Mountain Rain Zen Dharma Podcast

The Parable of the Destitute Child 1/

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless introduces the new Wednesday Evening Dharma Seminar, which will spring from the book Nothing to Attain : Zen Stories of Faith and Understanding by Tenshin Reb Anderson.

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These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate.

A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten years is free and accessible on our website.

For questions and comments, contact podcast@mountainrainzen.org.

In Service To All

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton explores how we can orient to loving-kindness or metta.

“If only I were a candle in the dark.” (Mahmoud Darwish)

Who I Am Right Now

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Toshin Patrick Griffin knows that our objects and things can both nurture and distract us - yet we simply have only this step, this breath, this bow...

Lessons From the Han

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Jikai Vicki suggests the call to meditation and awakening begins with the crack of a wooden board being struck by a heavy mallet.

Awakened Care as Self Care - A Bodhisattva Vow

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Kyōkō Chie Angela suggests that when there is more fluidity there is more potential for care.

"There is no liberation without profound awakened care" (Lama Rod Owens)

Bodhicitta - Where Suffering, Longing, and Love Meet

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton suggests that when our longing for connection and wisdom matures into universal care, then we can vow to keep opening our heart for the whole net of life.

What is There to Hold on to?

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Myosen River explores the wisdom of taking-up and letting-go at same time.

Sewing Buddha’s Robe

Sun, 09 Aug 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Nin-En Susan Elbe explores robes and rakusu as a symbol of authentic transmission between teacher and student. The robe itself is the dharma, it is a teaching, it is truth.

Grief and Refuge

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Loss is unavoidable in our lives. Shinmon Michael Newton asks: How do we stay with the pain of loss? How can we allow the present moment to simply be?

Rest Relaxation and Zen

Sun, 02 Aug 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless, reflects on how making space for restoration and recuperation can be the antidote for a dull or agitated mind, thus leading to open awareness.

“Rest so that you can give full expression to your life.”

Taking Refuge on the Full Moon

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers guidance for understanding the bodhisattva vows in a deeply personal way, helping us to live a dynamic everyday life.

I Am Because We Are

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Kyōkō Chie Angela Kayira shares writing from Zenju Earthlyn Manuel (ordained Zen priest), that explore the connection between shamanism and Buddhist practice.

Addiction

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Joko Claire Talbot asks: when are you most aware of craving in your life? What practices do you find helpful when that happens?

Influencing and Being Influenced

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 12:00:00 -0700

Mysohin Kate McCandless reflects on sesshin by weaving the writing of Dogen, Susan Murphy, and Peter Godfrey-Smith.

Mountains and Waters - The Elements - Consciousness

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:00:00 -0700

Offering the last talk of sesshin, Mysohin Kate McCandless invites wonder and awe towards the mystery of consciousness.

Mountains and Waters - The Elements - Space/Time

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:00:00 -0700

When thoughts and feelings are less crowded, there can be relief and a sense of safety. However, Shinmon Michael Newton asks: how do we avoid the subtle and dangerous trap of identifying with or clinging to spaciousness??

Mountains and Waters - The Elements - Air

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless explores how the emptiness of sky is filled with the energy of air.

Mountains and Waters - The Elements - Fire

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 12:00:00 -0700

The senses and our experiences are aflame. Shinmon Michael Newton asks that we pay attention to the small changes in temperature felt both inside and outside of our bodies.

Mountains and Waters - The Elements - Water

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:00:00 -0700

Our inter-being with water is intricate and variable. Myoshin Kate McCandless invites us into the expanded enchantment of our water bodies.

Mountains and Waters - The Elements - Earth

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 12:00:00 -0700

It is not possible to do the job perfectly, so is it possible to let the job do you? Shinmon Michael Newton offers an exploration of the earth element - where in your body do you feel solidity, and where is there something else?

Wildfire Dharma

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Liz Toohey-Wiese shares insight into how it’s possible that the medicine and the sickness mutually heal.

Become What You Are

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Myosen River asks: What does it mean to be a grownup?

Ordinary Wonder

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Dai-i Flo Rublee explores the writing of Charlotte Joko Beck and asks: what were you expected to be when you were growing up? What do you require of yourself as an adult?

To Be Free and Fearless

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers a talk on the Buddha as wounded healer. How might we be with an unexpected visitor?

Here I Become Earth

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Telling the story of a very old ginko tree and an old couple, Mysohin Kate McCandless wonders in what ways we bond with place. Can we adopt an expansive view of what it means to belong to the one Earth we all depend upon?

Time in the Garden

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton suggests Summer’s growth is a good time for connecting to the heart of trees, and to know the dharma of plants.

A Field Guide to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 11/11

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Offering the last talk in the series, Myoshin Kate McCandless explores the significance of Jizo the bodhisattva of great vow.

A Field Guide to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 10/11

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 11:00:00 -0700

If Maitreya Buddha is the buddha of the future, Shinmon Michael Newton suggests we may all be that.

A Field Guide to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 9/11

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:00:00 -0700

On the Pilgrims’ Path we might meet the Medicine Buddha. Myoshin Kate McCandless explores ways in which healing occurs.

A Field Guide to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 8/11

Sun, 07 Jun 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton asks: do you recognize the qualities of Manjushri in your daily life?

A Field Guide to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 7/11

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless asks: who have you met along the pilgrimage of your life that has been a teacher to you? Who has helped you in just the right way and what did you learn?

Way Seeking Mind Talk - Kushi Matthew Ramsay

Sun, 31 May 2026 11:00:00 -0700

A Way-seeking mind talk is a traditional Dharma address where a practitioner shares their personal journey, reflecting on the life experiences and questions that led them to their spiritual practice.

A Field Guide to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 6/11

Wed, 27 May 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Beyond existence and non-existence, Shinmon Michael Newton shares how Vairocana brings the light of wisdom- impartially, omnipresent, impossible to block, and eternal.

A Field Guide to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 5/11

Sun, 24 May 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Continuing the deep exploration of Kannon Bodhisattva, Myoshin Kate McCandless offers insights into the bodhisattva’s various manifestations and names.

"Listen to the deeds of Avalokiteshvara, who aptly responds in every quarter.
With vast pledge as deep as oceans, throughout kalpas beyond reckoning,
served many thousands of millions of buddhas, bringing forth this great pure vow."

A Field Guide to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 4/11

Wed, 20 May 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless focuses on Kannon Bodhisattva whose name means the one who perceives the sounds or cries of the world.

A Field Guide to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 3/11

Sun, 17 May 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton focuses on Amitaba Buddha and how we might recognize zazen as an illumination of emptiness and fully realized awakening.

A Field Guide to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 2/11

Wed, 13 May 2026 16:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton continues exploring the variety of beings found on the pilgrim’s path, focusing on the most widely known of all - Buddha.

Weekend Retreat with Zoketsu Norman Fischer 2/2

Sun, 10 May 2026 12:00:00 -0700

Good news!! The Buddha is the cause and the result of awakening! Through practice our lives do transform.

Weekend Retreat with Zoketsu Norman Fischer 1/2

Sat, 09 May 2026 13:00:00 -0700

Everything is always vanishing so what is the use of pretence?

A Field Guide to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 1/11

Wed, 06 May 2026 21:00:00 -0700

A series on the beings depicted in images along the Shikoku pilgrimage path, exploring how they can inspire and support our practice. Myoshin Kate McCandless begins with Fudo Myo-o, Unmoving Bright Wisdom King, fierce protector of the dharma.

Reflections on the Pilgrims' Path 3/3

Sun, 03 May 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless brings us to the recent journey in Japan, through anecdotes and images. You can watch the slideshow HERE.

"Through 10,000 joys and sorrows the journey goes on - through this lifetime and beyond someone else will follow in your footsteps."

Reflections on the Pilgrims' Path 2/3

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton begins his talk with an exploration of what the word pilgrimage means, then takes the listener on a meandering path of depth and discovery.

