Bodhisattva’s Activism (8 of 8)
This is the Q&A with the participants during the final session and the vow ceremony … This final session was a thoughtful discussion on the role and experiences of Bodhisattvas […]
4/21/2024 • 57 minutes, 59 seconds
The Bodhisattva’s Activism (7 of 8)
This final session was a thoughtful discussion on the role and experiences of Bodhisattvas in the modern world. Roshi Joan, Dekila Chungyalpa, and John Dunne emphasize the importance of community, compassion, and the interconnectivity […]
4/21/2024 • 1 hour, 21 minutes
The Bodhisattva’s Activism (6 of 8)
In this dynamic session Roshi Joan, Dekila Chungyalpa, and John Dunne dig into the ethical dilemmas, mindfulness practices, and nuances of engaged Buddhism. The group explores some difficult questions around the necessity of sometimes […]
4/21/2024 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 20 seconds
The Bodhisattva’s Activism (5 of 8)
In this panel discussion with John Dunne, Dekila Chungyalpa, and program participants the group reflects on various topics from the previous presentations. One main point of focus centers around “eco-anxiety” and how […]
4/20/2024 • 41 minutes, 31 seconds
The Bodhisattva’s Activism (4 of 8)
In this talk Dekila Chungyalpa discusses the relationship between humanity and Earth from the perspective of the Bodhisattva vows in Buddhism. The session begins with Dekila reflecting on her roots in Sikkim, […]
4/20/2024 • 58 minutes, 32 seconds
The Bodhisattva’s Activism (3 of 8)
This talk, delivered by John Dunne, discusses the principles and practices of the Bodhisattva path as outlined by Shanti Deva, a revered figure in Mahayana Buddhism. John delves into the philosophical […]
4/20/2024 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 32 seconds
The Bodhisattva’s Activism (2 of 8)
Roshi Joan begins this session with a simple display of how common and closely participants are connected to war (past and present) through familial relationships. She opens the room to […]
4/20/2024 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 25 seconds
The Bodhisattva’s Activism (1 of 8)
In this opening session for The Bodhisattva’s Activism Roshi Joan, John Dunne, and Dekila Chungyalpa plant seeds for the context and importance of this program. Roshi frames the theme of this program […]
4/19/2024 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 53 seconds
Four Flavors of Love: Upekkha Part 2 (6 of 6)
This is a continuation of final session which concludes the four part series Four Flavors of Love. Frank Ostaseski reminds us the brahmaviharas are considered powerful and beautiful aspects of […]
4/15/2024 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 31 seconds
Four Flavors of Love: Upekkha Part 1 (5 of 6)
This session concludes the four part series Four Flavors of Love. Frank Ostaseski reminds us the brahmaviharas are considered powerful and beautiful aspects of the human mind and heart that […]
4/15/2024 • 47 minutes, 7 seconds
Four Flavors of Love: Mudita (4 of 6)
In this session of the Four Flavors of Love participants focus on Mudita, the third Brahma vihara, which translates to appreciative joy or sympathetic joy. Mudita involves finding joy in […]
4/15/2024 • 1 hour, 32 minutes, 28 seconds
Four Flavors of Love: Karuna Part 2 (3 of 6)
This is a continuation of the second session of this series where Frank Ostaseski emphasizes the interconnectedness of the four brahmaviharas and how they support each other. This talk focus […]
4/15/2024 • 56 minutes, 33 seconds
Four Flavors of Love: Karuna Part 1 (2 of 6)
In the second session of this series Frank Ostaseski emphasizes the interconnectedness of the four brahmaviharas and how they support each other. This talk focus on Karuna (Compassion) and includes […]
4/15/2024 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 31 seconds
On Dharma and Ecology
Two days after the skies darkened from the solar eclipse, Sensei Wendy Johnson reminds us that “in dark times, the eye begins to see.” With her characteristic spirit and tenderness, […]
4/15/2024 • 42 minutes, 40 seconds
Four Flavors of Love: Metta (1 of 6)
This session from the Four Flavors of Love is the first session in the series covering the four brahmaviharas. Frank Ostaseski emphasizes the importance of the brahmaviharas and suggests the […]
4/15/2024 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 12 seconds
When the mind seeks nothing, this is called the Way
At the end of Upaya’s practice period studying Vasubandhu’s Yogacara teachings, Sensei Shinzan shares with us the story of Vasubandhu’s awakening. Vasubandhu, a diligent student attached to his ascetic form […]
4/8/2024 • 39 minutes, 44 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2023: Worldmaking/Sensemaking: Precariousness, Connectedness, Cooperation (9 of 9)
In this final session the Varela 2023 speakers share their reflections and thoughts on various topics discussed during the symposium. The conversation includes discussions about the relationship between knowledge and […]
4/6/2024 • 51 minutes, 37 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2023: Worldmaking/Sensemaking: Precariousness, Connectedness, Cooperation (8 of 9)
Andreas Roepstorff gives a charming talk on world and sense making, noting that precariousness, connectedness, and cooperation, concepts which help define sense making, are not esoteric but real and worth […]
4/6/2024 • 54 minutes, 46 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2023: Worldmaking/Sensemaking: Precariousness, Connectedness, Cooperation (7 of 9)
Adam Frank describes his divergence from a quest for an ultimate reality in physics, emphasizing the need to change existing scientific narratives. He discusses the uniqueness of life in contrast […]
4/6/2024 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 17 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2023: Worldmaking/Sensemaking: Precariousness, Connectedness, Cooperation (6 of 9)
Richard Davidson discusses the remarkable impact of short, targeted interventions on human well-being. From addressing loneliness to enhancing empathy, these brief practices can create lasting positive change in individuals and […]
4/5/2024 • 59 minutes, 2 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2023: Worldmaking/Sensemaking: Precariousness, Connectedness, Cooperation (5 of 9)
In this talk Molly Crockett explores the transformative power of story telling. She emphasizes how our stories create the boundaries for the kind of world we think is possible. Molly […]
4/4/2024 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 22 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2023: Worldmaking/Sensemaking: Precariousness, Connectedness, Cooperation (4 of 9)
Melissa Nelson guides us on a profound journey through indigenous wisdom and ancient narratives. This talk discusses the deep-rooted lessons of kinship, courage, and cooperation that guide us towards a […]
4/4/2024 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 16 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2023: Worldmaking/Sensemaking: Precariousness, Connectedness, Cooperation (3 of 9)
Laura Candiotto discusses the concept of responsibility in the context of participatory sense-making and ethical environmental concerns. She reflects on the experience of witnessing rivers drying up due to the […]
4/4/2024 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 17 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2023: Worldmaking/Sensemaking: Precariousness, Connectedness, Cooperation (2 of 9)
John Dunne kicks off the Varela talks by discussing the symposium’s theme of inaction and sense-making, drawing parallels to organisms making sense of their environments and constructing categories based on […]
4/3/2024 • 52 minutes, 38 seconds
Varela International Symposium 2023: Worldmaking/Sensemaking: Precariousness, Connectedness, Cooperation (1 of 9)
Roshi Joan and the other speakers frame the outline of the program, priming us for a captivating journey through the complexities of life, from indigenous epistemologies to the physics of […]
4/3/2024 • 46 minutes, 9 seconds
Inside Vasubandhu’s Yogacara
Ben Connelly takes us on a deep dive into the history and the heart of Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu and the influential Yogacara teachings. Ben describes how the Yogacara school sought […]
4/1/2024 • 45 minutes, 51 seconds
Gratefulness and Generosity 2023
Roshi and Frank delve into a deeply reflective exploration of gratitude, generosity, and the profound interconnectedness of life, framed within the context of personal experiences and insights. This program weaves […]
3/31/2024 • 1 hour, 29 minutes, 52 seconds
Being Awake
Sharon Salzberg reflects on her early life experiences of feeling fragmented and lacking a sense of coherence, values, and belonging. She discusses the concept of integration symbolized by the Buddha […]
3/31/2024 • 1 hour, 36 minutes, 46 seconds
Love and Death 2023: Opening the Great Gifts (8 of 8)
