The Zen Studies Podcast

I continue with the story of the Theravadin precepts - particularly how the Vinaya has affected the ordination of monks and nuns, and how lay people participate in precept practice. Then we move on t…

Many people are unaware that, from the beginning, Buddhism has said as much about how you should behave in your daily life as it does about meditation or study. In this episode, I cover the first Bud…

Buddhists all over the world regularly gather for silent meditation retreats with a 24-7 schedule. In this episode I describe a Zen retreat, or sesshin, including what a typical day is like, and the …

In this episode I complete my line-by-line exploration of the Heart Sutra. I cover what the sutra means when its says "there is no" such-and-such, why it proceeds through such long lists of things th…

In traditional Zen practice, we have a lot of what we call “forms.” Forms are the established ways we enact our practice with our bodies… including the ways we move in the meditation hall, sit in the…

In this first of two episodes about the Buddha's 45-year teaching career and the early Buddhist community, I’ll talk about the Buddha’s first sermons, the enlightenment of the first disciples, the fi…

Is it really necessary to participate in a Sangha, or Buddhist community? What are the benefits, joys, and challenges of doing so? You may be surprised by some of the aspects of Sangha practice I tal…

From the beginning, the Buddha's teachings featured the Three Characteristics of Existence: anicca (impermanence), dukkha (dissatisfactoriness), and anatta (not-self). This episode introduces the Thr…

The practices of acceptance and non-attachment are critical to Zen and Buddhist practice, but they are easily misunderstood. It can sound like we're being asked not to care about things, or not to tr…

Buddhism began when Siddhartha Gautama experienced a spiritual awakening over 2,500 years ago in India, and became an “awakened one,” or Buddha. Over the course of two episodes, I tell the story of t…

Buddhism began when Siddhartha Gautama experienced a spiritual awakening over 2,500 years ago in India, and became an “awakened one,” or Buddha. Over the course of two episodes, I tell the story of t…

If you've spent any time in a Zen community, or reading Zen books, you will have encountered the term “practice” countless times. Buddhist teachers throughout the centuries have told us to “practice”…

Buddhism began over 2,500 years ago with the spiritual enlightenment of a man named Siddhartha Gautama, who became the "Buddha," or "awakened one." What exactly did the Buddha realize upon his enligh…

Zen Buddhism is a non-theistic religious tradition. However, it's not entirely correct to say that there is no God in Zen. While we don’t conceive of, or worship, an omnipotent personification of the…

This episode is a continuation of episode 5, which focused on the historical and religious context in India before the Buddha, and how social, economic, and political changes inspired new, alternativ…

This is the first episode in my “Buddhist History and Seminal Texts” series. I discuss the historical and religious context for the beginnings of Buddhism in India in the 500s BCE. I give you a brief…