Reflections on the Pilgrims' Path 1/3

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers a sense of how the recent five week pilgrimage in Japan was like an intensive zen retreat.

In the Mango Grove

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Enryu Anusha Fernando gives a talk on the Meghiya Sutta and its focus on the importance of friendship.

We don’t live in a neutral experience and our practice is to pay attention to the offerings of community, of sangha.

The Old Way 5/5

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Daikan Green continues our dharma seminar, offering comments on the finger snap.

April Zazenkai with Dai-i Flo-Rublee 2/2

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 15:00:00 -0700

Dai-i Flo Rublee continues exploring the Xin Xin Ming poem, and how a sense of equanimity supports our practice in these deeply troubled times.

April Zazenkai with Dai-i Flo-Rublee 1/2

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:00:00 -0700

The Xin Xin Ming, sometimes translated as Faith in Mind, is a poem attributed to the 3rd Zen Patriarch Seng-t’san. It stresses having a sense of equanimity when experiencing both pleasant and unpleasant experiences.

Dai-i Flo Rublee shares an exploration of this text and how it can support our practice in these deeply troubled times.

The Old Way 4/5

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Myosen River Shannon continues the dharma seminar on The Old Way, talks on texts from the Pali Canon, with a deep dive into the different kinds of minds we carry. What tools do we have for adjusting our behaviours when things are not going our way?

Way Seeking Mind Talk

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Toshin Patrick Griffin offers a Way-seeking mind talk as an invitation to remember, with gratitude, the events that weave themselves into the thresholds of our life.

A Way-seeking mind talk tells how the speaker came to Zen practice and how it has guided their life.

The Old Way 3/5

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Joko Claire Talbot explores what metta mean.

Rather than evaluating or judging self and others against culturally ingrained standards, can we pay attention to self and others based on awareness of the human need to be safe, healthy, and happy?

Admirable Friendship - Begin Again

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Myosen River Shannon asks in what way we can encourage each other in our practice. If spiritual friendship is an antidote to isolation and fragmentation, how do we achieve these wise relationships?

The Old Way 2/5

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Nin-en Susan Elbe explores the story of Angulimala, a serial murderer from the time of the Buddha.

Even those with the darkest hearts share a common humanity that just needs to be seen and accepted.

The Ocean - Mother Of Us All

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Jikai Vicki Turay offers a talk in honour of World Water day and the first day of Spring.

"Can we walk the fine line of the eight fold path between the urgency of present relative reality and the universal truth of impermanence?"

The Old Way 1/5

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Dai-i Flo Rublee gives the first dharma seminar on The Old Way, talks on texts from the Pali Canon.

Can you see the importance of recognizing wholesome and unwholesome thoughts and their effect on others?

On Crooked Cucumbers

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton offers a talk about David Chadwick, a Soto Zen priest, author, archivist, and one of the earliest disciples of Shunryu Suzuki (February 9, 1945 - February 23, 2026).

“I don't know anything about consciousness. I just try to teach my students how to hear the birds sing.”

Natural Healing

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless acknowledges that our deeper wounds need to be given protection and healing care. The darts and arrows of a human life can be sharp and painful - the body and mind are supported by practicing the dharma.

Genzo-e Closing Retreat 2/2

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 17:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton affirms that our practice is complete in each moment -- each moment of thought transcends all time. As Dogen would say: there is nothing to add or take away.

Genzo-e Closing Retreat 1/2

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless encourages the perspective that even though we are very far away in time from Dogen, we are part of the movement and transmission of dharma.

The Poetry of Flowers

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless looks at how poets before and after Dogen have used blossoms in their writing. From a smile, to dynamic interrelationship, to a burning house - all is real, all is unreal.

The Problem is the Problem

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0800

Shuso Heito Lee Lourdeaux explores how anger can transmute into compassion. "Understanding is love's other name."

Putting Into Motion Our Awakened Nature

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton reinforces that for us, reality is continuously expressing itself as this moment - and your life and practice is not separate from that expression.

All is Luminous

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:00:00 -0800

The continuous and subtle movement of our senses as they function naturally means that delusion is part of the human experience. Shinmon Michael Newton offers the last talk on the fascicle: Flowers in the Sky.

The Point of Turning Dharma Blossoms

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless continues the Genzo-e with an exploration of our capacity for agency.

“Even those who attempt to create or measure do so in accordance to dharma blossoms.” (Dogen)

Parinirvana and the Blue Lotus Blossoming in the Fire

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 11:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless celebrates the historic buddha’s final enlightenment by sharing images and teachings from Dogen’s Flowers in the Sky.

Think Beyond Thinking

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton affirms that beyond recitation and intellectual understanding of the sutras, our practice is full of heart. All is mutually interdependent and dynamic, and all activities are expressions of dharma blossoms.

“If thinking and beyond thinking do not divide the mind you can steer the white ox cart endlessly.” (Zen master Hui-neng)

Dogen Writes for You

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 11:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton continues the Genzo-e by reflecting on Dogen’s “Buddhas and ancestors of old were as we - we in the future shall be buddhas and ancestors.”

Dharma Blossoms Turn Dharma Blossoms

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless emphasizes that co-awakening is the nature of our experience- it is only in relationship with the world around us that enlightenment happens.

“When your mind is deluded, you are turned by the dharma blossoms. When your mind is enlightened, you turn the dharma blossoms” (Dogen)

Way Seeking Mind Talk - With Hotei Lee Lourdeaux

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 16:00:00 -0800

Hotei Lee Lourdeaux talks about the importance of having a supportive religious community or sangha.

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A way-seeking mind talk tells how the speaker came to Zen practice and how it has guided their life.

Genzo-e Opening Retreat - 2/2

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 16:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers that through entrusting and upholding, each is an extraordinary expression of the blossoming of the Udumbara flower.

Genzo-e Opening Retreat - 1/2

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton opens our annual Dogen study intensive by exploring the Udumbara Blossom text and introducing this year’s theme.

“Holding up a flower means a flower is holding up a flower.”

The Glory of Our Essence - Becoming Yourself - 4/4

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 21:00:00 -0800

Joko Claire Talbot offers the fourth and final talk in our Dharma Seminar on Shunryu Suzuki’s new book Becoming Yourself - Teachings on the Zen Way of Life.

Way Seeking Mind Talk - With Shiryū

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0800

Shiryū talks about faith, queerness and liberation across religious traditions. He dreams of a time when people of different backgrounds can complete each other's sentences.

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A way-seeking mind talk tells how the speaker came to Zen practice and how it has guided their life.

Contradictory Experiences - Becoming Yourself 3/4

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 21:00:00 -0800

Daikan delves further into the writings of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, who suggests that whatever you think or see is the teaching of the Buddha, and whatever you do is the practice of the Buddha. We should not rely on some teachings but should reflect on ourselves.

The Gift Economy

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0800

Jikai Vicki Turay explores the subtleties of reciprocity and how gift-giving has been viewed throughout Buddhist history.

Pure Mind and True Nature- Becoming Yourself 2/4

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 21:00:00 -0800

Dai-i Flo Rublee continues our dharma seminar on the new book Becoming Yourself - Teachings on the Zen Way of Life

“The way to be yourself is to take care of how you treat yourself including your various desires. This is how you treat your painful legs, how you have good posture, and how you let your breathing be smooth” Shunryu Suzuki

Way Seeking Mind Talk - With Gensei Susu Schnee

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0800

In what ways can obstacles and challenges become the path to liberation? How do we best train our mind to see the dharma lessons that surround us?

A way-seeking mind talk tells how the speaker came to Zen practice and how it has guided their life.

Ethics as Exploration - Becoming Yourself - 1/4

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 21:00:00 -0800

River Shannon opens our dharma seminar on Shunryu Suzuki’s new book, Becoming Yourself - Teachings on the Zen Way of Life, with an exploration of precepts and vows as an opportunity to grow awareness of present circumstances.

