Hardcore Zen

In this episode I talk with my nephew Ben Goldman about ghosts and enlightenment experiences. We also get into Scooby Doo.

My nephew Ben Goldman joins me for a wide-ranging discussion about gods and divinity in Buddhism, whether aliens could get enlightened, and how Jabberjaw is a rip-off of Scooby Doo.

The roaring finale of my series on Dogen's essay Komyo (aka Divine Light)! In which everything is explained.. or is it?

More commentary on Dogen's essay Komyo (aka Divine Light or Brightness). Also why just hearing this podcast means you've encountered the Buddha himself!

Another deep dive into Dogen's essay KOMYO (aka Divine Light). This time with Ziggy the dog barking at birds! Plus more insights about the nature of reality!

Episode Two of my commentary on Dogen's essay KOMYO (Brightness). In this episode I talk about Milk Medicine, the Gospel of John, how consciousness is like a move, and we hear Ziggy the dog bark!

Dogen's essay KOMYO is one of his most mystical pieces of writing. This series will examine this fascinating essay in detail.

On a recent YouTube video I talked about misogyny in Buddhism and the pro-female ideas Dogen expressed in Shobogenzo. In this talk from March 16, 2016, I go into greater depth about both subjects in …

This is a talk I gave at the Rochester Zen Center on April 24, 2016 about Dogen and his essay "Mind Alone is Buddha." What the heck did he mean by that? Here's my attempt at answering that question.

Here's a conversation I had with Sufi sheik Ingo Taleb Rashid at Benediktushof Meditation Center in Germany on September 27, 2017. We talk about God and Star Trek and take questions from the audience…

In this episode I read from the chapter "Who Walked My Dog" from my new book, The Other Side of Nothing: The Zen Ethics of Time, Space, and Being." It's a sneak preview of the book, which is availabl…

This is a lecture I gave in Vienna in 2018 about Dogen's famous essay "The Samadhi of Receiving and Using the Self."

Here's a talk I gave in Phoenix, Arizona in 2012 about the Grand Canyon and Enlightenment.

In this Q&A session from 2019 in Finland I talk about what it means to be a Zen teacher and then we get into the subject of "good zazen" vs. "bad zazen."

In 2016 I spoke in a bar in Texas about the concept of "No Self" as expressed in Dogen's most famous essay Genjo Koan (The Realized Universe). Here's the recording!

Here's a talk I did in 2015 at Felsentor, a Zen monastery in Switzerland that was established by a dharma heir of Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi, my first Zen teacher's teacher. It's about the Heart Sutra…

In today's podcast I ask a group of Germans at a Zen retreat "Are we wasting our time doing this?" I also present a long quote from Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi, one of the greatest contemporary Zen tea…

Lots of people ask what Zen teaches about life after death. Here is my really long answer!

The explosive conclusion of my series of commentaries on Dogen's essay Buddhas Alone Together With Buddhas!

What do Buddhists do when they have a "bad hair day"? Here is Zen Master Dogen's answer! Plus an explanation of the universe as it really is.