This is a continuation of the morning session (the final session of the program) during which Roshi, Frank, and the participants from the program open up and share their touching […]
3/28/2024 • 34 minutes
Love and Death 2023: Opening the Great Gifts (7 of 8)
In this final session of the program, Roshi, Frank, and the participants from the program open up and share their touching experiences, and final thoughts/ feelings from the sessions. In […]
3/28/2024 • 55 minutes, 32 seconds
Love and Death 2023: Opening the Great Gifts (6 of 8)
In this session Frank initiates a discussion about the participants’ reactions to a series of photographs depicting individuals in the process of dying. The participants express what attracts and repels […]
3/28/2024 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 59 seconds
Love and Death 2023: Opening the Great Gifts (5 of 8)
This is a continuation of the afternoon session during which Roshi guides a meditation practice focused on cultivating loving-kindness and compassion. The practice involves extending love and care to oneself […]
3/27/2024 • 52 minutes, 46 seconds
Love and Death 2023: Opening the Great Gifts (4 of 8)
Roshi guides a meditation practice focused on cultivating loving-kindness and compassion. The practice involves extending love and care to oneself and others, including those who may be difficult or trigger […]
3/27/2024 • 58 minutes, 32 seconds
Love and Death 2023: Opening the Great Gifts (3 of 8)
This is a continuation of the morning session during which Roshi and Frank reflect on personal experiences, teachings, and encounters that shaped their perspectives on life, love, and death. They […]
3/27/2024 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 10 seconds
Love and Death 2023: Opening the Great Gifts (2 of 8)
Roshi and Frank reflect on personal experiences, teachings, and encounters that shaped their perspectives on life, love, and death. They touch on themes of justice, social and environmental issues, personal […]
3/27/2024 • 54 minutes, 16 seconds
Love and Death 2023: Opening the Great Gifts (1 of 8)
This opening session of Love and Death touches on themes of love, death, and the profound impact isolation had on us during the pandemic. Roshi and Frank share personal experiences […]
3/27/2024 • 57 minutes, 28 seconds
The Wisdom of Yogacara
Sensei Kathie Fischer skillfully delves into the teachings of Vasubandhu and the influential Yogacara school of Buddhism. The Yogacara teachings “offer what we call an education, scaffolding, for understanding our […]
3/25/2024 • 43 minutes, 22 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2023: Aspects of Awakening (8 of 8)
Teachers and participants gather for the final session of the Dogen Seminar. Teachers share their final thoughts and reflections on the meaning of Dogen’s work and how it inspires and […]
3/25/2024 • 59 minutes, 56 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2023: Aspects of Awakening (7 of 8)
In this talk Roshi Norman Fischer and Sensei Kathie Fischer talk about Dogen’s Fascicle Continuous Practice. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here.
3/25/2024 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 40 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2023: Aspects of Awakening (6 of 8)
In this engaging discussion among Zen practitioners and teachers, profound insights into meditation, Zen philosophy, and the nature of reality are explored. The conversation is filled with humor, wisdom, and […]
3/25/2024 • 54 minutes, 53 seconds
The Power of Each Moment of Intentionality
In this talk, Sensei Monshin discusses the Yogacara or “Mind Only” teachings of 5th century Buddhist scholar Vasubandhu. Central to Vasubandhu’s teaching is the idea that we create separateness with […]
3/18/2024 • 44 minutes, 13 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2023: Aspects of Awakening (5 of 8)
In this talk Ruth Ozeki shares her reflections on gabio or painted rice cake fascicle. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here.
3/18/2024 • 59 minutes, 40 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2023: Aspects of Awakening (4 of 8)
In this talk Sensei Kaz discussed various topics, including the concept of perfection, the importance of practice and realization, the role of translation in conveying authenticity, and the personality of […]
3/18/2024 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 4 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2023: Aspects of Awakening (3 of 8)
In this talk Henry explores Dogen’s work as transcending duality, emphasizing inner peace through Zen practice which is a continuous engagement with the present moment, free from attachment to outcomes […]
3/18/2024 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 59 seconds
Dogen Seminar 2023: Aspects of Awakening (1 of 8)
It is difficult to summarize the life and work of Dogen, a renowned Zen master. This program opening frames Dogen’s life into four main life stages from his birth in […]
3/17/2024 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 11 seconds
Opening to Darkness in Unsettling Times: Celebrating Darkness (3 of 3)
In this discussion, Sensei Zenju introduces the theme of “celebrating darkness” and reflects on the audience’s initial reactions to the concept. She emphasize the interconnectedness of light and darkness and […]
3/16/2024 • 1 hour, 42 minutes, 1 second
Opening to Darkness in Unsettling Times: Messengers of Darkness (2 of 3)
In this talk Sensei Zenju discusses the theme of grief and its importance. Zenju shares her personal experience of losing a partner of 23 years and how it has impacted […]
3/16/2024 • 1 hour, 37 minutes, 7 seconds
Opening to Darkness in Unsettling Times (1 of 3)
Sensei Zenju delves into the profound concept of embracing darkness as an integral part of the human experience. Zenju shares a quote “Darkness is asking to be loved,” which explores […]
3/16/2024 • 1 hour, 34 minutes, 44 seconds
Being With Loss 2023
Join us in this heartwarming conversation with Frank Ostaseski and Tara Brach as they explore the depths of grief, loss, and the human experience. Through personal stories and profound insights, […]
3/16/2024 • 1 hour, 36 minutes, 2 seconds
Planting Life 2023: Sowing and Preserving Native Seeds of Antiquity (6 of 6)
In this heartfelt conversation, participants discuss the importance of sustainable harvesting, respecting indigenous wisdom, and the reciprocal relationship between humans and the earth. They share their experiences and gratitude for […]
3/12/2024 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 55 seconds
Planting Life 2023: Sowing and Preserving Native Seeds of Antiquity (5 of 6)
Alonso Mendez describes the fascinating world of the ancient Maya and their profound connection to corn. This talk explores the intricate relationship between the Maya civilization, their beliefs, and the […]
3/12/2024 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 21 seconds
Planting Life 2023: Sowing and Preserving Native Seeds of Antiquity (4 of 6)
Melissa Nelson speaks to the importance of seed preservation, land stewardship, and indigenous food revitalization. In this session, Melissa shares her multicultural heritage, blending Native American, Scandinavian, and settler backgrounds, […]
3/12/2024 • 58 minutes, 54 seconds
Planting Life 2023: Sowing and Preserving Native Seeds of Antiquity (3 of 6)
After a beautiful introduction from Sensei Wendy Johnson, Roxanne Swentzell speaks to her traditions and how those traditions carry the knowledge and wisdom of her people and ancestors. She encourages […]
3/12/2024 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 58 seconds
Planting Life 2023: Sowing and Preserving Native Seeds of Antiquity (2 of 6)
Porter begins by giving context to himself and his life in his native community, emphasizing the impact teachers of all kinds have had on his life, and on all our […]
3/12/2024 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 23 seconds
Coming Alongside
From his houseboat where he “rides the tides of life”, Frank Ostaseski bears his humanity and demonstrates how to tenderly and honestly meet another’s suffering. Frank offers no prescriptions. “I […]
3/11/2024 • 38 minutes, 31 seconds
Planting Life 2023: Sowing and Preserving Native Seeds of Antiquity (1 of 6)
In this opening talk, the Roshi Joan begins by introducing “Papna Kavanaugh,” a Sanskrit term for practice, and discuss how Buddhism emerged in an agricultural context and highlight the practice […]
3/11/2024 • 55 minutes, 15 seconds
Winter Practice Period 2024: Sesshin Day 6 Dharma Talk With Noah Kodo Roen, Matthew Kozan Palevsky, Wendy Johnson, & Joan Halifax
This last talk of the winter practice period encapsulates the final reflections centered around themes of presence, gratitude, interconnectedness, and the transformative power of practice. Sensei Wendy underscores the importance […]
3/10/2024 • 48 minutes, 34 seconds