Being Intimate With the Half-Known Life

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton offers a talk to launch the new year: In a world that simmers in a state of answerlessness there is so much we cannot know. Vows help the mystery become our field of practice.

The Granting Way vs. The Grasping Way

Sun, 28 Dec 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Myosen River Shannon offers insight into koans - what they are and how they are used: as objects of meditation, as sprinkles of pepper and spice on practice, as nourishment for the spiritual embryo, and as a way to point to something of deep importance.

Joy as Gift to Give and Receive

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 21:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers that as we cultivate moment-to-moment awareness, joy can become a practice of survival, solidarity and connection.

All I Want to Give For Xmas Is...

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers the teaching that letting go of self-clinging leads to clear-seeing and non-reactivity, which in turn enables giving generously from our one true heart.

Ancestors To Be - Rohatsu Sesshin 7/7

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 11:00:00 -0800

For the last talk of sesshin Myoshin Kate McCandless asks: how do we want our lives to flow outwards and onwards, beyond this body and this lifetime?

Grandmother Zen - Rohatsu Sesshin 6/7

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton asks: what conceptual things are you holding on to so tightly? Can you call forth the old tea-woman within you?

Learning to be Supported - Rohatsu Sesshin 5/7

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 21:00:00 -0800

Shuso Myosen River Shannon suggests that affording those around us dignity is bodhisattva action.

“Beings are me. I will take them in hand. […] Mind goes elsewhere, I steadily walk it home […] I willingly enter each threshold. […] The way of wholeness is true, May I belong to it completely.” - Caroline Meister

Anger's Entanglement - Rohatsu Sesshin 4/7

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless explores anger as response to threat, asking how we might bring subtlety to the discussion. Can anger, fully experienced, lead to envisioning possibility?

Endurance and Humility- Rohatsu Sesshin 3/7

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 15:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton encourages the sangha to not turn away from the opportunity afforded by being on retreat.

“Our practice, whatever it is, is our true teacher. our life is our practice. Our life is our koan. Each one of us learns from our own life. If we listen deeply, if we are involved to the bottom of it, this is our true teacher, this is our most venerable teacher.” Maurine Myoon Stuart

The Awakened Sage - Rohatsu 2/7

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers stories, writings and poetry describing our women ancestors' moments of kenshō (awakening experiences).

Letting Go - Rohatsu 1/7

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton offers the first dharma talk from Rohatsu at Brew Creek.

“When we can be totally honest with what is happening right now, then we can completely see it. Buddhas come whole.”

Foundational Women - Practice Period Week Nine - Wednesday

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0800

Both Myoshin Kate McCandless and Shinmon Michael Newton share stories about, and teachings from, the women ancestors of Mountain Rain Zen.

Inner Practices for Living with Illness - Practice Period Week Eight - Sunday

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Zenshin Florence Caplow offers a dharma talk on the dance between chronic illness and Buddhist practice.

Skillful Means - Practice Period Week Seven - Sunday

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Shuso Myosen River Shannon asks: what is it to believe in karma or not?

The Dharma of Chores - Practice Period Week Seven - Wednesday

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton offers insight into the calm readiness of cleaning and of being present to doing exactly what we are doing. What does it mean to do something with total concentration?

Earth Womb - Practice Period Week Six - Sunday

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Dharma talk by Myoshin Kate McCandless on Jizo Bodhisattva, protector of women, children and travellers.

Zazen is Embodied Curiosity - Practice Period Week Six - Wednesday

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0800

Shuso Myosen River suggests that using zazen to avoid our bodies or demons is kind-of funny because it’s like hiding from the monster in our closet by going in with it.

Hail to the Never-Despising Bodhisattva - Practice Period Week Five - Sunday

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton offers a talk on Dogen and Keizan, and on their support for women disciples.

For the Hungry Ghosts - Practice Period Week Five - Wednesday

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Talk by Myoshin Kate McCandless on Yurei and Hannya: Japanese women ghosts and demons.

The Use and Power of the Erotic - Practice Period Week Four - Sunday

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Shuso Myosen River asks: as followers of 'The Way', are we supposed to transcend desire?

The Dharma Gate of Grief - Practice Period Week Four - Wednesday

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless examines how different women have coped with intense grief, and how buddhist perspectives and practices have supported their process.

Enlightened Women - Practice Period Week Three - Sunday

Sun, 19 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton takes a backstep into the context of India at the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, and surfaces through the story of bhikkhuni Bhadda Kapilani, foremost in recollecting past lives.

When the Buddha was Wrong - Practice Period Week Three - Wednesday

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Myosen River Shannon asks: When people we love and trust harm us, how can we hold that contradiction in our bodies and transform what is possible in our relationships and communities?

The Buddha was imperfect - does this understanding makes it easier to confront the paradoxes in our own lives?

Who was the Buddha's Mother? - Practice Period Week Two - Sunday

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0700

A body from which another body is born - what a marvel!

Myoshin Kate McCandless shares teachings about Buddha’s mother Maya and her younger sister Prajāpatī (Buddha’s step-mother) as well as Yaśodharā, Buddha's wife and mother of his son.

Bringing Zen Home - Practice Period Week Two - Wednesday

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Shinmon focuses on home altars as a part of embodied practice.

Practice Period Opening Weekend (5/5)

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton parses apart the title for this year’s practice period In this Lifetime, In this Body: Cultivating Embodied Wisdom and Compassion with our Women Ancestors, and asks himself how he understands his malenesss as it shapes and colours his practice.

Practice Period Opening Weekend (4/5)

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 21:00:00 -0700

In part of her role as shuso, Myosen River gives a Way-Seeking Mind Talk.

“Emptiness is not erasure, it’s a promise and a warning.”

Practice Period Opening Weekend (3/5)

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless introduces the Practice Period theme and describes how the lens will be turned onto what it is for us to live and awaken in the fullness of our embodied life in these difficult times on earth.

Practice Period Opening Weekend (2/5)

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton offers a talk on one of his dearly treasured woman ancestors, the nun Ōtagaki Rengetsu.

Practice Period Opening Weekend (1/5)

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers a talk on one of her dearly treasured woman ancestors, 17th century nun - Ziyong Chengru.

Way Seeking Mind Talk - Unmon Jacob Butula

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 11:00:00 -0700

A first koan: how does one get in "the zone" and then stay in "the zone"?

How to Cook Your Life (7/7)

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Daikan offers insight into the suffering and instability we create for ourselves. In what way is the position of Tenzo (head cook) a metaphor for the settled life that is grounded in zazen?

Zazenkai

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 15:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton suggests retreats (such as the day-long zazenkai hosted at Bright Stream Temple) are an opportunity to sit with others, to notice our busy minds, and to work on letting thoughts go. Returning to innocent mind, the question is asked: "What is this life?"

How to Cook Your Life (6/7)

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Continuing the dharma seminar on Uchiyama’s commentary on Dogen’s Instructions to the Cook Shinmon Michael Newton asks: as this is the only life you get, how do you look deeply to know who you are?

“In attachement blossoms fall, in aversion weeds spread” -Dogen

Making Choices

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers reflections on the moon, bodhisattva precepts, and failure. How would it be to commit to these precepts in daily life, particularly when we are faced with so many choices?

How to Cook Your Life (5/7)

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless continues the exploration of Uchiyama’s commentary on Dogen’s Instructions To the Cook, delving in to Chapter 10 making life calculations and Chapter 11 working with clear vision.

“All comparing-mind is vanity and self clinging.”

Special Talk for Labour Day

Sun, 31 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton reminds us that we cannot take for granted the work our ancestors have done, and that each of us can labour for the good of all beings.

How to Cook Your Life (4/7)

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Nin-en Susan Elbe reads correspondence between herself, Uchiyama Roshi, and Dogen Zenji as part of the dharma seminar on Instructions to the Cook.

