Talk by Ryotan Sensei: “Practicing Compassion in the Dark”

FromVillage Zendo Teacher Talks

Start listening View podcast show

Talk by Ryotan Sensei: “Practicing Compassion in the Dark”

FromVillage Zendo Teacher Talks

ratings:

Length:

31 minutes

Released:

Dec 25, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

A Bodhisattva of compassion reaches back for a pillow in the middle of the night. Bernie Roshi groping in the dark transforms the world. November 18, 2018, Zazenkai

Released:

Dec 25, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (85)

Dharma talks on Zen Buddhism from the Village Zendo in New York City.

Skip carousel

Talk by Roshi “The Miracle of Samadhi”: Roshi Enkyo O’Hara gives the first talk of our 2018-2019 winter retreat. Roshi starts by recognizing the efforts our retreat organizers, and our Winter Ango practice leader Gessho Randolph. Roshi recites a short poem from our study text by the Zen poet... by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
28 min listen
Talk by Tokuyu Hoshi “Improvise Your Life”: How can we stay in the flow while maintaining form, and how can we keep form without losing the flow? by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
31 min listen
Talk by Ryotan Sensei “Stillness in Action”: In his talk during October’s zazenkai, Ryotan Sensei shares how the foot before and the foot behind in walking get nowhere, and everywhere. Recorded October 13, 2018. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
33 min listen
Talk by Myoko Sensei “Calm Within the Storm”: Myoko Sensei reminds us that within all the turbulence of our troubled times, our practice offers us refuge from the storm. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
41 min listen
Talk by Frank Ostaseski: November 11, 2018 by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
32 min listen
Talk by Ryotan Sensei “Drop Body and Mind”: Ryotan Sensei reminds us that Zazen is the heart of our practice by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
22 min listen
Talk by Ryotan Sensei “Experience Can Be Hard to Bear”: January 17, 2019 Ryotan Sensei observes how a poem by Ryokan points to the confusion between words or concepts and reality itself. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
26 min listen
Talk by Tokuyu Hoshi “Gold Sufficient for a Nation”: In this talk senior student Tokuyu starts with issues his music students have with recognition, and the feeling of lack and never achieving enough. Tokuyu looks at how psychology and physiology combine to create internal anger that can lead to chronic... by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
29 min listen
Talk by Kojin Gaelyn Roshi “Responding to Flames”: Kojin Gaelyn Roshi is the abbot of Houston Zen Center, a Soto Zen temple in Suzuki Roshi’s lineage. She received ordination from Tenshin Reb Anderson at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1991, and Dharma Transmission in 2003. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
24 min listen
Talk by Bokushu Hoshi “The Four Vows Part One: Sentient Beings”: In the first of a series of talks on the Four Vows, Bokushu looks at the value of life through the first vow “Sentient Beings are numberless: I vow to save them.” by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
30 min listen
Talk by Eisho Sensei “A Look Into the Heart Sutra”: In this talk Eisho looks into the Heart Sutra in a fresh and inviting way. Recorded October 28th 2018. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
32 min listen
Dai Sesshin 2019 – Talk by Ryotan Sensei: “Bodhisattvas, Come Get Your Rice!”: In the final talk of Dai Sesshin, Ryotan Sensei relates how master Chin Niu and the Vimalakirti Sutra remind us that our lives are boundless. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
39 min listen
Talk by Roshi “Appreciating Bernie”: In this talk Roshi fondly remembers her recently departed teacher Zen Master Bernie Glassman. She recounts how they met, and how Bernie used his actions and activism to teach and inspire a new kind of Zen practice. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
36 min listen
Talk by Joshin Sensei “Build Me a Seamless Monument”: We are the world, inseparable from it and not above it; yet, in our quest for affirmation, we seek special status. Joshin explores how the quest for dominance arises from a case of mistaken identity. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
47 min listen