Winter Practice Period 2024: Sesshin Day 5 Dharma Talk With Noah Kodo Roen
Sensei Kodo reflects on case 6 from the Blue Cliff Record, centered on the teaching “every day is a good day” by the Zen master Yun Men. The talk delves […]
3/10/2024 • 31 minutes, 59 seconds
Winter Practice Period 2024: Sesshin Day 3 Dharma Talk With Matthew Kozan Palevsky
Sensei Kozan discusses Case 27 from the Blue Cliff Record, where a monk asks Yun Men about the state when a tree withers and the leaves fall, to which Yun […]
3/9/2024 • 42 minutes, 57 seconds
Winter Practice Period 2024: Sesshin Day 2 Dharma Talk With Joan Halifax
Roshi Joan Halifax begins by reflecting on the profound teachings and personal qualities of Thich Nhat Hanh, affectionately known as Thay. After nearly two years after Thich Nhat Hanh’s passing, […]
3/9/2024 • 47 minutes, 51 seconds
Winter Practice Period 2024: Sesshin Day 1 Dharma Talk With Noah Kodo Roen, Matthew Kozan Palevsky, Wendy Johnson, & Joan Halifax
The teachers of this practice period each share their personal stories of finding Zen practice. Sensei Kodo shares his path to Zen practice, which began from a deep curiosity about […]
3/6/2024 • 47 minutes, 51 seconds
Frank Ostaseski & Joan Halifax: Practicing in the Raging Fire
“Things are heating up all over the world. . .we as Buddhas practice in the raging fire.” In this dharma talk, Upaya visiting teacher Sensei Cynthia Kear navigates practice in […]
3/4/2024 • 38 minutes, 57 seconds
Monshin Nannette Overley: Winter Practice Period 2024: Dharma Talk With Monshin Nannette Overley
Sensei Monshin discusses Case 40 from the Blue Cliff Record, which revolves around a conversation between Officer Lu Hsuan and Zen Master Nan Ch’uan. Lu Hsuan quotes another master who […]
3/1/2024 • 43 minutes, 52 seconds
Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Winter Practice Period 2024: Dharma Talk With Matthew Kozan Palevsky
Sensei Kozan’s talk explores Case 3 of the Blue Cliff Record, involving Great Master Ma’s response to a question about his health. Kozan begins by contextualizing the story with a […]
3/1/2024 • 37 minutes, 50 seconds
Noah Kodo Roen: Winter Practice Period 2024: Dharma Talk With Noah Kodo Roen
Sensei Kodo speaks on his koan adaptation “every atom samadhi,” inspired by Case 50 of the “Blue Cliff Record”. The discussion begins with an playful and encouraging inquiry into what constitutes […]
3/1/2024 • 41 minutes, 30 seconds
Joan Halifax: The Way Of Haiku: Winter at Our Back, Facing the Edge of Spring (8 of 8)
This is a continuation of the afternoon session where MH Rubin discusses their exploration of different philosophies to explain their photography and how they found resonance in the concept of […]
2/29/2024 • 40 minutes, 58 seconds
Joan Halifax: The Way Of Haiku: Winter at Our Back, Facing the Edge of Spring (7 of 8)
MH Rubin was exposed to many types of photographs through their parents’ extensive collection and developed their own photography style influenced by the eclectic mix of images he grew up […]
2/29/2024 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 42 seconds
Joan Halifax: The Way Of Haiku: Winter at Our Back, Facing the Edge of Spring (6 of 8)
This is a continuation of the morning session where the program teachers, and guest speaker Billy Collins explore various aspects of Haiku, highlighting elements such as simplicity, misperception, and the […]
2/29/2024 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 9 seconds
Joan Halifax: The Way Of Haiku: Winter at Our Back, Facing the Edge of Spring (5 of 8)
The program teachers, and guest speaker Billy Collins explore various aspects of Haiku, highlighting elements such as simplicity, misperception, and the intersection of perceptions. They share examples of Haiku poems […]
2/29/2024 • 59 minutes, 21 seconds
Joan Halifax: The Way Of Haiku: Winter at Our Back, Facing the Edge of Spring (4 of 8)
This is a continuation of the afternoon session where Guest speaker Lorraine Padden reflects on her personal journey with Haiku and acknowledges their position (and all of ours) as a […]
2/29/2024 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 33 seconds
Joan Halifax: The Way Of Haiku: Winter at Our Back, Facing the Edge of Spring (3 of 8)
Guest speaker Lorraine Padden reflects on her personal journey with Haiku and acknowledges their position (and all of ours) as a student of the art form. This session puts emphasis […]
2/29/2024 • 42 minutes, 20 seconds
Joan Halifax: The Way Of Haiku: Winter at Our Back, Facing the Edge of Spring (2 of 8)
This episode is a continuation of the morning session that set the foundation for exploring haiku, both classic and contemporary expressions, including free haiku and 5-7-5 structure. Roshi Joan, Natalie […]
2/28/2024 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 46 seconds
Joan Halifax: The Way Of Haiku: Winter at Our Back, Facing the Edge of Spring (1 of 8)
This session set the foundation for exploring haiku, both classic and contemporary expressions, including free haiku and 5-7-5 structure. Roshi Joan, Natalie Goldberg, and Sensei Kaz share their insights and […]
2/28/2024 • 54 minutes, 25 seconds
Christiana Figueres & Joan Halifax: A Special Invitation: Beloved Community And Good Trouble For The Climate And Our World (Part 2 of 2)
In the 2nd half of this program (discourse between Christiana and Roshi on climate change) Roshi Joan facilitates some beautiful dialogue from participants who share vulnerable truths about their hope […]
2/27/2024 • 1 hour, 29 minutes, 19 seconds
Christiana Figueres & Joan Halifax: A Special Invitation: Beloved Community And Good Trouble For The Climate And Our World (Part 1 of 2)
In this very deep discourse between Christiana Figueres, Roshi Joan and the participants of this program we explore the complexity of human systems, social action, and the human experience. Christiana opens with her […]
2/27/2024 • 53 minutes, 5 seconds
Frank Ostaseski & Joan Halifax: Being Alive
Frank and Roshi discuss the profound experience of being seen and truly felt. Through personal anecdotes and poetic expressions, they explore the transformative power of presence and being real. Explore […]
2/26/2024 • 1 hour, 32 minutes, 20 seconds
Norman Fischer: How the World is Made 2023 (Part 4 of 4)
In the concluding part of the afternoon session & the series, How The World Is Made, Roshi Norman continues on the importance of thought and language in the creation of […]
2/26/2024 • 37 minutes, 46 seconds
Norman Fischer: How the World is Made 2023 (Part 3 of 4)
In this second half of the series (1st part of the afternoon session) How The World Is Made, Roshi Norman continues on the importance of thought and language in the […]
2/26/2024 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 27 seconds
Norman Fischer: How the World is Made 2023 (Part 2 of 4)
This talk is a continuation of the morning session : an opportunity to expand your perspective, challenge your assumptions, and contemplate the intimate connection between your mind and the world. […]
2/25/2024 • 50 minutes
Norman Fischer: How the World is Made 2023 (Part 1 of 4)
This talk is an opportunity to expand your perspective, challenge your assumptions, and contemplate the intimate connection between your mind and the world. Join Norman Fischer Roshi as he navigates […]
2/25/2024 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 4 seconds
Rohatsu 2023: Sesshin Day 6 Dharma Talk With Kaz Tanahashi & Enkyo O’Hara & Joan Halifax
In this final talk of Upaya Zen Center’s 2023 Rohatsu sesshin, Sensei Kaz opens with a reflection from a time he worked with clinicians to support their happiness and well […]
2/23/2024 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 4 seconds
Rohatsu 2023: Sesshin Day 3 Dharma Talk With Kaz Tanahashi & Matthew Kozan Palevsky
In this dharma talk on day 3 of Rohatsu 2023 Sesshin Sensei Kaz covers mindfulness, transformation, and interconnectedness and Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment, Mahayana Buddhism’s rise, and Shunyata. He emphasizes continuous […]
2/21/2024 • 46 minutes, 25 seconds
Rohatsu 2023: Sesshin Day 2 Dharma Talk With Kaz Tanahashi & Enkyo O’Hara
In this Dharma talk Sensei Kaz speaks to the reality of suffering in the world, in himself, his friends, family, society and environment. Kaz reminds us the reason we sit […]
2/20/2024 • 38 minutes, 35 seconds
Rohatsu 2023: Sesshin Day 4 Dharma Talk With Kaz Tanahashi & Enkyo O’Hara
In this Talk Sensei Kaz reads a piece of his work which addresses the misery of war, the power of praying for one’s enemies, and the vision of a world […]
2/20/2024 • 37 minutes, 20 seconds
Shinzan Palma: Rohatsu 2023: Sesshin Day 1 Dharma Talk With Kaz Tanahashi & Joan Halifax
In this day one Rohatsu dharma talk, Sensei Kaz and Roshi Joan reflect on the breakthrough enlightenment of Buddha, emphasizing the relevance of Buddha’s message in addressing contemporary sufferings. They […]
2/20/2024 • 32 minutes, 15 seconds
Monshin Nannette Overley: Expression!
