Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei
Zen Mountain Monastery, 12/9/2018
The Buddha once said: “Those who see dharma, see me. Those who see me, see dharma. Truly seeing dharma, one sees me. seeing me, one truly sees dharma.” In this talk, Hojin Sensei tells the story of the life of the Buddha as a model of dharma practice, and discusses how we can see the Buddha’s life in our own.
Prabu Gikon Vasan, Senior Lay Practitioner
Zen Center of New York City, 11/18/2018
Gikon uses the teachings of early Theravada nuns, in particular the experience of Kisa Gautami, to examine the meaning of true freedom, and relates their struggles our modern day experiences of meeting barriers and attachments.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, 11/14/2018
“Concentration nurtured with virtue is of great fruit, great reward. Discernment nurtured with concentration is of great fruit, great reward. The mind nurtured with discernment is rightly released.” In this talk from November’s Shuso Hossen Sesshin, Shugen Roshi delves into this simple yet profound teaching from the Pali Canon. Ethical action, meditation and insight rely on and support each other, he notes, forming a unified path which can address the many aspects of our humanity.
Ron Hogen Green, Sensei
Zen Center of New York City, 10/31/2018
Hogen Sensei leads the last of three group study sessions on the Jataka Tales, legends about the previous lives of the Buddha found in the Pali Canon. Here he takes up the story of Kassapa, an ascetic whose almost abandons his commitment to non-harming in order to marry the king’s beautiful daughter, Candavati. The discussion focuses on gender, desire, objectification, and what it means to study texts from cultural contexts different than our own.
Ron Hogen Green, Sensei
Zen Center of New York City, 10/18/2018
In the second of three sessions looking at the Jataka Tales, Hogen Sensei leads a group study of one of the Buddha’s past lives in which, oddly enough, he was the leader of a gang. What can learn from this tale about our own choices in life? What can we learn about the long road of karma?
Vanessa Zuisei Goddard, Sensei
Zen Mountain Monastery, 10/17/2018
Zuisei Sensei leads an in-depth examination of selected Jataka Tales, stories of the Buddha’s previous lives. The discussion touches on the role of female characters, the workings of karma, and the power of religious narrative.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, 10/4/2018
Shugen Roshi leads a discussion of the recorded lives and past lives of the Buddha’s first disciples, touching on the nature of religious narrative, Buddhist philosophies of karma and rebirth, and the importance of studying the ancestors.
Unfortunately, a few minutes of this talk could not be recorded due to technical difficulties.