Talk by Shinryu Sensei “What Are We Doing Here?”: April 13, 2019 Shinryu Sensei discusses the point of Zen meditation today, drawing from Master Keizan’s classic “Points to Keep in Mind when Practicing Zazen” (Zazen Yojinki) by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
28 min listen
Talk by Kaku Hoshi “Dogen’s Report to the MeToo Movement”: In this talk, Kaku Hoshi offers an idea of what Dogen’s report to the MeToo movement might be. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
26 min listen
Talk by Roshi “As If In a Dream”: What do we see as if in a dream — in our personal, political, and spiritual life? by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
36 min listen
Talk by Ryotan Sensei “Seeing Clearly, Acting Appropriately”: January 20, 2019 In honor of Martin Luther King Day, Ryotan Sensei challenges us to see the reality of racism clearly so that we can take effective action right now. The three pure precepts light the way. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
37 min listen
Talk by Roshi “The Face of the Other”: In this talk Roshi sees our society in a desperate gesture to distinguish what is perceived as different. What is me, and what is not me. Whether it is class, gender, religion or race – how do we get caught in bias that leads to fear and hostility? by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
27 min listen
Talk by Shinryu Sensei “A Single Pearl”: In this talk, during our 2018-19 winter retreat, Shinryu Sensei says “welcome home” to those attending the retreat and sees coming home itself as a way of expressing our practice. He then states his admiration for the poems of Ryokan and reads a few, by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
27 min listen
Talk by Roshi “Spiritual Authority”: March 7, 2019 Enkyo Roshi offers a teaching about teaching, how the best use of spiritual authority is to help us live from our own truth. Case 23 from the Mumonkan, “Think Neither Good Nor Evil,” illumines the nature of transmission. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
24 min listen
Talk by Shinryu Sensei “A Zen Holiday”: Drawing on the classic Zen literature as well as a contemporary koan, Shinryu Sensei offers a challenge to our common judgments about our daily life and human tribulations. Recorded April 4th, 2019. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
23 min listen
Talk by Myoko Sensei “Inside Out”: Recorded Thursday April 18, 2019. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
49 min listen
Talk by Bokushu Hoshi, “Mailboxes are People, Too”: Bokushu Hoshi reflects on a startling encounter with three mailboxes that revealed him to himself. December 13, 2018 by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
25 min listen
Talk by Ryotan Sensei: “Practicing Compassion in the Dark”: A Bodhisattva of compassion reaches back for a pillow in the middle of the night. Bernie Roshi groping in the dark transforms the world. November 18, 2018, Zazenkai by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
31 min listen
Talk by Ryotan Sensei “Truly Dropping Out”: In this talk, the last of our 2018-19 winter retreat, Ryotan Sensei starts by thanking the many Sangha members who work hard to create our retreat. He then mentions growing up in the same town as Dr. Timothy Leary, who’s famous slogan was “Tune in, by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
38 min listen
Talk by Roshi: The World is Vast and Wide: The World is Vast and Wide December 20, 2018 Enkyo Roshi opens up the Verse of the Kesa to encourage us to embody benefaction, to respond to suffering through practice. Thus we change the world. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
21 min listen
Talk by Shinryu Sensei “With Death Before Your Eyes”: Shinryu Sensei recounts stories about the Chinese ancestors Dogo, Ungan, and Yakusan to reflect on Zen practice in the face of death. Recorded May 5th, 2019 by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
33 min listen
Talk by Kaku Hoshi “Moonlight”: Kaku Hoshi looks at Dogen’s “The Moon Shining on All Beings and Oneself,” and draws lessons on joy and the power of taking care of ourselves. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
21 min listen
Talk by Roshi “Throughout the Body”: February 10, 2019 Enkyo Roshi asks how we can embody the compassion of Avalokiteshvara. Like reaching behind ourselves for the pillow in the night, we respond with the whole body, giving and receiving. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
31 min listen