How does authentic expression look? And what is the significance of authentic expression in our lives? These are the questions Sensei Monshin navigates in this heartfelt dharma talk. The silence […]
2/19/2024 • 40 minutes, 13 seconds
Fall Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 6 Dharma Talk With Kathie Fischer & Matthew Kozan Palevsky
This dharma talk by Sensei Kathie and Sensei Kozan concludes the fall practice period sesshin. The teachers express gratitude for the collective practice during the sesshin and reflect on what […]
2/19/2024 • 47 minutes, 35 seconds
Fall Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 5 Dharma Talk With Monshin Nannette Overley & Shinzan Palma
In this dharma talk, Sensei Monshin and Sensei Shinzan explore the theme of trust. Monshin reflects on the nature of trust, comparing it to the unhesitant movement of fish swimming […]
2/19/2024 • 55 minutes, 44 seconds
Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Fall Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 3 Dharma Talk With Matthew Kozan Palevsky
In this Sesshin talk Sensei Kozan emphasizes the importance of mindfulness in daily activities, discussing the challenges of dealing with pain during meditation, a common experience in sesshin. Kozan highlights […]
2/18/2024 • 42 minutes, 17 seconds
Monshin Nannette Overley: Fall Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 2 Dharma Talk With Monshin Nannette Overley
In this talk Sensei Monshin continues on the theme of Shitou’s “Song of the Grass Roof Hermitage,” highlighting the commitment to practice and the value of being present with whatever […]
2/17/2024 • 34 minutes, 23 seconds
Shinzan Palma: Fall Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 1 Dharma Talk With Shinzan Palma
In this Dharma talk Sensei Shinzan reflects on the first day of a sesshin. This talk explores a poem by Shitou, highlighting the simplicity of life and the need to […]
2/17/2024 • 44 minutes, 42 seconds
Al Kaszniak: Fall Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Al Kaszniak
Sensei Al discusses the essence of Zen practice as ‘unsurpassable simplicity’. Emphasizing the importance of letting go of fixed interpretations, the speaker explores Shitou’s poem, “Song of the Grass Roof […]
2/16/2024 • 33 minutes, 52 seconds
Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Fall Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Matthew Kozan Palevsky
In this Dharma talk, Sensei Kozan reflects on his Zen practice, particularly focusing on the teachings of the Sandokai, a poem by Shitou Xiqian. Kozan discusses metaphors for understanding the […]
2/16/2024 • 39 minutes, 30 seconds
Shinzan Palma: Fall Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Shinzan Palma
In this Dharma talk, Sensei Shinzan discusses the practice periods, focusing on the teachings of Zen Master Shitou and the exploration of the Sandokai poem. The talk delves into the […]
2/16/2024 • 37 minutes, 21 seconds
Shinzan Palma: Spring Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 6
These closing talks remind us of the importance of practice, of mindfulness, letting go of achievements, and finding harmony within oneself. The speakers reflect on the value of Zen practice […]
2/14/2024 • 41 minutes, 59 seconds
Al Kaszniak: Spring Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 5 Dharma Talk With Al Kaszniak
On the fifth day of sesshin, Sensei Al focuses on layman Pang’s insights. He explores the idea of “all inclusive practice,” emphasizing embracing every moment with mindfulness. The speaker delves […]
2/14/2024 • 32 minutes, 9 seconds
Amie Diller: Spring Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 4 Dharma Talk With Amie Diller
Sensei Amie delves into themes of mindfulness, meditation, and embracing life’s ordinary activities with a harmonious attitude. They reflect on the cyclical nature of experience, comparing it to the changing […]
2/14/2024 • 51 minutes, 1 second
Monshin Nannette Overley: Spring Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 2 Dharma Talk With Monshin Nannette Overley
In this Dharma talk, Sensei Monshin discusses Layman Pang’s teachings about the relative and the absolute. These teachings explore the dual nature of reality—distinct and unified. The speaker emphasizes embodying […]
2/13/2024 • 45 minutes, 40 seconds
Shinzan Palma: Spring Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 1 Dharma Talk With Shinzan Palma
In this Dharma talk, Sensei Shinzan introduces the concept of the layman Pang’s dialogues sharing several interactions as teachings for Sesshin. The first dialogue emphasizes the question, “What are you […]
2/13/2024 • 44 minutes, 59 seconds
Noah Kodo Roen & Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Beginner’s Mind & The Heart of Zen Practice
For the beginning of a young adult sesshin, Sensei Kodo and Sensei Kozan speak on beginner’s mind and maintaining freshness in our practice. Sensei Kodo explores the meaning of “pure […]
2/12/2024 • 53 minutes, 20 seconds
Noah Kodo Roen: Spring Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Noah Kodo Roen
Sensei Kodo reflects on Ling Zhao, discussing the name’s meaning and sharing a childhood anecdote related to it. Kodo delve into two stories involving Ling Zhao: one where they help […]
2/12/2024 • 42 minutes, 41 seconds
Reigetsu Susan Moon: Spring Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Reigetsu Susan Moon
Susan Moon highlights the familiarity and relatability of the characters in the Pang family stories, emphasizing their authenticity and interactions. The talk delves into the transmission of these teachings through […]
2/12/2024 • 41 minutes, 16 seconds
Shinzan Palma: Spring Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Shinzan Palma
Sensei Shinzan explores the challenges and rewards of Zen practice within a practice period. Shinzan address the resistance and difficulties that often emerge as the initial excitement wanes, emphasizing the […]
2/11/2024 • 41 minutes, 42 seconds
Shinzan Palma: Spring Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Korin Charlie Pokorny
In this dharma talk Sensei Korin reflects on acknowledging suffering and compassionate responses within the context of Zen practice. He begins by emphasizing the importance of recognizing the extensive suffering […]
2/11/2024 • 49 minutes, 14 seconds
Enkyo O'Hara: Spring Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Enkyo O’Hara
In this dharma talk, Enkyo Roshi delves into the life of Layman Pang, a symbol of Zen practice for contemporary times. She discuss how the prevailing interest in lay-centered spiritual […]
2/11/2024 • 32 minutes, 48 seconds
Kathie Fischer: Spring Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Kathie Fischer
In this Dharma talk Sensei Kathie explores the significance of the P’ang family in Zen history. The P’ang family, including Layman P’ang, his wife, and daughter, were remarkable lay practitioners […]
2/11/2024 • 43 minutes, 16 seconds
Winter Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 6
Roshi Joan, Wendy Johnson, Sensei Kozan, and Sensei Noah Kodo offer their final words of sesshin. Seeing these four teachers together beautifully displays the harmony of difference, each of them sharing […]
2/9/2024 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 41 seconds
Zenshin Florence Caplow: Winter Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 5 Dharma Talk With Zenshin Florence Caplow
Just as you have been sitting through these days of zazen, that is how you can listen to this talk suggests Sensei Zenshin. Through her selected koan, Zenshin points to […]
2/8/2024 • 44 minutes, 10 seconds
Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Winter Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 3 Dharma Talk With Matthew Kozan Palevsky
In this talk Sensei Kozan taps into the benefit of curiosity as a way to find our own path. When our human experiences catch up to us, and our teacher is […]