Camping Dharma

Sun, 24 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless takes us along her and Shinmon Michael Newton’s recent camping trip - a time for letting go into moment by moment experience…to include, notice, and release.

How can we be with nature in order to summon the life force and renewal we need to live bravely in these perilous times?

How to Cook Your Life (3/7)

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Myosen River Shannon continues the Dharma seminar on Uchiyama Roshi's commentary on Dogen's Instructions to the Cook, offering insights into Great Mind and Parental Mind.

What would it be like to fully the taste the experiences of each day? What kind of medicine bowl can be made with what’s available?

Practicing with Anxiety

Sun, 17 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Lay Entrusted Dharma Teacher and Palliative Care Physician Joko Claire Talbot asks: in our distressing moments, before our limbic system kicks in to full gear, can we practice generosity towards ourselves, crossing over to the shore of peace and understanding?

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” (Leo Buscaglia)

How to Cook Your Life (2/7)

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Jikai Vicki Turay gives a talk on chapters 3 and 4 of Uchiyama Roshi's commentary on Dogen's Instructions to the Cook.

Cooking is not a distraction from the more serious pursuit of meditation but rather an entry way to a deeper understanding of how our minds are intimately connected to all phenomena and to one’s buddha nature.

Listening to the Wild - Speaking as a Tree

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 13:00:00 -0700

Jikai Vicki Turay shares reflections on the recent MRZC Summer sesshin and Dogen’s Mountains and Waters sutra.

How to Cook Your Life (1/7)

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 22:00:00 -0700

Dai- Flo Rublee offers the first talk in a new Dharma seminar on Uchiyama Roshi's commentary on Dogen's Instructions to the Cook.

What are the activities of true adults in the world today?

Special Talk for Pride

Sun, 03 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Myosen River Shannon suggests that the possibilities of gender embodiment and existence are infinite. Healing and awakening are mutually enriching experiences, not separate.

Practice of the Wild (M&W 2025 sesshin day 6)

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:00:00 -0700

In the final talk of the sesshin, Shinmon Michael Newton explores the notion of the unknown in the wild and along the path of practice.

Practice of the Wild (M&W 2025 sesshin day 5)

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 10:00:00 -0700

Drawing on the essay “Survival and Sacrament” by Gary Snyder, Myoshin Kate McCandless reflects on how our lives are intertwined with all other beings.

Practice of the Wild (M&W 2025 sesshin day 4)

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 10:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton draws on Gary Snyder’s essay “Good, Wild, Sacred” to consider the notion of the wild both within us and around us.

Practice of the Wild (M&W 2025 sesshin day 3)

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 10:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless explores living and practicing in place through Gary Snyder’s essay “The Place, the Region, and the Commons.”

Practice of the Wild (M&W sesshin day 2)

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 10:00:00 -0700

In this talk, Shinmon Michael Newton discusses Gary Snyder’s essay “Blue Mountains Constantly Walking” and explores how the idea of the mountain can be expressed in our practice.

Practice of the Wild (M&W sesshin day 1)

Sun, 20 Jul 2025 10:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless introduces the theme of this years MRZC Mountains and Waters sesshin - The Practice of the Wild. Through the writing of Gary Snyder, the talk explores our practice in relation to nature, wilderness and the wild.

Note: we apologize for the audio issues in the first few minutes of the talk

Dialogues in a Dream - To Be in the Garden

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless gives the last talk in the dharma seminar on Musō Soseki’s writing.

“I am seeking nothing special. Even for my guests I have nothing to offer except these white stones and this clear spring water.”

To Acknowledge and Renew - Fusatsu

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton offers an exploration of Fusatsu (the full moon ceremony) - when sangha members have the opportunity to refresh and renew their relationship to the 16 boddhisatva precepts.

Dialogues in a Dream - What is Your Relationship to the World?

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 21:00:00 -0700

“Through desire we invite birth, through aversion we receive death.”

Shinmon Michael Newton continues the Wednesday evening seminar on Muso Soseki’s Dialogues in a Dream.

Zen Mind, Baby Mind

Sun, 06 Jul 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers teachings and perspectives on the dharma and babies, in advance of a welcoming ceremony for baby Callum.

Dialogues in a Dream - To Read or Not to Read

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 21:00:00 -0700

“Knowing is arrogance, not knowing is stupidity.”

For the third talk in our dharma seminar on Musō Soseki's writing, Myoshin Kate McCandless asks: What is your relationship to reading Zen texts and commentaries?

Seeing our Demons

Sun, 29 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton delves into Muso Soseki’s teachings on demons. How do we understand and address inner challenges?

Dialogues in a Dream - What is Compassion?

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton offers an exploration of Muso Soseki’s thoughts on compassion. Is it sentimental? Is it dharma based? Is it universal or is it dualistic?

The Karma of Words

Sun, 22 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless examines that most frustrating, troublesome, and beautiful of human faculties: language.

Dialogues in a Dream - What Would You Ask a Time-travelling Zen Master?

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Mysohin Kate McCandless introduces Zen master Musō Soseki and “Dialogues in a Dream" - a collection of ninety-three dialogues between the master and the shogun Ashikaga Tadayoshi.

What is this Light that Everyone Has?

Sun, 15 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Anusha Enryu Fernando, a dharma holder with Zen Community of Oregon, offers reflections on ancestors.

Living with Ease in a Crazy World (Training in Compassion - 8/)

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Daikan picks up the exploration of Norman Fischer’s book Training in Compassion. He notes that over time, we might notice that meditating changes our sense of life and that we may be developing gentleness and patience towards self and others.

Practice Zen, Cultivate Resilience

Sun, 08 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton talks about resiliency and Zen practice, offering this koan from the Book of Serenity: do people these days need enlightenment or not?

Zen and Creativity

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Kakuko Kaye Simard discusses the intersection of Zen practice and artistic expression. What does it mean to be creative? How do we cultivate the willingness, patience, and trust to complete a relationship with something outside of ourselves?

Seeing Double

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0700

If we already have Buddha nature why do we have to practice? Myoshin Kate McCandless asks what do you see when you look in the mirror?

The Discipline of Relationships (Training in Compassion - 7/)

Wed, 28 May 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton brings the Wednesday evening Dharma seminar on Norman Fischer's Training in Compassion to a close.

Seeds of Life, Seeds of Dharma

Sun, 25 May 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Jikai Vicki Turay explores the origins of life from both a scientific and a dharmic perspective.

When Everything is the Path, Nothing is Left Out (Training in Compassion 6/)

Wed, 21 May 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Hotei Denis asks: given state of world and the seriousness of the human condition, how do we deepen our practice? When the only point is the point, how do we walk the walk?

The Great Matter of Birth and Death

Sun, 18 May 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Ninen Susan Elbe offers an exploration of koans and how they help us grapple with the mysteries of birth and death.

Make Practice Your Whole Life (Training in Compassion - 5/)

Wed, 14 May 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Jikai Vicki Turay continues our Dharma seminar asking: what strengths do you have when it comes to making practice your whole life? What challenges? How consciously and caringly can you breathe?

In the Spirit of Mothers' Day

Sun, 11 May 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton offers stories celebrating the strong influence of mothers within the Buddhist tradition. How do you cultivate a mothering spirit?

Transform Bad Circumstances into the Path (Training in Compassion - 4/)

Wed, 07 May 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Joko Claire Talbot continues the Wednesday evening Dharma seminar on Norman Fischer's Training in Compassion.

In what ways do you appreciate your lunacy and pray for help?

