In this wide-ranging talk, Jogen explores spaciousness as a direct and liberating dimension of Zen practice, drawing from his own experience and from Zen and Dzogchen teachings. He reflects on how awareness of space—physical, experiential, and unconfined—can soften fixation, interrupt grasping, and provide refuge amid pain, anxiety, and self-contraction. Through stories, humor, and guided practice, he offers practical ways to cultivate intimacy with space in meditation and daily life, emphasizing that spaciousness is not an altered state but an ever-present ground that welcomes all experience and allows wisdom, compassion, and ease to arise naturally.

In this Rohatsu Sesshin talk, Chozen reflects on the meaning of awakening—not as a one-time event, but as an ongoing opening into reality beyond self, time, and conceptual division. Drawing on classic Zen stories, Dōgen’s teaching of non-thinking, and stages of meditative settling described in the Chan tradition, she explores how sustained concentration and a quiet, even silent mind allow the constructed sense of self to loosen and fall away. Through vivid examples, humor, and practical guidance, the talk emphasizes awakening as something that must be clarified, embodied, and continually refined through committed practice, ethical living, and ongoing housecleaning of habitual patterns—revealing a way of being aligned with impermanence, intimacy, and boundless clarity.

In this Rahatsu talk, Jomon tells the story of Siddhartha Gautama’s path to awakening, tracing his journey from royal luxury through extreme asceticism to the discovery of the Middle Way. Drawing on early Buddhist sutras and later mythic imagery, she explores the pivotal moments of nourishment, resolve, confrontation with Mara, and touching the earth as witness. The talk highlights the Four Noble Truths as lived insight rather than doctrine and emphasizes awakening as something inseparable from the great earth and all beings—an inheritance not reserved for the Buddha alone, but available to us through our own sincere practice.
This talk was given at the Plum Blossom Zendo in Vancouver, WA on December 2, 2025.

In this talk, Jogen responds to a request to explore Zen practice in relation to seasonal affective disorder and low-level depression, while distinguishing these experiences from deeper spiritual “descents” that can arise through sincere practice. Reflecting on impermanence, the “two arrows” of suffering, and being taken for a ride by conditions, he invites us to meet low mood without resistance, interpretation, or self-judgment. Through Zazen, gratitude practice, and a willingness to stay close to direct experience, even states like sadness, grayness, and powerlessness can become gateways to wisdom, intimacy, and a deeper trust in life as it is. This talk was given at Heart of Wisdom on the Wednesday night program.

In this talk, Hogen explores how the teachings of Affirming Faith in Mind illuminate the way we meet family, conflict, and connection—especially during the holiday season. He reflects on the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as refuges that steady us in the midst of strong opinions, old patterns, and the familiar dynamics that arise when we gather with others.
This talk was given on November 30th 2025.

In this talk, Jogen explores the human habit of comparing ourselves to others—and to imagined versions of ourselves—through the lens of the classic Zen text Affirming Faith in Mind. While difference is inherent in experience, comparison is optional. Jogen examines how the mind’s natural ability to perceive distinction easily collapses into judgment, envy, regret, and self-critique, and how meditation reveals the space prior to mental elaboration.
This talk was given during the Heart of Wisdom Wednesday night program.

In this talk, Jōmon explores the deep connection between gratitude, generosity, and Dōgen’s teaching of identity action—acting together as one body. Through reflections on Sōtō Zen practice, stories from contemporary teachers, and an extended look at the life and writings of Etty Hillesum, this episode invites us to discover the continuous availability of spiritual practice in every moment of our lives.
This talk was given during the 2025 Gratitude Sesshin.

In this sesshin talk, Jōgen invites practitioners to turn directly toward the living fabric of experience with wonder and open-handedness. Reflecting on the Kesa verse and the teachings of the Third Ancestor, he points out how the thinking mind masquerades as a solver of problems while actually weaving most of them—and how practice uncovers the unmoving ground that allows all states to arise. Through guided inquiry, poetry, and humor, he encourages listeners to look, feel, and experience what this moment is truly made of beyond concepts of self, struggle, and separation. Jōgen reminds us that we are always being carried in the river of being, even when fear or habit causes us to thrash about. From this recognition, compassion, trust, and genuine freedom naturally reveal themselves.
This talk is from 2025 Ancient Way Sesshin.