2/8/2024 • 44 minutes, 44 seconds
Noah Kodo Roen: Winter Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 2 Dharma Talk With Noah Kodo Roen
Sensei Kodo Noah offers some interesting perspectives and ideas around practice and realization. This includes more than the amusing interlude of AI-generated black badgers and white bulls. Noah brings into […]
2/8/2024 • 37 minutes, 54 seconds
Joan Halifax: Winter Practice Period 2023: Sesshin Day 1 Dharma Talk With Joan Halifax
Here in this sitting practice, Roshi Joan reminds us we are sitting to face the violence, the racism, and the greed which is destroying our planet. Roshi continues, by pointing […]
2/8/2024 • 51 minutes, 34 seconds
Enkyo O'Hara: Winter Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Enkyo O’Hara
Roshi Enkyo sets the tone of her talk with gratitude, and the simple acknowledgment of our global situation. Essentially, we find and experience suffering in our lives, and in the world. […]
2/6/2024 • 34 minutes, 15 seconds
Kathie Fischer: Winter Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Kathie Fischer
“Where are you coming from?” How do you answer? What is important to share, what is important to acknowledge? Sensei Kathie Fischer brings us along on a winding journey through related […]
2/6/2024 • 38 minutes, 21 seconds
Norman Fischer: Winter Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Norman Fischer
When things come to an end, how do we understand ourselves? Norman Fischer Roshi explores how we understand stories which don’t make obvious sense. In case 30, does the world […]
2/6/2024 • 42 minutes, 39 seconds
Natalie Goldberg: Gutei’s One Finger
Dear Upaya friend and teacher Natalie Goldberg describes a koan that chased her up a mountain. Over time she relaxed and befriended the koan and she implores us to do […]
2/5/2024 • 36 minutes, 57 seconds
Korin Charlie Pokorny: Winter Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk With Korin Charlie Pokorny
Sensei Korin breaks down with beautiful care the deep meaning of the Koan in case 22. When a monk comes to the threshold of a zendo and inquires if it […]
2/4/2024 • 40 minutes, 25 seconds
Natalie Goldberg: Winter Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk with Natalie Goldberg
Natalie Goldberg weaves together an engaging path of practice, and musings. To the title of “The Book of Serenity” she remarks, “As a writer… why didn’t I think of that?”. […]
2/4/2024 • 53 minutes, 18 seconds
Wendy Johnson: Winter Practice Period 2023: Dharma Talk with Wendy Johnson
Wendy Johnson reminds us everything maters, every movement, word, action matters. How do we profoundly enter into our lives to be utterly present. Wendy implores us to drop down in whatever way […]
Koans are intimate knowledge, teaches Sensei Wendy Johnson, and to be effective they “must and only live in reality through direct experience.” Here, Sensei Wendy shares with us her intimate knowledge […]
1/29/2024 • 44 minutes, 20 seconds
Buddhist Visions of Leadership 2022 (Part 6 of 6)
In Parts 5 & 6 of this multipart series, John Dunne discusses some more of Nagarjuna’s policies around leadership and considers how they can create personal and world transformation. Roshi […]
1/27/2024 • 42 minutes, 23 seconds
Buddhist Visions of Leadership 2022 (Part 5 of 6)
In Parts 5 & 6 of this multipart series, John Dunne discusses some more of Nagarjuna’s policies around leadership and considers how they can create personal and world transformation. Roshi […]
1/27/2024 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 53 seconds
Buddhist Visions of Leadership 2022 (Part 3A of 6)
In Parts 3 & 3A of this 6 part series, Roshi Joan Halifax considers the qualities of a leader as modeled and taught by the Buddha. Roshi speaks of the […]
1/27/2024 • 43 minutes, 49 seconds
Kaz Tanahashi & Joan Halifax: Rohatsu: Green Dharma (Part 6 of 6)
Everything can become the path. The teachers of this Rohatsu – Senseis Kaz, Shinzan, Kozan, & Kodo and Roshi Joan – offer their closing statements, reminding us of we can […]
1/25/2024 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 38 seconds
Kaz Tanahashi & Joan Halifax: Rohatsu: Green Dharma (Part 5 of 6)
Sensei Kaz and Roshi Joan speak beautifully about the path of service and its deep and simple relationship to practice and personal suffering. Roshi says it is only in our honest reflection […]
1/24/2024 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 24 seconds
Kaz Tanahashi & Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Rohatsu: Green Dharma (Part 4 of 6)
Sensei Kaz and Sensei Kodo reflect on the common question of how do spiritual and esoteric teachings of buddhism relate to the serious social and global issues, aswering the question of how […]
1/23/2024 • 57 minutes, 16 seconds
Kaz Tanahashi & Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Rohatsu: Green Dharma (Part 3 of 6)
Sensei Kozan, and Sensei Kaz remind us “without samsara there would be no practice”. When we consider this reminder along side Dogen’s quote “Between aspiration, practice, enlightenment, and nirvana, there is […]
1/23/2024 • 59 minutes, 24 seconds
Kaz Tanahashi & Shinzan Palma: Rohatsu: Green Dharma (Part 2 of 6)
On day two of 2022 Rohatsu sesshin, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi talks about the practice of meditation and working meditation, highlighting the importance of unity and connection. He touches on the […]
1/23/2024 • 55 minutes, 57 seconds
Joan Halifax: The Puzzle of the Golden Carp
In this dharma talk, Roshi Joan Halifax discusses the heart of our practice, which is to develop the ability to sit in a sea of fire, to be with the […]
1/22/2024 • 46 minutes, 37 seconds
Zazenkai: Sun Face Buddha Moon Face Buddha
In this talk, Sensei Kozan explores the third case in The Blue Cliff Record, entitled Master Ma Is Unwell. Through the method of allegory, he invites us to consider changing […]
1/19/2024 • 37 minutes, 53 seconds
Wendy Johnson: The Whole Earth Is Medicine
It is impossible to summarize a dharma talk so undomesticated and wild as the one delivered here by Zen teacher and master gardener Sensei Wendy Johnson. With passion and grit, […]
1/15/2024 • 44 minutes, 54 seconds
What Do You Preserve?
In the opening dharma talk of Upaya’s Winter Ango, Sensei Matthew Kozan Palevsky delves into Case 2 from the Blue Cliff Record, a koan titled “The Ultimate Path is Without […]
1/8/2024 • 42 minutes, 49 seconds
Natalie Goldberg: Petites madeleines as dharma
A simple cake, a petite madeleine, expounded the dharma to French writer Marcel Proust. Some years later, Proust’s writings expounded the dharma to our beloved Natalie Goldberg who now expounds […]
1/1/2024 • 41 minutes, 8 seconds
Noah Kodo Roen & Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Turning Toward the Light
As we approach winter solstice, the darkest night of the year, Sensei Kodo and Sensei Kozan explore the meaning of light in the dharma through Dogen’s fascicle “Radiant Light”. As […]
12/25/2023 • 45 minutes, 42 seconds
Brooke Kaishin Barss: Toward an Enlightened Life
In this uplifting talk, Hoshi Brooke Kaishin Barss beautifully distills Zen practice and encourages us to lean towards enlightenment. “We are Buddhas already […] having a breakthrough is not the […]
In this illuminating dharma talk given on day four of Rohatsu sesshin, 2023, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi and Sensei Shinzan Palma speak to the importance of recognizing and embracing our inner […]
12/11/2023 • 52 minutes, 45 seconds
Joan Halifax: Seeing Without a Seer…Hearing Without a Hearer
On the eve of Rohatsu, the celebration of the Buddha’s awakening, Roshi Joan Halifax considers the theme of “breakthrough”. How do we breakthrough our own limiting beliefs and behaviors to […]
12/4/2023 • 46 minutes, 8 seconds
Christiana Figueres: What does the climate crisis teach us?
