A collection of dharma talks, events, interviews and other media from Zen Mountain Monastery and the Zen Center of NYC. Please scroll down for all available talks. Subscribe via: iTunes | Google Play
A collection of dharma talks, events, interviews and other media from Zen Mountain Monastery and the Zen Center of NYC. Please scroll down for all available talks. Subscribe via: iTunes | Google Play
A student asks, “Do people these days need enlightenment or not?” Working from the Book of Serenity and other texts, Shugen Roshi deeply investigates the many facets of this question. A true path, he says, acknowledges the painful reality of suffering but remains grounded in an unshakeable faith in the basic wholeness of every person.
Featured Event
What does it mean to bow towards an altar? Or a tree? Or a meal? In this dharma encounter led by Zuisei Sensei, students bring their understanding to the matter.
Featured Video
On March 3, 2019, Shugen Roshi introduced the chief disciple for the new training period and spoke about confronting oppression as a path of liberation for all beings.
Featured Interview
More from the Buddhist Poetry Festival… David Hinton talks about how he came to dedicate his life to translating ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, 3/3/2019
As we step into a new training period, Shugen Roshi reflects on “Manifesting Buddha,” the theme for this ango. He also talks about the work of confronting oppression, particularly the subtle kinds that we inflict upon those different from ourselves. This work is none other than the spiritual development of all buddhas and ancestors who sought to clarify their karma of negative emotions, self-grasping, and delusion.
A note about the below video: apologies for the low quality image at the start. It improves over the course of the talk.
Ron Hogen Green, Sensei
Gateless Gate, Case 44
Zen Center of New York City, 3/3/2019
Hogen takes up the koan “If you have a staff, I will give one to you; if you don’t have a staff I will take it away” and connects this to the sangha’s “Beyond Fear of Differences Work”. The difficult work of moving beyond our attachments helps us see ourselves in everyone and everyone in ourselves. *We experienced technical difficulties and the recording is missing the first 5 seconds of the talk.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
True Dharma Eye, Case 201
Zen Mountain Monastery, 02/24/2019
In the case, four of Bodhidharma’s disciples express their understanding in their own ways, and each answer contains the teacher’s whole being. All perspectives necessary, and none superior nor inferior, this talk earnestly invites us to consider the case as related to the time and place of Bodhidharma’s teaching and successors, as well our own. Aspiring toward an enlightened society that extends beyond these lives in which we find ourselves currently practicing, how will we manifest Buddha, now and into the future?
Patrick Yunen Kelly, Senior Lay Student
Zen Center of New York City, 02/24/2019
In this talk, Yunen, works with the pervading sense of lack, and our striving to “get somewhere else”, which forms the defining characteristic of samsaric existence, and which we inevitably bring into our practice. He then encourages us to wholeheartedly embrace our humanity, and to engage ourselves and our life (and all of its confusion and disappointments ) with courage, compassion, and joy.
Bear Gokan Bonebakker, Senior Monastic
Zen Center of New York City, 2/17/2019
Entering via the Buddha’s consistent offering of the noble eightfold path as route to liberation, this talk deepens understandings of helpful view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration by encouraging us to always keep looking and listening, as the universe itself is always teaching truth at any given moment. We have to listen to find practice for ourselves by training in these skillful aspects of morality, concentration and insight. Direct experience is always true, but requires repeatedly verifying such for ourselves, as we don’t know how deep it really goes. How can liberation permeate our lives, settling agitation, and thus seeing clearly?
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Book of Serenity, Case 79
Zen Center of New York City, 02/10/2019
Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei
Zen Mountain Monastery, 02/10/2019
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Book of Serenity, Case 79
Zen Center of New York City, 02/09/2019
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Center of New York City, 02/07/2019
What is giving? What is stealing? Within Buddhism there are many ways to understand this. Literally, on its face; with an openness, acknowledging that when rules are rigid they can result in less compassion than if the rules are not adhered to; and further, with respect to time, place, person and position.
In this question and answer teaching, the sangha and Shugen Roshi explore, together, what this precept is, its many meanings, and the sometimes complicated ways in which we can apply it and it affects our lives.
*Note: We experienced Technical Audio difficulties with this talk. There are some sections of the audio which we were unable to repair around 37:00-39:30, and 48:30. The second problem section included a lost question.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Gateless Gate, Case 39
Zen Mountain Monastery, 02/03/2019
Exploring Yunmen’s reply to a monk in the case, “You’ve missed it,” what is the transcendent use of speech, and how does it open us to practicing what is real and what is true? Wishing for the gladness of all, how do we truly begin such a goal by working with ourself? Accepting that it is not easy, how can our lives become truly Alive?
*Note: We experienced Technical Audio difficulties with this talk. On 2/5 we replaced the audio file with an improvement. If you downloaded the old audio, you may wish to re-download this one. The audio gets better 5 minutes into this talk.