The Way is Easy - Just Avoid Preferences

Sun, 04 May 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Zoketsu Norman Fischer 's second dharma talk from the MRZC weekend retreat is again full of wonderful teachings and stories from Dongshan. What is this life now, beyond theologies and categories? [with apologies for rough audio]

Inanimate Objects Speak the Dharma

Sat, 03 May 2025 16:00:00 -0700

Rich with stories and teachings from Dongshan's life, Zoketsu Norman Fischer gives the first of two talks at the annual MRZC weekend retreat. [with apologies for rough audio]

Relative Compassion (Training in Compassion - 3/)

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Our dharma seminar on Zoketsu Norman Fischer’s Training in Compassion continues. Dai-i Flo Rublee offers that relative compassion helps ground the broad view of life’s empty nature in heart-connection and engagement.

Different Ways of Expressing What it is to be Human

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 12:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless gives a dharma talk on one of humanity's great koans: gender. Can we release our fixed views on identity?

Absolute Compassion (Training in Compassion - 2/)

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Myosen River Shannon continues the Dharma Seminar on Zoketsu Norman Fischer’s Training in Compassion.

How does caring for ourselves help us care for others? How do we not hide behind the dream-like quality of the absolute?

A ZED talk for Earth Day

Sun, 20 Apr 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Zen Engaged Dharma (ZED) talk by Kokai Michael Drebert on Gardening and the Wild.

ZED talks are informal talks by sangha members on how they take their practice into the world, and how their practice supports doing so.

Resolve to Begin (Training in Compassion - 1/)

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton gives the first talk in our new Dharma Seminar on Zoketsu Norman Fischer’s Training in Compassion, where we will explore the practice of Lojong.

The first slogan, "Train in the Preliminaries," strengthens our resolve to practice and invites us to reflect deeply, whether we are an experienced practitioner or just beginning.

Following the Precepts

Sun, 13 Apr 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton outlines how taking the bodhisattva vows reduces suffering and can help cultivate dignified presence.

Everyday Zen (9/9): Service

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton gives the last talk in our Dharma Seminar on Charlotte Joko Beck's Everyday Zen - Love and Work, offering further insight into a formidable zen teacher.

What would it be like to live a life of no exchange?

Religion's Relevance to Contemporary Society

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless emphasizes that religions can not only provide solace and inspiration, but also need to reckon with harms done in the name of "god".

Everyday Zen (8/9): Boundaries

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 09:00:00 -0700

Using Joko Beck's Everyday Zen as a springboard, Myoshin Kate McCandless asks us to consider what kind of boundaries we are attached to, and which of the worldly winds blows us off our path.

Everyday Zen (7/9): Choices

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 21:00:00 -0700

Nin-en Susan Elbe picks up the thread of Charlotte Joko Beck’s Everyday Zen by offering a talk on Chapter 8.

How do the paramitas help us make difficult choices?

Not One Not Two: Art and Practice – a ZED talk by Onsen Kerr

Sun, 23 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0700

ZED Talks (Zen Engaged Dharma) invite sangha members to tell their stories about how Zen practice manifests in their life.

Zen priest Onsen Kerr from Middle Way Sangha in Victoria discusses how her lifelong art practice is one of realization and disruption, and explores the question of how Art and Zen co-exist – and for whose benefit?

See Onsen's work (as described in the talk) at:
https://www.colleenkerrartworks.ca/newwork

Dogen Intensive: Moon (3/3)

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0700

To end our month long Genzo-e, Shinmon Michael Newton underlines that the moon is a symbol for awakening to non-dual reality and to impermanence.

Dogen Intensive: Moon (2/3 - Closing Retreat)

Sat, 15 Mar 2025 17:00:00 -0700

In this talk, Shinmon Michael Newton encourages us to not reject the incomplete and to not hang on to what is complete, but rather just to practice; to actualize the complete moon that is not yet full.

Dogen Intensive: Moon (1/3 - Closing Retreat)

Sat, 15 Mar 2025 10:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton offers insights into the moon as symbol for the formless dharma body. What preconceived notions do you have about zen practice and your life? Can you let go of that mode of thinking?

Dogen Intensive: Dreams (4/4)

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 21:00:00 -0700

In the last dharma talk on Dogen's Dream within a Dream, Myoshin Kate McCandless shares a dialogue between Ziyong, a 17th century Chinese nun at the end of her life, and her disciple Jingxuan. How do we express the dream within the dream in times of great loss?

Dogen Intensive: Going Beyond Buddha (3/3)

Sun, 09 Mar 2025 12:00:00 -0700

In this dharma talk, Shinmon Michael Newton encourages us to “hold up the sun and moon on the top of a staff” and asks what we offer to this troubled and confused world?

Dogen Intensive: Dreams (3/4)

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless asks: how can Dogen, and seven wise princesses, help us be fully alive and express the "dream within a dream"?

Dogen Intensive: Going Beyond Buddha (2/3)

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton asks that we get past "zero sum thinking" the better to cultivate and encourage buddha nature, wherever and whenever we can.

Dogen Intensive: Dreams (2/4)

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0800

"How can I express the dream of this life?"

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers an exploration of what Dogen calls "twining vines" - the entanglement of our karmic lives and the intertwined nature of awakening.

Dogen Intensive: Going Beyond Buddha (1/3)

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton explores how, by taking a step backwards and shining the light inwards, we might realize the nature of Buddha.

Dogen Intensive: Dreams (1/4)

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0800

For the 1st Wednesday evening of MRZC's Genzo-e, Myoshin Kate McCandless explores how perhaps we are "within a dream expressing a dream".

Dogen Intensive: Miracles (3/3)

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Themes from the Dogen Genzo-e opening retreat continue to be explored in the Sunday morning dharma talk. Can we practice humility and be open to wonder? In what ways do we express how we feel about miracles?

Dogen Intensive: Miracles (2/3 - Opening Retreat)

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 17:00:00 -0800

A call to the co-arising of "be alert!". Enlightenment is not a fixed state - it is the expression of our practice. And that is a great miracle.

Dogen Intensive: Miracles (1/3 - Opening Retreat)

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Mysoshin Kate McCandless offers a deep dive into what Dogen meant by saying miracles are "the tea and rice of buddha's house".

Everyday Zen (6/9): Suffering

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Dai-i Flo Rublee offers the last instalment in our dharma seminar - Chapter 5 from Charlotte Joko Beck’s Everyday Zen - with the suggestion that we don't have to be engaged in endless struggle with forces external to ourselves.

"No old age and death. No end to old age and death. No suffering. No end to suffering." (the Heart Sutra)

Anger and Forgiveness

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Kakuko Kaye Simard offers a talk on anger as a path of transformation.

Everyday Zen (5/9): Ideals

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0800

Jikai Vicki Turay continues our dharma seminar on Charlotte Joko Beck’s Everyday Zen asking the question: Do our ideals serve us or confuse us? Are they guiding principles or subtle forms of attachement?

What is Death with Dignity?

Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:00:00 -0800

In honour of the Buddha's parinirvana, Shinmon Michael Newton asks: how does realizing our self-nature free us from birth and death?

Everyday Zen (4/9): Relationships

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0800

"Every moment of our life is relationship. There is nothing except relationship." (Charlotte Joko Beck)

Shinmon Michael Newton continues our dharma seminar, exploring how we can perceive and navigate relationships with mindfulness and presence.

Truth and Beauty in Hard Times

Sun, 26 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless asks, with so much seeming to be so awry in the world right now, how can we meet beauty and truth in unexpected moments and guises.

Everyday Zen (3/9): Feelings

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 20:00:00 -0800

Daikan John Green continues our dharma seminar on Charlotte Joko Beck's Everyday Zen, in which Joko describes how sitting can be like opening a Pandora’s box — which looks still and pretty on the outside, but can release a swarm of intense feelings. How do we experience these feelings as they arise, without being caught by ‘emotion-thought’?

Working With Anger: Practising Patience (2/2)

Sun, 19 Jan 2025 10:00:00 -0800

In this second talk on working with anger, MRZC Priest Dai-i Flo Rublee uses Shantideva's writings in The Way of the Bodhisattva—along with Pema Chödrön's masterful analysis—to explore specific situations for practising patience in the midst of overwhelming emotion. She also reminds us of the value of our troublemakers: those people or situations that challenge us and give us opportunities for practice.