“Climate and biodiversity loss could be nature’s invitation to humanity to either fish or cut bait.” Here, Upaya friend and architect of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, Christiana Figueres delivers […]
11/27/2023 • 44 minutes, 17 seconds
Wendy Dainin Lau, MD: Taming this wild horse: listen, study, practice
As a doctor, Wendy Dainin Lau realized her medical practice was missing something when she began to experience “compassion fatigue”. To deepen her practice in compassion, she ordained as a […]
11/20/2023 • 41 minutes, 55 seconds
Hozan Alan Senauke: The Bodhisattva’s Four Embracing Ways
In a world at war, how do we begin the difficult work of healing? What is the antidote to hate, conflict, and destruction? Sensei Hozan Alan Senauke discusses the importance […]
11/13/2023 • 44 minutes, 51 seconds
Cyndi Lee: Lifting the Gaze
Yoga and meditation teacher Cyndi Lee discusses the benefits and limitations of “self-care” culture. She warns against materialistic self-care “bandaids” that enhance our craving for pleasure and are used to […]
11/6/2023 • 38 minutes, 40 seconds
Kathie Fischer: When a fish enters the flowing stream, everything is provided
What does the evolution of grasses, the schooling behavior of fish, and our dharma practice have in common? Former school teacher and Zen priest Sensei Kathie Fischer beautifully weaves together […]
10/30/2023 • 45 minutes, 30 seconds
Monshin Nannette Overley: The Spiritual Source Shines Clearly in the Light
Sensei Monshin Nannette Overley guides us straight to our hearts in her teaching on The Sandokai, our Zen ancestor Shitou’s poem on the harmony of oneness and multiplicity. How do […]
10/23/2023 • 42 minutes, 58 seconds
Kathie Fischer: Warm Hand to Warm Hand
In this warm talk, Sensei Kathie Fischer explores the classic Zen poem The Sandokai, translated at Upaya as “The Identity of Relative and Absolute”. Weaving through the history of Buddhist […]
10/16/2023 • 38 minutes, 15 seconds
One Body Buddha
What and where is our body? This is the question Sensei Matthew Kozan Palevsky asks us to deeply consider in this probing dharma talk. Is our body, as we commonly experience it, […]
10/9/2023 • 47 minutes, 42 seconds
Rhonda V. Magee: Mindfulness and the Possibility of Living Well Together in Hard Times
How do we integrate our meditation practice and our collective work for social and racial justice? Mindfulness teacher and law professor Rhonda Magee explores this question in a personal and […]
10/2/2023 • 43 minutes, 46 seconds
Rebecca Solnit: Hope Is a Discipline – On Being Present and Committing to the Future
In her talk, Rebecca Solnit explores the concept of hope and activism in the face of uncertainty, particularly relating to climate change. She discusses how even so-called “failed” actions can […]
9/25/2023 • 49 minutes, 31 seconds
Ben Connelly: Imagination, Interdependence, and Liberation Practicing Yogacara Buddhism with Vasubandhu’s Three Natures
“Good news! Everything is of complete, realized nature.” In this energized dharma talk, author and teacher Ben Connelly beautifully articulates Vasubandhu’s teachings of “The Three Natures” – that all things […]
9/18/2023 • 40 minutes, 25 seconds
Alcio Braz: Making Peace with our Ancestors
In this compassionate talk, Sensei Alcio Braz calls in his ancestors to sit with him and invites us to call in ours, too. This explicit invitation runs counter to the […]
9/11/2023 • 49 minutes, 47 seconds
Natalie Goldberg: The Mind of Writing
“There’s an integrity to mind if you watch it.” In this fresh talk, Natalie Goldberg shares about giving space to her grief, about her high school friend Phyllis, about time, […]
9/4/2023 • 57 minutes, 10 seconds
Frank Ostaseski: Surrendering to Death
“Stay close and do nothing.” Frank Ostaseski shares from his deep personal experience walking along so many people in the dying process about what it means to surrender to death. […]
8/28/2023 • 48 minutes, 25 seconds
Zenshin Florence Caplow: She Who Hears the Cries of the World, Stories of Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
Rev. Zenshin Florence Caplow shares intimate accounts and stories of Kannon or Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion. She shares the story of Julie Pryde, the public health administrator of her […]
8/21/2023 • 37 minutes, 51 seconds
Jonathan S. Watts: Using the Four Noble Truths as a Framework for Buddhist Chaplaincy in Japan
Jonathan Watts shares a framework of an iceberg, in which direct violence (the 1st Noble Truth), on the tip of the iceberg, is masked by structural and cultural violence (the […]
8/14/2023 • 44 minutes, 30 seconds
Monshin Nannette Overley: It’s all alive; It’s all intelligent; It’s all connected; It’s all YOU
In this heartfelt talk, Sensei Monshin Nannette Overley examines the Buddha’s foundational teaching of dependent co-arising in light of our deep responsibility towards our beautiful and fragile earth, and our […]
8/7/2023 • 39 minutes, 45 seconds
Henry Shukman: The Cart Track: what an obscure early Chan document can teach us about the path of practice
In this delightfully human talk, Henry Shukman allows us to see how his heart was opened by zen practice. He reflects on the Sattipatthana Sutta and Soko Morinaga’s book “An […]
7/31/2023 • 41 minutes, 49 seconds
Peter Levitt: Yin Mountain: The Immortal Poetry of Three Daoist Women
Peter Levitt loves what he does. That is so clear from the way he shares the stories and works of Li Ye, Xue Tao, and Yu Xuanji, three Daoist women […]
7/24/2023 • 46 minutes, 16 seconds
Edoardo (Shoryu) Eusepi: Taking Time to Transition
Edoardo Eusepi, who is affectionately known around Upaya by his dharma name “Shoryu,” reflects on his transition back into the “marketplace” after four years of residency at Upaya. He reminds […]
7/17/2023 • 37 minutes, 51 seconds
Hozan Alan Senauke: Turning Words
“Can we care? Can we find the joy in that?” Sensei Alan Senauke shares words from teachers throughout his life that turned, or awakened, him. These teachers include his father, […]
7/10/2023 • 47 minutes, 3 seconds
Monshin Nannette Overley: Agency, Karma, and the Four Noble Truths
In this honest and courageous talk, Sensei Monshin Nannette Overley investigates the relationship between recalling our intention and where we delegate our attention, especially in lay practice. How do we […]
7/3/2023 • 41 minutes, 57 seconds
Stepping into the Turbulence: Our Walk with Fear
On the summer solstice, James Fushin Bristol encourages us to shine light on those fears we carry everyday, to see what is underneath them, to see what comes alongside them. […]
6/26/2023 • 37 minutes, 58 seconds
Beginner’s Mind; Continuous Practice
On the first day of the Young Adult sesshin at Upaya, Sensei Matthew Kozan Palevsky explores each of the Four Great Bodhisattva vows. He helps us understand what is meant […]
6/19/2023 • 43 minutes, 36 seconds
Tim Burkett: Enlightenment is an Accident
“Looking. Seeing. Peace.” Tim Burkett discusses the contents of his new book Enlightenment is an Accident in this richly informative and encouraging talk. Tim walks us through the three phases […]
6/12/2023 • 43 minutes, 58 seconds
Keido Troy Fernandez: How Will You Plant Your Life: What Could it Mean?
