“If we know we are going to die, then we are right where we are supposed to be.”   In this dharma talk from our recent Winter Sesshin, Chodo Sensei explores three of the Buddha’s first five remembrances – that we are of the nature to grow old, to become ill, and eventually, to die. […]

“What does leaving our sense of loneliness and entering community have to teach you?”   In this opening dharma talk from Commit to Sit Winter 2023, Koshin Sensei invites us to explore what causes us to suffer. He encourages us to confront and work with what holds us back, what keeps us from living fuller […]

“But most of all, continuing to sit without moving, not even shifting a foot or lifting our eyes, it builds the strength that we need, and that others need in us in the face of pain or crisis. Sit there with your heart breaking. But sit tall, see and hear everything. Breathe low and slow […]

“The flame of the dharma you have lit, humbly and respectfully, I transmit to the next generation.” —Shundo Aoyama Rōshi   In this opening dharma talk from our last Commit to Sit 90-day practice period (summer ’22), Koshin Sensei discusses a myriad number of things that a consistent practitioner will have to face as they […]

“Enlightenment is the ending in yourself of that hope for something other than life as it is” —Charlotte Joko Beck   We can understand the craft of meditation as the joining of a physical posture with a mental posture. In this talk by guest dharma teacher and Guiding Teacher of Boulder Zen Center, Zenki Christian […]

“We have to release the clamp of our own jaw around our suffering. The uniqueness that we want to hold on to is usually not our actual uniqueness. We get into a habit of holding on to some gunky old stuff that I call ‘me’. We maintain this strange altar of our own suffering and […]

“It’s important to be courteous; not just to sit in Zazen but to cultivate the body and mind in the dignity of the Buddha. To give ourselves dignity and respect. This is difficult. It’s easier to welcome others than to welcome yourself.”   Rev. Anna Maria Iten Shinnyo Marradi, spiritual guide of Shinnyoji Temple in Florence, […]

“So what is this great light flashing through her mind? (It is) how you really see the blackness of a cup of coffee… how you really see the fractals of the broccoli or cauliflower… how you are present to how you move.”    José Shinzan Palma, a Zen teacher and dear dharma friend from San Diego, […]

“This moment may be the only moment in the circle. But any point will do. Any point is the Alpha and Omega—a special time or place is not needed. In other words, you’re all exactly where you need to be whether you like it or not.”   In the midst of the New York Zen […]

“One of the strongest characteristics of the role of shuso is its innate awkwardness. One is always both junior and senior. This is a given to the path to those on the shuso path. This fact is confronted deeply. The faces of the junior and senior are constantly being switched, sometimes both worn at the […]

“We are the like the apex of a pyramid – the levels of the pyramid ever widening toward its base represent past generations of our ancestors. Our present existence is the sum of all they did and we are the starting point for our descendants. All that our ancestors did reflect on us and all […]

“What helps to enrich us and make us strong is not favorable circumstances, but failure, misfortune, or illness. What matters most is how we take misfortune. The saying ‘A branch of plum blossoms harmonizes fragrantly with snow’ teaches us how to deal with difficult circumstances.” —Shundo Aoyama Rōshi   As part of our third annual […]

If you do, you can. If you don’t, you can’t. When you say you can’t do what can be done, It means you haven’t set out to do it. —Junkyo Oishi (1888-1968)   Pulling from Zen Seeds, Shundo Aoyama Rōshi’s timeless book on life and practice, Koshin Sensei shares the story of Junkyo Oishi, otherwise known […]

“Prajnatara asked, ‘What amongst all things is the greatest?’ Bodhidharma said, ‘True nature, of all things, is the greatest.’”   In this dharma talk, Sensei Koshin shares a koan describing the meeting between Prajnatara and Bodhidharma, which would lead to Prajnatara becoming Bodhidharma’s teacher and paving the way for the founding of the Zen lineage. […]

Fear can lead us to do regretful, hateful, and even violent things. Lion’s Roar & NYZC’s new online course Medicine for Fear is inspired by Zen teacher Eihei Dogen’s essential instructions for awakening. The course, featuring Sensei Koshin and Sensei Chodo, as well as Mushim Ikeda, Pamela Ayo Yetunde, Kodo Nishimura, and Mirabai Bush, offers […]

“To devote ourselves to everything we encounter and throw our life force into doing just that is quite different from simply exhausting our energies playing with toys.” —Kōshō Uchiyama Rōshi   In celebration of the Shakyamuni Buddha’s birthday, the NYZC sangha gathered on April 10th, whether in person or virtually, to chant, bathe the baby […]

“How are you cultivating that space of no separation in each moment?”   Koshin Paley Ellison delivers a talk on the importance of commitment in relationship, whether it be commitment in how you show up for others in your community or the steadiness you display in a teacher–student engagement. He discusses the Zen ancestor Guishan […]

What are the ingredients that go into your decisions today?   Sensei Chodo delivers a vulnerable dharma talk on a koan in which you find yourself trapped in an impossible situation and asks: “How can you get out?” Though koan practice is unusual in the Sōtō Zen sect, they are practiced and taught in the […]

“Big mind, then, is not a matter of meditation on some vast floating spatial dimension. It is the practice of entirely devoting your life to each and everything that you encounter, no matter what it might be.” As the New York Zen Center continues in its 90 day ango (practice period), Sensei Chodo Robert Campbell […]

For more than a decade, NYZC’s Foundations in Contemplative Care has transformed the lives of individuals from across the country and around the world by supporting the integration of spiritual practice and caregiving. In this info session (recorded on February 28th, 2022), guiding teachers, Koshin Paley Ellison and Chodo Robert Campbell, as well as staff […]

“How can you embody being settled into the Way?”   In this dharma talk, Koshin Paley Ellison cites our Zen ancestor, Dōgen Zenji, who, in his various guides explains that those who hold positions within sanghas are monks “settled in the Way”. Koshin sensei examines what it means to be settled as such and how […]

“It is not valid to equate a fact, as real as it may seem to be, with the truth. It is just self deception. We deceive ourselves by believing a fact that exists in our mind is an absolute truth” —Kōshō Uchiyama   In this dharma talk, Koshin Paley Ellison draws from lessons learned during […]

“What I would encourage you to do is to reflect on: how you how you’ve deceived yourself this past year, how you’ve made excuses, and how can you take responsibility.”   On the eve of the new year, Koshin Paley Ellison and Chodo Robert Campbell deliver dharma talks on self-deception, taking responsibility, and setting intentions. Chodo […]

“If you just surrender your life to the dharma, then you no longer have to worry what the future will bring. You will bring forth the future out of your surrender. Just drink tea and the dharma will come to you. You don’t have to chase it. It is chasing you.” —Sandra Jishu Holmes Roshi […]

“I’ve been practicing for twenty years and it’s so wonderful that I’m still not sure what practice is.” Sensei Shinzan Palma joins the NYZC sangha to deliver a dharma talk on the varying dimensions of practice. He shares his own journey in understanding what zazen means to him, navigating past delusions of his younger years. […]