Working With Anger: Avoiding the Hook (1/2)

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 10:00:00 -0800

In this first of two talks based on Shantideva's writings in the classic text The Way of the Bodhisattva, MRZC Priest Dai-i Flo Rublee unpacks how anger functions as a hindrance to happiness and affects all around us. She goes on to explain how, by cultivating patience, we can learn to sit through the 'pain of detox' and avoid biting anger's hook.

Everyday Zen (2/9): What is Practice?

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0800

Myosen River Shannon continues our dharma seminar on Charlotte Joko Beck's book Everyday Zen and explores two questions Beck poses: "What is practice?" and "What is not practice?"

Zen, Karate, and Kiai - ZED Talk with Michael Hare

Sun, 12 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0800

Michael Hare describes how his different communities of practice weave together like the threads of a martial arts belt.

ZED (Zen Engaged Dharma) talks are short talks by sangha members about how they take their practice into the world, through work, art, activism, service, family life, etc. and how their practice supports them in doing so.

Everyday Zen (1/9): Love and Work

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0800

Kakuko Kaye Simard begins a new dharma seminar on Joko Beck's book Everyday Zen: Love and Work.

If you are curious about the references made during the talk, please click below!

Tales from the San Deigo Zen Center

Joko Beck videos/documentary

Dale S Wright - Humanizing the Image of a Zen Master: Maezumi Roshi

Taking Vows in a Troubled World

Sun, 05 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0800

"All sentient beings have their existence and live within my life" -Uchiyama Roshi

Shinmon Michael Newton asks us what our deep vows are, particularly in light of the many complex and difficult issues facing contemporary society. How can we open our hearts and see we are not separate from the ones we want to shun?

Tribute to Hozan Alan Senauke

Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0800

Hozan Alan Senauke was an American Sōtō priest, folk musician and poet residing at the Berkeley Zen Center. Myoshin Kate McCandless reads from Hozan’s tribute and shares some of his writing.

Joy

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers insight into how, even with all the challenges the holiday season might bring, we can experience joy as one of the noble abodes.

Impermanence and Uncertainty

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton asks how we might best respond to the uncertainty that is always present in our lives. In what way does living in sangha provide an opportunity to meet the unexpected and experience what enables the heart to be at peace?

Rohatsu sesshin - Living in Indra's Net: the Avatamsaka Sutra and Beyond (7)

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 13:00:00 -0800

Mysohin Kate McCandless gives the last talk of sesshin and concludes the story of Sudhana’s pilgrimage.

Because we only exist within the vast matrix of Indra’s Net, the work of a Bodhisattva is never solitary. The greatest gift we can bring to the world is to give up our self-clinging.

Rohatsu sesshin - Living in Indra's Net: the Avatamsaka Sutra and Beyond (6)

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0800

Continuing the exploration of Samantabhadra's Ten Vows, Shinmon Michael Newton reminds us to never give up on ourselves, and to dedicate the merit we accrue towards the good of all beings.

Rohatsu sesshin - Living in Indra's Net: the Avatamsaka Sutra and Beyond (5)

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0800

Daikan John Green, the MRZC practice period 2024 shuso, shares thoughts on tea-service, interdependence, and on Indra's Net as a manifestation of ceaseless arising and passing away.

Rohatsu sesshin - Living in Indra's Net: the Avatamsaka Sutra and Beyond (4)

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless describes how even with our little internal monsters - with our backsliding, distraction, and confusion - if we look at ourselves with clear eyes, it is possible to recognize that we are all bodhisattvas on the path.

Rohatsu sesshin - Living in Indra's Net: the Avatamsaka Sutra and Beyond (3)

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0800

With an invitation to enter the moment and be open to things of beauty, Shinmon Michael Newton explores the nature of vow as something that is practiced, never completed.

Rohatsu sesshin - Living in Indra's Net: the Avatamsaka Sutra and Beyond (2)

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 10:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless describes doors of liberation, talks about the weather, and invites trust in the buddha-body of sangha during sesshin.

Rohatsu sesshin - Living in Indra's Net: the Avatamsaka Sutra and Beyond (1)

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 14:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton opens Rohatsu sesshin with an introduction of Samantabhadra's Ten Vows and an exploration of bowing practice.

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (14)

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0800

We all, at some point in life, become aware of a longing that is not satisfied by any material thing or distraction or accomplishment. Shinmon Michael Newton explores the Avatamsaka Sutra’s list of 10 demons or personal obstacles met when walking this path of zazen.

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (13)

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0800

Myoshin Kate McCandless shares more of Sudhana’s pilgrimage, the companions he meets along the way, including people, animals, and plants. Each has teaching to offer, not always easy to receive. All these stories help humanize Sudhana and make him relatable, more than just allegorical.

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (12)

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton explores chapter 11 of the Avatamsaka Sutra, in which there are 140 verses encouraging mindfulness in daily life.

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (11)

Sun, 17 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0800

Shinmon Michael Newton explores how the skillful use of imagination can help us open to our Buddha nature.

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (10)

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0800

Daikan John Green offers images and metaphors for the infinite interconnections and feedback loops of Indra’s Net such as quantum entanglement or the root structure of a redwood tree. How can we practice with these infinities when we are only finite humans?

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (9)

Sun, 10 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0800

How do we take in and then process the traumas of war, have our hearts broken over and over again, while abiding in the two truths, of relative and absolute? Myoshin Kate McCandless explores practices of patience and equanimity in the face of conflict offered in the Avatamsaka Sutra.

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (8)

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 10:00:00 -0800

Daikan John Green helps peel back layers from Book 16 and 20 of the Avatamsaka Sutra, revealing that Mind is like an artist able to paint the world…

"If people want to really know/ All Buddhas of all time,/ They should contemplate the nature of the cosmos:/ All is but mental construction". (Thomas Cleary, translation of chapter 20)

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (7)

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless continues the exploration of Sudhana's story as he encounters a series of nine night goddesses. How can we open to, and be with, the fruitful and generative darkness?

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (6)

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton explores Chapter 17 of the Avatamsaka Sutra, which focuses on boddhicitta - the way-seeking mind that is awakening for the benefit of all. How do we relax the tight self-centered grip of our usual way of being, to step into the teachings of ease?

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (5)

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Daikan John Green gives a talk about the ten dedications of merit or ten transfers of merit and offers the practice of rapid sutra recitation.

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (4)

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Daikan John Green, our Practice Period shuso, presents two questions posed by the bodhisattva Manjushri, regarding how to bring the teachings of Indra's Net into everyday life.

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (3)

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless discusses meetings with teachers on the Path of awakening. Sometimes those meetings are pivotal, sometimes disappointing, and sometimes we don't even recognize or appreciate them at the time. She shares excepts from the Gandharva Sutra (last chapter of the Avatamsaka) and the Korean poet Ko Un's retelling of the young boy Sudhana's pilgrimage.

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (2)

Sun, 13 Oct 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless explores "worlds within worlds", the ways our mutual well-being depends on the complex interconnection of relationships within Indra's net, drawing on the Avatamsaka Sutra and the microcosmos.

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 (1)

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton introduces Samantabhadra, one of the archetypical boddhisatvas and a teacher of many practices for realizing inter-being, including the ten qualities of mind.

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 Opening Weekend (Saturday)

Sat, 05 Oct 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless weaves us deeper into the theme of Living in Indra’s Net: the Avatamsaka Sutra and Beyond. This is a profound evocation of the boundless interbeing of all existence, and has deep relevance to the challenges we face in our world today: social injustice, climate and ecological crises, and the many conflicts that cause so much suffering.

Living in Indra's Net - Practice Period 2024 Opening Weekend (Friday)

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton begins the 2024 Practice Period with a talk exploring the vast vision of reality offered by the Avatamsaka Sutra, and an invitation to be inspired by its lush imagery.