“And when you go to harvest all that surely will grow, give it away.” Hoshi Keido Troy Fernandez weaves together past and present, questions and stories, dialogue and teachings as […]
6/5/2023 • 46 minutes, 49 seconds
Something’s Happening Here and We Don’t Know What It Is
In light of the Verala Symposium and his travels, Sensei Matthew Kozan Palevsky is interested in study and knowledge and different ways of knowing. He considers the pitfalls of knowing—how […]
5/29/2023 • 47 minutes, 29 seconds
Rev. Issho Fujita: Zazen as a Way of Harmonizing the Self
In this photo-worthy and delightfully diagram-aided talk, Rev. Issho Fujita shares his personal story and perspective on zen practice, with an emphasis on the somatic. Issho talks about how zazen […]
5/22/2023 • 45 minutes, 49 seconds
Bhante Sanathavihari: On the Wings of Awakening
Bhante Sanathavihari enthusiastically and joyfully shares the Ummaggasutta as a way of considering that the Buddhist metaphor of a bird, with one wing of compassion and one wing of wisdom, […]
5/15/2023 • 47 minutes, 4 seconds
Frank Ostaseski: Grief – A Path to Wholeness
How do we move towards the light of absolute truth while accepting and honoring our very human nature?” In this vulnerable, raw talk, Frank Ostaseski shares his heart with us […]
5/8/2023 • 49 minutes, 56 seconds
Singing the River’s Song Back to the River Part 2
“The practice was literally saving my life.” In Part 2 of her way seeking mind talk, Sensei Amie Diller recounts heart-filled stories about her time as a resident at Tassajara […]
5/1/2023 • 45 minutes, 46 seconds
Kathie Fischer: Reflecting on the Way of Ling Zhao and her Mother
In this timely dharma talk in our final days of Spring Sesshin, Sensei Kathie Fischer shares teachings from three wise women who offer a powerful dharmic lesson when faced with […]
4/24/2023 • 36 minutes, 8 seconds
Zenshin Florence Caplow: The Joys and Pitfalls of Helping: Lingzhao & Layman P’ang
Zenshin Florence Caplow’s dharma talk discusses Lingzhao’s helping, a koan from The Sayings of Layman P’ang which has served as our source text for the Spring Practice Period. In this […]
4/17/2023 • 43 minutes, 4 seconds
Ordinary Mind: Layman Pang and Maurine Stuart, Roshi
In this improvisational jazz duet-style dharma talk, Senseis Amie Diller and Kathie Fischer explore the resonance between one of their shared teachers Maurine Stuart, Roshi, and the 7th Century celebrated […]
4/10/2023 • 45 minutes, 36 seconds
Monshin Nannette Overley: All Moments Are Equally Precious
In this honest and courageous talk, Sensei Monshin Nannette Overley investigates the relationship between recalling our intention and where we delegate our attention, especially in lay practice. How do we […]
4/3/2023 • 43 minutes, 16 seconds
HAIKU: The Leap
“Haiku is about paying attention.” Natalie Goldberg offers a deep dive into the work of Tim Roberts who found haiku after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s at 49. His haiku in […]
3/27/2023 • 33 minutes, 41 seconds
Singing the River’s Song Back to the River
In this vulnerable and alive (and hopefully only part one of a multi-part series) Way-Seeking Mind talk, Sensei Amie Diller takes us to the LA parking lot where she had […]
3/20/2023 • 43 minutes, 15 seconds
Engaged Attention: Enhancing Daily Life
A talk that came to her in the middle of several nights, Dr. Laurie Leitch offers us a “bedtime story” style dharma talk. She shares five stories about attention ranging […]
3/13/2023 • 37 minutes, 33 seconds
Begin Again: Precepts for Everyday Life
“How is practicing the precepts like waking up?” In this practical and story-flush talk, on the night of the first of two jukai ceremonies in 2023, Sensei Mathew Kozan Palevsky […]
3/6/2023 • 53 minutes, 52 seconds
Monshin Nannette Overley: I Offer You This Bodhi Mind
“Once bodhichitta is awakened in us, it is a treasure that continues to open.” In this beautiful exploration, Monshin Nannette Overley characterizes bodhichitta as “the first impulse or intention towards […]
2/27/2023 • 44 minutes, 47 seconds
Zenshin Florence Caplow: On Courage and Practice
“It takes so much courage to meet our suffering, to meet our life, raw and unadorned.” In this captivating talk, Zenshin Florence Caplow draws on stories and teachings from encounters […]
2/20/2023 • 38 minutes, 36 seconds
Valerie Brown: The Heart of Sangha: Thich Nhat Hanh’s Teachings on Building Beloved Community
“We teach what we need to learn the most.” In this humble, participatory, and open-hearted talk, Valerie Brown explores four of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on building beloved community: volition, […]
2/13/2023 • 45 minutes, 34 seconds
Dancing with Mara: Revisiting the Life of Buddha
In this heartfelt talk, Sensei Amie Diller reminds us of the story of Buddha and particularly of Buddha’s relationship with Mara. Even after his enlightenment, Siddhartha was still visited by […]
2/6/2023 • 41 minutes
Wendy Johnson: Grass Boundless: Inside the Gate, Outside the Gate
On the fourth night of Winter Practice Period sesshin, Sensei Wendy Johnson explores Case 89 of The Book of Serenity, “Dongshan’s “Place of No Grass.””
1/30/2023 • 43 minutes, 26 seconds
Stepping Off A 100 Foot Pole: Case 79 The Book of Serenity
“When we all have enough, we can fully let go. When we fully let go, we know what it is to have enough.” In this joyful and moving talk, Sensei […]
1/23/2023 • 46 minutes, 58 seconds
The One Who Is Not Trifling
With a combination of playfulness and humility, Sensei Noah Kodo Roen presents Case 21 of Book of Serenity, “Yunyan Sweeps the Ground,” and explores the dichotomy of mindfulness and busyness, […]
1/16/2023 • 37 minutes, 5 seconds
On Joy
“What are you doing?” a mom asked her young son who she found sitting cross legged, smiling, with eyes closed on the couch. “I’m enjoying my body,” he replied. From […]
1/9/2023 • 44 minutes, 36 seconds
Talking on Empty
“Many of our friends are no longer alive or we don’t see them anymore. [Writing poetry] is a way we hold them.” Natalie Goldberg reflects on the end of the […]
1/2/2023 • 40 minutes, 34 seconds
Dekila Chungyalpa: Wisdom of Winter: Rest, Regeneration, and Rebirth
“Does your breathing change when you imagine it’s the landscape breathing?” Dekila Chungyalpa invites us to explore different ways of looking at time (as nature and different species view time, […]
12/26/2022 • 43 minutes, 13 seconds
Eloquent Silence
In this poetic talk, Fushin James Bristol reflects on the role of silence in zen practice and in our lives. Sharing personal stories, music knowledge, Buddhist history, and other moving […]
12/19/2022 • 36 minutes, 34 seconds
Buddhist Visions of Leadership 2022 (Part 4)
In Part 4 of this multipart series, John Dunne discusses some more of Nagarjuna’s policies around leadership and considers how they can create personal and world transformation. Roshi Joan Halifax […]
12/16/2022 • 1 hour, 36 minutes, 2 seconds
Buddhist Visions of Leadership 2022 (Part 3)
In Part 3 of this multipart series, Joan Dunne delves into ancient Indian Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna’s work The Ratnavali or The Jewel Garland which offers counsel to kings or all […]
12/15/2022 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 31 seconds
Joan Halifax: Rohatsu: Green Dharma (Part 1)
Sensei Kaz Tanahashi and Roshi Joan Halifax open the first full day of Rohatsu Green Dharma sesshin with their dharma talk on Indra’s Net and what it means to hold […]
12/12/2022 • 34 minutes, 6 seconds
Dorotea Mendoza: Show, Don’t Tell: How the Practice of Writing Can Teach us About Engagement and Service
In this wonderful talk, Dorotea Mendoza “walks the talk” of showing rather than telling by sharing some of her personal experiences, e.g. how she misses the Philippines, the country of […]
12/5/2022 • 38 minutes, 58 seconds
John Dunne & Joan Halifax: Buddhist Visions of Leadership 2022 (Part 2)
In Part 2 of this multi-part series, Roshi Joan Halifax considers the qualities of a leader as modeled and taught by the Buddha. Roshi speaks of the Buddha as a […]
11/28/2022 • 48 minutes, 49 seconds
John Dunne & Joan Halifax: Buddhist Visions of Leadership 2022 (Part 1)
Series Description: Upaya’s Abbot and social activist Roshi Joan Halifax and the wonderful Buddhist scholar Dr. John Dunne guide participants through a unique and rich exploration of Buddhist visions of […]
11/25/2022 • 48 minutes, 5 seconds
Monshin Nannette Overley: Always Maintain a Joyful Mind
