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
Stop: Practicing Peace in a Time of War
This talk by Shugen Roshi was offered on February 27th, soon after the initial invasion of Ukraine. Roshi speaks about the power of our mind, which can be both destructive or generative, can create war and can bring about peace. We are always communicating our clarity or confusion: how do we understand the karma of our words and the actions they beget? Roshi explores the radical practice of stopping, noticing, and taking responsibility. Roshi begins with a prayer for peace, speaking from our hearts and our deepest wish to live in peace, not in war. Click here for a video of this talk. You can also listen to an audio version of this talk.
Dharma Talks on Livestream
Check out our continually expanding library of talks archived on Livestream. And join us live each Sunday morning for zazen, liturgy and a talk that concludes our training week.
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A Guided Tour of the New Jizo House
In August, we consecrated the new Jizo House, and completed the latest phase of the Jizo Project—our initiative that aspires to make Zen Mountain Monastery a more accessible and welcoming place for all.
A Look Back on 40 Years
Check out This Thing We Made: a special filmstrip that looks back on the Monastery’s origins and development over the course of 40 years on Tremper Mountain.
Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei
Zen Center of New York City, Fire Lotus Temple, Sunday 03/27/2022
From The Blue Cliff Record, Case 21 – Chih Men’s Lotus Flower, Lotus Leaves
In this talk Hojin Sensei explores the title of the Lotus Sutra and the koan Lotus Flowers Lotus Leaves as a teaching about our Buddha nature. That there is no before and after, that we are all already included and pierced as a Buddha —just know this wondrous Dharma! That the lotus grows out of muddy waters. How do we make good use and find freedom in the darkness of our suffering just like the lotus needs the nutrients of that muck to giving and make its way to the light?
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi and Dr. Rebecca Li
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday 03/20/2022
Shugen Roshi is joined by Dr. Rebecca Li for a lively question and answer discussion with attendees to our regular Sunday Program. Rebecca is a Dharma heir in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen and the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community. Shugen Roshi and Rebecca explore the topics of grief, loss, and skillful action.
Patrick Yunen Kelly, Senior Lay Student
Zen Center of New York City, Sunday 03/20/2022
Yunen talks about his experience of the more devotional aspects of Zen practice. He makes connections to the Lotus Sutra and devotional practices from other religious traditions.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday 03/13/2022
From Master Wu-men’s Gateless Gate, Case 26 – Two Monastics Roll Up the Bamboo Blinds
How do our projections affect our understanding of ourselves and the world around us? And how can we more clearly see these projections and the ways they cloud us from our own wisdom and Buddha Nature? In this talk, Shugen Roshi illustrates the reason we practice zazen remaining where we are, as well as the relationship between doubt, faith, and perseverance as we practice over time.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday 03/06/2022
Shugen Roshi introduces the theme of our 90-day Spring ango intensive training period, Faith in Buddha Nature. If you’d like to learn more about our Ango program and possibly participate, please click here: https://zmm.org/teachings-and-training/ango/
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Saturday 03/05/2022
From Master Dogen’s 300 Koan Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye), Case 10 – Qingyuan’s “Come Closer”
How do we walk the Path amidst our perceived distractions and obstructions? In this talk, Shugen Roshi explores the power of trust, and its relationship to vulnerability and intimacy. How do we trust in the Dharma? And ultimately, how do we trust ourselves?
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday 02/27/2022
From Master Dogen’s 300 Koan Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye), Case 265 – Shuilao’s Enlightenment
In Buddhist practice and particularly Zen, there is a great emphasis on the power of words. Words can be both destructive or generative, can create war and can bring about peace. How do we understand the karma of our words and the actions they beget? To do so, Roshi explores the radical practice of stopping, noticing, and taking responsibility. Note: this talk begins with a prayer from Shugen Roshi for the people of Ukraine and the recent attack on their country.
Danica Shoan Ankele, Senior Monastic and Dharma Holder
Zen Mountain Monastery, Friday 02/25/2022
In Zen practice we have many sacred containers of ceremony–liturgy, rituals, sesshins, and koans—into which we enter. And yet, why is it that we practice this ancient mystical tradition? For stress reduction, or to wake up to life’s mystery and be free? In this talk, monastic Shoan explores this wisdom tradition with readings from Zenju Manuel’s “The Shamanic Bones of Zen.” When we enter ceremony, we can begin to see for ourselves that there is no separation between ourselves and the mystical.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Wednesday 02/23/2022
From Master Dogen’s 300 Koan Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye), Case 41 – Shitou’s “Ask the Pillar”
A student asked Master Shitou, “What is the meaning of Bodhidharma coming from the west?” Shitou said, “Ask the pillar.” The student said, “I don’t understand it.” Shitou said, “I don’t understand it either.”
The Buddhist path is based in inquiry. This asks that we abandon our formulas and perspectives, and inquire deeply from within our own body and mind. We practice not only letting go of attachments and dualities of right and wrong, but also of “knowing,” releasing the need for ready answers. Every day and every moment is alive–an aliveness that is not based on a fixed meaning—but is reality itself.
Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday 02/20/2022
What is sympathetic joy? Hojin Sensei explores one of the Four Immeasurables. In bringing our attention to the delights in our life, we can experience joy for ourselves and others even in the midst of suffering. Sympathetic joy, or Mudita in Sanskrit, is a natural state of our minds, yet often it takes a practice of cultivation to rediscover it.
Hojin Sensei quotes from the teachings of Venerable Nyanaponika Thera and HH Dalai Lama, and from the poet Ross Gay.