Teachings (What is Zen? Chapter 7)

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Dai-i Flo Rublee gives the final talk in our dharma seminar on Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Sue Moon’s book : What is Zen?

How do the teachings of Buddhism help us understand that connection, compassion, and love are all there is?

Way Seeking Mind Talk with Hofu Louise Day

Sun, 29 Sep 2024 11:00:00 -0700

How does zen practice lead to the whole body smiling with all it is? Hofu Louise Day shares some of her life experiences - from sitting with Suzuki Roshi when still in highschool, to finding inner peace again after intense loss and grief.

Everyday Life and Relationships (What is Zen? Chapter 12)

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Jikai Vicki Turay explores how, though much of practice appears to be solitary, zen is primarily based in relationships.

"Formal Zen practice: that of meditation, teachings, rituals serve as a training ground. Those activities support and encourage the actual practice - which happens all the time, in your own life, in your every encounter with others, in your heart and mind." (Zoketsu Norman Fischer)

Continuous Practice

Sun, 22 Sep 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton suggests that continuous practice is not a burden - it is simply the ever deepening expression of ones life.

Over the Long Haul (What is Zen? Chapter 10)

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Jakushin Todd Slobogean continues our dharma seminar on What is Zen? by sharing personal reflections on the question of how a person changes after many years of practice.

The Dharma of Fire

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers a meditation on fire and explores how the elements give and destroy life even though they have no separate self nature.

Stages of Practice (What is Zen? Chapter 9)

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Unmon Jacob Butula's talk offers a clear perspective on chapter 9 of Zoketsu Norman Fischer and Sue Moon's book What is Zen?

If our tradition is primarily about integrating the dharma into everyday life, with no steps and stages, why is zen so full of complicated rituals and hierarchies?

The Dharma of Water

Sun, 08 Sep 2024 11:00:00 -0700

In this talk, Mysohin Kate McCandless suggests that the more we attend to our relationships with the elements, the better we can care for the beings and ecosystems with which our lives interdepend.

Zen and Art (What is Zen? Chapter 13)

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Nin-En Susan Elbe continues our dharma seminar on Sue Moon and Zoketsu Norman Fischer's book, What is Zen?, offering the insight that zen art can open us to an ineffable truth that goes beyond words. Can art be an expression of spirit?

Who do you Work For? A Talk for Labour Day

Sun, 01 Sep 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton explores how we might wholeheartedly engage the Way when cooking, cleaning, tending the sick and elderly, caring for a pet - asking if we can bring a joyful sense of service to our labour.

Awakening (What is Zen? Chapter 4)

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Kakuko Kaye Simard explores Sue Moon and Zoketsu Norman Fischer's understanding of the promises and fruits of awakening.

Sangha Practice

Sun, 25 Aug 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers various practices which can help us maintain and care for our sangha relationships.

Beliefs and Ethics (What is Zen? Chapter 6)

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 21:00:00 -0700

What do ritual and tradition evoke? How do the precepts help us commit to compassionate action? Can we understand religion as daily life?

Myosen River offers the third talk in our dharma seminar on the book What Is Zen: Plain Talk for a Beginner's Mind by Norman Fischer and Susan Moon.

Right Livelihood and the Subversive Power of Volunteering

Sun, 18 Aug 2024 11:00:00 -0700

In this ZED Talk (Zen Engaged Dharma), Roshin Carmen Mills illuminates how volunteer work – "selfless service" – serves the self, while also serving the greater whole and cultivating a deeply held sense of inherent value and connection. All the while, taking a sly poke at consumer capitalism.

Forms and Rituals (What is Zen? - Chapter 3)

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers insight into how forms and rituals such as bowing and chanting bring us into our bodies and nurture community.

Week two of our dharma seminar on the book What Is Zen: Plain Talk for a Beginner's Mind by Norman Fischer and Susan Moon.

True Compassion

Sun, 11 Aug 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton offers insights into why Dogen venerated Avalokiteshvara, and how an act of true compassion, karuna, is an act of wisdom.

What's the Point of Zazen? (What is Zen? - Chapters 1-2)

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton presents the first in a series of seminars based on the lively Q&A book What Is Zen: Plain Talk for a Beginner's Mind by Norman Fischer and Susan Moon.

How Much is Enough?

Sun, 04 Aug 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless describes how the eight-fold path and the eight awakenings support us in knowing how much is enough, even as we are steeped in a culture of hyper-materialism.

Opening the Hand of Thought (Chapter 7)

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Nin-en Susan Elbe offers the final talk in our ten week dharma seminar on Kosho Uchiyama Roshi's book: Opening the Hand of Thought.

We each live in the world as an individual self operating within the realm of desires, aversions, categorization and separation. In this chapter, Uchiyama Roshi explores how practicing goal-less zazen can bring us to meet our "true" self, which fully realizes interconnection with all beings.

Living the Heart Sutra (M&W sesshin day 6)

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton shares teachings about mantra and suggests the Heart Sutra is chanted the better to drink it in, helping gather body and mind in times of distress, loss, and confusion.

Living the Heart Sutra (M&W sesshin day 5)

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0700

Mysohin Kate McCandless discusses how to practice with hindrances. When we free ourselves from fear, that gift extends out through the world in ways that we may never know.

Living the Heart Sutra (M&W sesshin day 4 - evening)

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless asks if we can enter mountain time and invites us to explore the notion that we might all be wind-bells in the dharma wind, manifesting the particular song of our lives.

Living the Heart Sutra (M&W sesshin day 4 - morning)

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless describes the senses as dharma gates, through which we interact with our environment. The Heart Sutra suggests that this body - this life - is the medium, the gift we are given to help us fully awaken to the true nature of our being.

Living the Heart Sutra (M&W sesshin day 3)

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton gives an insightful overview of dependent origination - how everything affects everything. You and I are all part of a great dance, and are woven in to the process of causal relationships.

Living the Heart Sutra (M&W sesshin day 2 - evening)

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton affirms the culture of mutual support and interdependence which makes sesshin a safe place for practicing being open to our non-separateness.

Living the Heart Sutra (M&W sesshin day 2 - morning)

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton begins to examine in what way the Heart Sutra provokes, evokes, and points a finger at the boundless nature of our lives.

Living the Heart Sutra (M&W sesshin day 1)

Sun, 21 Jul 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless opens the ninth annual MRZC Summer sesshin by introducing the theme for the week: The Heart Sutra - Great Wisdom Beyond Wisdom.

Opening the Hand of Thought (Chapter 8)

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Shinmon Michael Newton helps unpack the final chapter of Kosho Uchiyama Roshi's book, Opening the Hand of Thought, in which there are seven clear instructions on how to orient our lives to practice.

Opening the Hand of Thought (Chapter 6)

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Joko Claire Talbot explores how, given human beings live in the flow of impermanence and suffer the burden of thought, in what way does zen help us learn to enjoy every sandwich and every bike ride?!

Contemplating Ruins: Ireland and Impermanence

Sun, 07 Jul 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless shares experiences from her recent pilgrimage to Ireland, and asks how we might reconcile human contradictions at the personal, national and global levels. How do we resolve the human koan in which we are all implicated?

Opening the Hand of Thought (Chapter 5)

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Is zazen selfish? What is the self? Are we belligerent squashes or are we all in this together? Myosen River Shannon explores these and other questions in her talk on Opening the Hand of Thought chapter 5.

A Look at Dongshan's Five Ranks

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Daikan John Green shares a few thoughts about what could be considered a true teaching, and what might be conveyed or created by something else in the past.

Perspectives on Zen in North America from Rev. Gyokei Yokoyama

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Guest monk, Rev. Gyokei Yokohama, ponders what stays the same, what gets lost in translation, and what influences are shared back and forth between the way people practice in North America and the way people practice in Japan.