Sensei Monshin Nannette Overley explores the provoking Lojong slogan “Always maintain a joyful mind.” She examines perspectives on joy that go beyond our cultural view of “happy happy joy joy.” […]
11/21/2022 • 42 minutes, 35 seconds
John Dunne: Bodhisattva Lineage
“Without the lineage, we are like people without fire and we’re going to be out of luck.” Professor John Dunne speaks about the importance of the Buddhist lineage and how […]
11/14/2022 • 41 minutes, 29 seconds
Wendy Johnson: A Harvest of Dharma and Ecology
Sensei Wendy Johnson gives a characteristically energizing, inspiring, and poetic talk on ecology and Dharma practice. She discusses the process and practice of planting and harvesting Upaya’s garden this past year […]
11/7/2022 • 48 minutes, 48 seconds
Sensei Noah Kodo Roen: Effortless Freedom
Sensei Noah Kodo Roen reports on his first year of fatherhood and what he’s learned from his daughter Skyla. Try to imagine what it would be like to be a […]
10/31/2022 • 44 minutes, 39 seconds
Rev. angel Kyodo Williams: Training the Mind to Transform (9 of 9)
In this final episode of Training the Mind to Transform, Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, Roshi, invites program participants to share any insights from their conversations in small groups, reminding us […]
10/29/2022 • 32 minutes, 27 seconds
Rev. angel Kyodo Williams: Training the Mind to Transform (8 of 9)
Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, Roshi, invites participants in her Training the Mind to Transform program to discuss their experiences with Lojong training thus far. She prescribes certain slogans for particular difficulties, […]
10/28/2022 • 1 hour, 38 seconds
Rev. angel Kyodo Williams: Training the Mind to Transform (7 of 9)
In this episode of Training the Mind to Transform, Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, Roshi, explores some potentially difficult sayings, such as, drive all blames into one, all dharmas agree at one point, […]
10/27/2022 • 29 minutes, 26 seconds
Rev. angel Kyodo Williams: Training the Mind to Transform (6 of 9)
In this episode of Training the Mind to Transform, Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, Roshi, continues to lead us through the Lojong trainings and the creation of our own mind training […]
10/26/2022 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 46 seconds
Natalie Goldberg: Catching Your Insight
“Sometimes it’s good to just shut up and pay attention.” Natalie Goldberg reminds us that it’s important to know human suffering, to not run away from it. Zen is about […]
10/24/2022 • 44 minutes, 36 seconds
Rev. angel Kyodo Williams: Training the Mind to Transform (5 of 9)
In part 5 of Training the Mind to Transform, Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, Roshi, continues her deep dive into the four slogans below, explaining phrases in the slogans that may […]
10/23/2022 • 40 minutes, 54 seconds
Rev. angel Kyodo Williams: Training the Mind to Transform (4 of 9)
In part 4 of Training the Mind to Transform, Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, Roshi, takes a deep dive into the four slogans below, explaining phrases in the slogans that may […]
10/22/2022 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 37 seconds
Rev. angel Kyodo Williams: Training the Mind to Transform (3 of 9)
Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams, Roshi, provides a practice for engaging Atisha’s mind training slogans. She suggests writing down a slogan or training, pausing, reading the slogan again, and then writing […]
10/21/2022 • 56 minutes, 28 seconds
Rev. angel Kyodo Williams: Training the Mind to Transform (2 of 9)
Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams, Roshi, talks about the importance of approaching practice, Lojong and otherwise, as actual practice rather than mere intellectual speculation or performance. To this end, she substitutes the […]
10/20/2022 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 59 seconds
Rev. angel Kyodo Williams: Training the Mind to Transform (1 of 9)
Series Description: Rev. Angel Kyodo williams, Roshi, is one of the most remarkable Buddhist teachers in our world today. Her unique and powerful approach to practice has transformed the lives […]
10/17/2022 • 37 minutes, 16 seconds
Frank Ostaseski & Joan Halifax: Love and Death: Opening the Great Gifts (8 of 8)
In the final portion of Love and Death: Opening the Great Gifts, Frank and Roshi have an extended conversation with program participants about their experiences of love, death, and grief. Frank […]
10/16/2022 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 17 seconds
Frank Ostaseski & Joan Halifax: Love and Death: Opening the Great Gifts (7 of 8)
In part seven of Love and Death: Opening the Great Gifts, Frank Ostaseski and Roshi Joan Halifax discuss grief as a natural response to both loss of what we’ve cherished and […]
10/15/2022 • 58 minutes, 43 seconds
Matthew Kozan Palevsky: Practice without Ceasing – Fall Practice Period 2022 (11 of 11)
Sensei Matthew Kozan Palevsky gives the final Dharma talk of Upaya’s 2022 Fall Practice Period and sesshin. He discusses atoning and renewing vows on this last day of Ango during the […]
10/13/2022 • 37 minutes, 2 seconds
Shinzan Palma: Seeing Who We Really Are – Fall Practice Period 2022 (10 of 11)
Sensei Shinzan Palma talks about how to deal with discomfort and pain during sesshin, and asks the question, why do we put ourselves through a process that is so difficult? […]
10/12/2022 • 42 minutes, 32 seconds
Kathie Fischer: Wind Blows, Moon Shines, and Beings do not Obstruct Each Other – Fall Practice Period 2022 (9 of 11)
Sensei Kathie Fischer continues Upaya’s in depth investigation of Hongzhi’s teachings on silent illumination during its Fall Practice Period of 2022. Kathie explores the relationship between stepping back into awareness, prior […]
10/10/2022 • 39 minutes, 49 seconds
Matthew Kozan Palevsky: No Place Other than Yourself: Juzhi’s One Finger Zen – Fall Practice Period 2022 (8 of 11)
Sensei Matthew Kozan Palevsky continues Upaya’s exploration of the teachings of Hongzhi, looking at the text “Thirty Years of Emptiness and Existence,” in which Hongzhi references the koan, Juzhi’s One Finger. […]
10/9/2022 • 42 minutes, 36 seconds
Frank Ostaseski & Joan Halifax: Love and Death: Opening the Great Gifts (6 of 8)
In part 6 of Love and Death: Opening the Great Gifts, Roshi Joan Halifax and Frank Ostaseski converse with program participants about grieving personal loss, including the tragic loss of suicide. […]
10/9/2022 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 36 seconds
Frank Ostaseski & Joan Halifax: Love and Death: Opening the Great Gifts (5 of 8)
In part five of Love and Death: Opening the Great Gifts, Frank Ostaseksi discusses the four Brahma Viharas or Divine Emotions (loving-kindness, compassion, joy with others, equanimity) as practices through which […]
10/8/2022 • 49 minutes, 41 seconds
Shinzan Palma: Silence without Self-Consciousness: How to Not Get Attached to the Empty Field – Fall Practice Period 2022 (7 of 11)
“It seems that you’re all getting attached to the empty field!” Sensei Shinzan Palma jokes when he asks the community in the zendo and online how they’re doing and gets […]
10/6/2022 • 39 minutes, 47 seconds
Kathie Fischer: Accepting Things as They Are: First Day of Sesshin – Fall Practice Period 2022 (6 of 11)
Sensei Kathie Fischer gives the first Dharma talk of Upaya’s Fall Practice Period 2022 sesshin. She generously shares her experience and wisdom with us on sitting a sesshin, including how […]
10/5/2022 • 34 minutes, 59 seconds
Sensei Noah Kodo Roen: Taking the Backward Step into the Infinite Field of Pure Potential – Fall Practice Period 2022 (5 of 11)
As we’ve explored the practice of silent illumination this Fall Practice Period we’ve come across the phrases “take the backward step” and “turn the light around.”. But what do these […]
10/3/2022 • 41 minutes, 9 seconds
Frank Ostaseski & Joan Halifax: Love and Death: Opening the Great Gifts (4 of 8)
In part four of Love and Death: Opening the Great Gifts, Roshi Joan Halifax guides us through a meditation designed to cut through the sense of loneliness and separateness that pervades so many […]
10/2/2022 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 49 seconds
Frank Ostaseski & Joan Halifax: Love and Death: Opening the Great Gifts (3 of 8)
In the third part of Roshi Joan Halifax’s and Frank Ostaseski’s “Love and Death: Opening the Great Gifts,” Roshi Joan tells a story about her teacher Thich Nhat Hanh falling in love as a young monk […]