More Episodes from Village Zendo Teacher Talks

Skip carousel

Talk by Tokuyu Hoshi “Bamboo Whisk”: Tokuyu Hoshi speaks of koans and zen practice — how they lure us in, and can eventually push us to a point of having a direct experience with our lives. Recorded February 13th, 2020. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
30 min listen
Talk by Bokushu Hoshi “The Bittersweet Taste of Perfection”: February 20, 2020 We’re perfect and complete, especially when we’re completely unhappy with our own perfection. Nonetheless, can we offer ourselves compassion and embrace the person we think we are without forgetting that the self does not exist? by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
25 min listen
Talk by Jo An Hoshi “Skin and Bones Zen”: Jo An shares his experience of watching vultures devour a deer carcass on his property. He ties this to Xuefeng’s “Dreg Slurpers” in our study text Zen Echoes, reminding us that the dharma does not live in the dregs of the ancients, by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
19 min listen
Talk by Joshin Roshi “When the Bottom Falls Out”: What happens when life as we know it changes, when our previous assumptions no longer hold and the structures by which we know ouselves collapse? Using Chiyono’s experience of kensho in No Water No Moon, Joshin shows how Zen practice helps us accept th... by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
40 min listen
Talk by Enkyo Roshi “Listening to Emptiness”: Roshi connects compassionate listening to the Buddhist view that our conceptions and ideas about each other are really ‘empty,’ and that is the key to compassion. Recorded February 9th, 2020. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
30 min listen
Talk by Bokushu Hoshi “Seeing the One Room”: Meditation trains us to look directly and compassionately at ourselves and our behavior. This meticulous self examination ultimately leads to freedom from the bondage of any fixed identity. When the self is seen, by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
19 min listen
Talk by Enkyo Roshi “The Empty Cart”: Roshi brings up Case 8 of the Mumonkan, Keichu Makes Carts to ask “How can we express emptiness?” She suggests that we approach it not with words, but by allowing our views of a separate and enduring self to drop away. Recorded January 19th, 2020. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
32 min listen
Talk by Soshin Hoshi “Just Go Straight”: January 18, 2020 A nameless woman gives advice. Do we want to listen? Check it out. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
22 min listen
Talk by Myoko Sensei “The Joy of Washing”: January 16, 2020 Myoko Sensei brings up Case 7 of the Mumonkan to point to our capacity to stay alive and fresh to the ever-changing conditions of our every day activity. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
34 min listen
Talk by Fugan Hoshi “On the Knife’s Edge: Balance in the Wandering World”: January 12, 2020 In this talk, Fugan explores how our sense of balance simultaneously grounds us and allows us to flow. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
32 min listen
Talk by Joshin Sensei “The Dharma of Mothers: Our First Zen Teachers”: Joshin Sensei gives the final talk of our 2019 winter retreat: She talks about how we separate from our True Nature and what to do about it… Recorded December 30, 2019 by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
47 min listen
Talk by Ryotan “Being Intimate with Intimacy”: Ryotan Sensei gives the fourth talk of our winter retreat. Put aside your fear and dive into the waters of life. Recorded December 30, 2019 by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
37 min listen
Talk by Enkyo Roshi “Silently Entering The Gate”: Enkyo Roshi gives the first talk of our 2019 Winter Retreat at the Garrison Institute. She first introduces our practice leader Joren Drury, and then opens up the gate of non-duality as presented in our study text Zen Echoes. Recorded December 27th, 2019 by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
28 min listen
Talk by Enkyo Roshi “Don’t Get Stuck On the Absolute”: In this talk, Roshi notes that the pursuit of enlightenment might have brought many to Zen, but she emphasizes that realizing our interconnectedness through social engagement is the fruit of practice. She illustrates this with passages from Yongjia Xua... by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
22 min listen
Talk by Shinryu Sensei “Into the Headwinds”: December 19, 2019 Invoking Master Zuigan, Shinryu addresses the mental health epidemic among students today and what meditation practice has to offer. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
31 min listen
Talk by Bokushu “The Ladder to Nowhere”: Meditation allows us to see our addiction to ourselves, and practice in community can wean us off the behavioral habits fueling this addiction. Then we can meet reality, just as it is. Recorded December 15th, 2019 by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
