Zencare Podcast Zen

“There is so much energy around being sure. Thinking ‘I know,’ we become so narrow.”       Do you ever think ‘I am right’ and ‘you are wrong’? “I, you, all of us, can get caught up in deeply entrenched ideas of truth.” Koshin Sensei invites us to pay attention to our minds, to […]

“How does what you say and do really benefit living beings?”     We live in a world filled with beauty and terror. Whether we are experiencing euphoric glee, wrenching pain, or something in between, can our feelings lead to actions that benefit living beings? And not just some beings from the specific groups we […]

“Our commitment to distractions and our commitment to not committing actually takes a lot of effort.”     The newest telescopes can see stars being born hundreds of millions of lightyears away. Innumerable stars, like the sun in our solar system, are scattered across the farthest reaches of the cosmos. It boggles the mind, challenging […]

“Those without virtue are to be pitied.”          As Dogen Zenji reminds us, giving, kind speech, beneficial actions, and cooperation are the “Four Attractions of the Bodhisattva”. How often throughout your day do you lift these virtues up, even praise them? What would it look like in your life to embody the […]

“It is not enough to have good intensions. It really matters what you do. It really matters what you say.”       Our human ancestors have been caring for one another for at least 75,000 years. We survive, carry on, thrive, and even flourish when we show compassion.  It is not about what we […]

“This practice has kept me alive.”     When what has been lost brings the return of something new, when the debilitations of illness remind us of the deep dignities of being alive, these are the healing stories of care and compassion.         During the final evening of the Closing Retreat for […]