Celebrating Being an Elder

Sun, 23 Jun 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Jakushin Todd Slobogean tames the relentless meandering of his neuro-diverse mind to bring us thoughts on the Kalama Sutra and the Island Sutra (the Attadiipaa Sutta - The Buddha’s Last Teaching).

Way Seeking Mind Talk - Hotei Denis Fafard

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Hotei Denis Fafard explores how being a boddhisatva is fundamentally an audacious act of imagination.

Opening the Hand of Thought (Chapter 4)

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 21:00:00 -0700

Continuing the dharma seminar on Kosho Uchiyama's writing, Kakuko Kaye Simard describes intensive practice, shikantaza, and how sesshin is an opportunity to sink firmly and nobly into our bones.

The Journey to Lay Entrustment and Beyond

Sun, 09 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0700

Jikai Vicki Turay shares insights and anecdotes from her path and practice to lay entrustment.

Opening the Hand of Thought (Chapter 3)

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 19:00:00 -0700

Dai-i Flo Rublee continues our dharma seminar on Uchiyama Roshi's wonderful book. Chapter three is an exploration of how to wake-up to zazen and see our thoughts, desires, and delusions as the scenery of life.

Zoketsu Norman Fischer 2024 weekend retreat (2/2)

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 14:00:00 -0700

On the second day of our weekend retreat, Zoketsu Norman Fischer tells stories from the Denkoroku, which presents transmission stories of the lineage of Soto Zen ancestors.

Zoketsu Norman Fischer 2024 weekend retreat (1/2)

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 12:00:00 -0700

In the first of two dharma talks from our weekend retreat, Zoketsu Norman Fischer muses on how sitting zazen can help cultivate the great perfect mirror of awareness.

Opening the Hand of Thought (Chapter 2)

Wed, 29 May 2024 19:00:00 -0700

In part three of this dharma seminar on Kosho Uchiyama's writing, Daikan offers thoughts on zazen and what it means to open a space between the conscious mind and the universal self.

“Meandering to the Centre of Every Place”

Sun, 26 May 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Myoshin Kate McCandless explores what it is about a pilgrimage that makes it particularly layered and vivid, and offers practices for pilgrimage.

Opening the Hand of Thought (Chapter 1)

Wed, 22 May 2024 23:00:00 -0700

Mayne Island resident and longtime MRZC practice leader Jikai Vicki Turay continues our exploration of Opening the Hand of Thought by Japanese Zen teacher Kosho Uchiyama Roshi. She dives into Uchiyama's discourse on the cultivation of sweet persimmons, how Buddhist practice can manifest and flourish in the West, and how the practice of zazen helps us awaken to our universal nature.

This is part two of a ten week dharma seminar with MRZC guiding teachers and practice leaders.

Finding Our True Home

Sun, 19 May 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Back from a recent trip to Europe, senior MRZC Priest and Sunshine Coast Resident Dai-i Flo Rublee reflects on homecoming, home-leaving, and how we are all just walking each other home.

Opening the Hand of Thought (Intro)

Wed, 15 May 2024 20:00:00 -0700

"Zazen is the self which is only the self of the universe." (Uchiyama)

Shinmon Michael Newton introduces the book Opening the Hand of Thought by Japanese Zen teacher Kosho Uchiyama Roshi. This begins a ten week dharma seminar with MRZC guiding teachers and practice leaders.

Mothers' Day and the Prajnaparamita

Mon, 13 May 2024 11:00:00 -0700

In what way does our innate ability to nurture reflect the perfection of wisdom? Dharma Talk with Shinmon Michael Newton.

Zen Poetry through the Ages (6/6): Contemporary Poets

Wed, 08 May 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Last of a six-week Wednesday dharma seminar series with MRZC Guiding Teacher Myoshin Kate McCandless. What is zen poetry today in North America? How can we make zen poetry of everything?

Practicing Restraint to Make Room for the World

Sun, 05 May 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Guiding Teacher Myoshin Kate McCandless explores the practice of restraint using the Kabbalistic concept of tzimtzum (Hebrew: contraction), and asks: can we understand restraint not as something externally imposed and enforced by fear, but internally chosen and based on care and concern?

The Zen Heart of My Creative Practice

Wed, 01 May 2024 11:00:00 -0700

Tosho Megan Adam is a writer, weaver, and fiddle-player on Gabriola Island, BC (Snuneymuxw territory). In this ZED (Zen Engaged Dharma) talk, Megan speaks on the importance of artistic practice in our lives and how Zen practice can encourage and support us in liberating our creative selves.

Find Megan's writing at www.comfortfortheapocalypse.com, and her creative work at instagram.com/megan.elizabeth.adam.

The Taste of Silence

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 15:00:00 -0700

Guiding Teacher Shinmon Michael Newton introduces The Taste of Silence: How I Came to Be at Home with Myself, by Belgian author Bieke Vandekerckhove who, at the age of 19, was diagnosed with ALS (a degenerative neurological disease). Michael speaks of how we can find freedom in stillness and what Dogen refers to as 'the backward step' — the deep and healing flow of silence.

Zen Poetry through the Ages (5/6): The Beat Poets

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 19:00:00 -0700

The Beat Poets: Part 5 of a six-week Wednesday dharma seminar series with MRZC Guiding Teacher Myoshin Kate McCandless.

Finding Our Roots in the Soil

Sun, 21 Apr 2024 19:00:00 -0700

In this special Earth Day talk, Guiding Teacher Myoshin Kate McCandless explores the continuous flux between our bodies and the planet with a meditation on the four elements—and questions whether humus and humankind are really so different.

Zen Poetry through the Ages (4/6:) Chinese and Japanese Women Poets

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0700

Chinese and Japanese Women Poets: Part 4 of a six-week Wednesday dharma seminar series with MRZC Guiding Teacher Myoshin Kate McCandless.

Zen Poetry through the Ages (3/6): Haiku

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0700

Haiku: Part 3 of a six-week Wednesday dharma seminar series with MRZC Guiding Teacher Myoshin Kate McCandless.

Lovingkindness and Doggie Dharma

Sun, 07 Apr 2024 11:00:00 -0700

MRZC Priest Kakuko Kaye Simard speaks on how our relationships with dogs, cats, dishes, and houseplants can cultivate our boddhisattva practices of lovingkindness, the paramitas (and their imposters/near enemies), and empathetic joy.

Zen Poetry through the Ages (2/6): Classical Japanese Zen Poetry

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0700

Classical Japanese Zen Poetry: Part 2 of a six-week Wednesday dharma seminar series with MRZC Guiding Teacher Myoshin Kate McCandless.

Renewal, Rebirth, and Redemption

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0700

Guiding Teacher Myoshin Kate McCandless gives an Easter Sunday talk on the ancient origins of the "Easter" holiday, what Buddhism has to offer on the subject of rebirth and renewal, and how the bunny fits into the story.

Zen Poetry through the Ages (1/6): Classical Chinese Chan Poetry

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 19:00:00 -0700

First part of a six-week Wednesday dharma seminar series with MRZC Guiding Teacher Myoshin Kate McCandless.

The Leap of Faith

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 16:00:00 -0700

Jikai Vicki Turay, Mayne Island, BC dweller and longtime MRZC practitioner, delivers a dharma talk on the tender balance between doubt and faith and how we can cultivate the confidence to step off the top of a 100-foot pole.

The Precepts and Continuous Practice

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 11:00:00 -0700

After a month of studying Dogen’s fascicle on Continuous Practice—and just hours before a jukai ceremony in which five members of MRZC will formally receive the bodhisattva precepts— Guiding Teacher Shinmon Michael Newton discusses the bodhisattva precepts as a form of continuous practice.

Way Seeking Mind Talk with Hofu Louise Day

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 11:00:00 -0700

Bodhisattvas Without Borders

Sun, 19 Feb 2023 11:00:00 -0800

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and featuring poems by Ukrainian poets, Myoshin Kate McCandless examines how a bodhisattva might move in the world.