26 min listen
Talk by Tokuyu Hoshi, “How To (not) Wear the Mourning Clothes”: Tokuyu Hoshi takes up the koan “Caoshan’s Fulfillment of Filial Piety” to examine how we can more skillfully work with our most difficult emotions. In our sadness, shame and embarrassment, perhaps we can notice that they’re fine, by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
29 min listen
Talk by Guest Teacher David Loy “Ecodharma”: Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis Guest teacher David Loy exposes the roots of consumerism while drawing a resonant parallel between our individual sense of lacking something, and a society structured to profit from and reinforce ... by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
64 min listen
Talk by Enkyo Roshi “A Time for Giving”: Enkyo Roshi reflects on this time of harvest and brilliantly colored, shorter days. She brings up the koan of “Seizei, a Poor Monk” to challenge our assumptions about what it really means to have, and to give. Recorded November 10, 2019. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
27 min listen
Talk by Soshin Hoshi “The Pearl, the Jewel, and the Mirror”: November 9, 2019 Soshin looks at some of the ways we separate from ourselves and reminds us to ask, “Who am I?” by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
29 min listen
Talk by Bokushu Hoshi “Tales from the Crypt”: October 31, 2019 Bokushu talks about emerging from his personal graveyard by working freely with his addiction to himself. Going beyond knowing and not knowing without losing sight of either, he points to a living Way. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
27 min listen
Talk by Fugan Hoshi “The Dharma Wind Blows Through Here”: In this talk, Student Teacher Fugan returns us to Vimalakirti’s small sick room and discusses the expansiveness of the Dharma. Recorded Sunday October 20th 2019 by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
27 min listen
Talk by Norman Fischer “The World Could Be Otherwise”: Visiting teacher Norman Fischer examines the role of imagination in the Bodhisattva path. Recorded October 15th, 2019. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
39 min listen
Talk by Enkyo Roshi “What do We Embrace and What do we Forego?”: Enkyo Roshi takes up Case 38 of the Mumonkan, “A Buffalo Passes Through a Window” to examine the potential pitfalls that students can encounter in their practice. Recorded October 13, 2019. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
26 min listen
Talk By Ryotan Sensei “What is the Tathagatha’s True Meaning?”: Ryotan Sensei discusses the Tathagatha’s true meaning through the lens of Vimalakirti’s illness and Shariputra’s “looking for a seat.” He reminds us that the Dharma is immediately available to us in each moment of our lives. Recorded October 12, 2019 by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
31 min listen
Talk by Enkyo Roshi “Can You Step Forward Into The Waves Of Change?”: Roshi spoke about Sekiso’s koan in the Mumonkan, Case 46, “How do you step forward from a 100 pole.” The koan today asks us all, how do we meet this changing world when categories evolve, words take on new meaning, by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
28 min listen
Talk by Shinryu Sensei “Is Spiritual Bypassing the Gate to Non-Duality?”: Shinryu takes up Vimalakirti’s “thunderous silence” as well as debates in the field of “Critical Buddhism” to address whether our practice leads to political and ethical conformity. Recorded September 19th, 2019. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
31 min listen
Talk by Bokushu Hoshi “Calling all Bodhisattvas”: Bokushu talks about the source of our suffering, and about the opportunity we bodhisattvas have to relate more skillfully to reality. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
28 min listen
Talk by Enkyo Roshi “Nothing is Hidden”: August 25, 2019 Roshi brings up our country’s painful history of land theft and slavery. She exhorts us to see the truth both in our collective history and in the way our own minds habitually operate. Seeing that truth, by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
27 min listen
Karuna Sesshin Talk 3 on the Vimalakirti Sutra by Bokushu Hoshi: August 10, 2019 Karuna Sesshin Bokushu connects the Vimalakirti Sutra with our culture of self loathing and gun violence. He urges listeners to learn to see and tolerate themselves as the foundation for cultivating compassion in all its many forms. by Village Zendo Teacher Talks
31 min listen

Discover this podcast and so much more

Talk by Ryotan Sensei: “Practicing Compassion in the Dark”

Talk by Ryotan Sensei: “Practicing Compassion in the Dark”

Description

Titles in the series (85)

More Episodes from Village Zendo Teacher Talks