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PODCAST

The Zen Studies Podcast

Learn about traditional Zen and Buddhist teachings, practices, and history through episodes recorded specifically for podcast listeners. Host Domyo Burk is a Soto Zen priest and teacher.

religion & spirituality buddhism

All Episodes

22:03

225 – How to Relate to Worldly Pleasure as a Buddhist...

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/12/25

Traditionally, the ideal of Buddhism is the renunciate monastic who forgoes worldly pleasures because they are fleeting and distract us from practice. How should a serious practitioner relate to worldly pleasures if they’re not living a renunciate lifestyle? Is it possible to fully enjoy the pleasures in our lives while maintaining a strong Buddhist practice, or are we fooling ourselves when we try to do so? In this episode I define what I mean by “worldly pleasure,” and then discuss five drawbacks

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29:03

224 – Human Nature: Why Aren't We Born Enlightened?

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/12/16

Why aren't we just all born enlightened and avoid suffering? Or, we could ask: Why are human beings the way they are? Why did they evolve to cause so much suffering for themselves and others? If we all have Buddha-Nature, why isn’t that manifest from the beginning, and why does it get obscured so completely? Why is practice so hard if, as the teachings say, we have everything we need from the beginning?

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24:51

223 – Integrating Insights

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/12/01

On the meditation seat and off, we may experience significant insights - realizations that shift our perceptions of ourselves and world, and help relieve suffering. Insights may be sudden or gradual, major or minor, but we naturally want to be able to hold on them instead of forgetting them and going back to our previous way of thinking or being. Yet sometimes these insights seem to slip away or fade with time. Our effort to hold on to them sometimes causes them to recede even further. How can we

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28:22

222 – Confronting the Buddha’s Sexist Discourse – Part 2

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/11/23

I explore how - for some of us - explaining, dismissing, or justifying the story of the Buddha’s resistance to ordaining women (told in the Gotami Sutta) does not completely neutralize the discouraging effect of this story’s presence in the Buddhist canon. I then discuss how we can relate to this story without losing our faith in Buddhism as a path of practice.

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30:30

221 – Confronting the Buddha’s Sexist Discourse – Part 1

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/11/16

I introduce the text that describes the Buddha’s negative words and actions in response to the question of ordaining women into what was called the “homeless life” of his monastic community. Then I’ll talk about various ways we can explain, dismiss, or justify the story contained in this text. In the next episode I’ll explore how, for some of us, explaining, dismissing, or justifying the story of the Buddha’s sexist discourse does not completely neutralize the discouraging effect of this story’s

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33:54

220 - Being the Only Buddhist in Your Family – Part 2

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/10/29

This is Part 2 of my discussion about being the only Buddhist in your family. I continue discussing ways to create more harmony between your spiritual practice and your family relationships, and then talk about the special case of being in an intimate relationship with someone who doesn’t share your passion for Buddhist practice.

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22:02

219 – Being the Only Buddhist in Your Family – Part 1

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/10/21

Many – if not most – English (or Spanish!)-speaking Buddhists are converts to Buddhism. Even if you were raised in a Buddhist family, chances are good that as an adult you are surrounded by non-Buddhists, or that as an active Buddhist practitioner you are surrounded by people for whom Buddhism is largely a cultural matter. I discuss the challenges of being the only Buddhist in your family or intimate relationship, and ways to create more harmony between your spiritual practice and your close

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22:23

218 - The Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow Part 3: Entering...

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/10/15

I discuss the third and fourth vows of the Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow, about entering all Dharma Gates and embodying the unsurpassed Buddha Way. For some of us, these seem less accessible and relevant than the first two, about freeing all beings and ending all delusions. I talk about what the third and fourth vows mean and why making them is valuable to our practice.

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33:28

217 - The Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow Part 2: Ending All...

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/09/30

This is episode two in my series on the Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow (also called the Four Great Bodhisattva Vows). In the first episode of the series (216), I discussed the spirit of the bodhisattva vows in general, and then when into detail about the first vow about saving all beings. In this episode I will explore second vow about ending all delusions.

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32:24

216 - The Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow Part 1: Freeing...

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/09/22

In this episode I review the meaning of the Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow, and then explore the first of the vows in detail: Beings are numberless, I vow to free them. What does it mean to free beings, and what does it mean to our practice that we vow to free every last one of an infinite number of beings? In the next couple episodes I will similarly explore the second, third, and fourth vows.

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25:00

215 - We Will Die Soon: Using Impermanence to...

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/09/12

From the time of the Buddha, Buddhists have spent time contemplating impermanence - often by deliberately meditating on their own mortality and eventual death. This practice isn't for everyone, but it can help motivate us stay motivated to practice, focus on our deepest aspirations, take responsibility for our karma, maintain equanimity, and remember the preciousness of this moment. It can also lead to profound insights about the nature of the self.

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30:01

214 - How Do You DO Zazen, Anyway?

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/08/31

Offering you another episode on zazen risks me repeating myself, but I don’t think it hurts to offer a fresh new talk on zazen periodically. The practice – while profoundly simple – also can be frustratingly elusive. What are you supposed to do during zazen, anyway? We’re told to just sit, and then allow thoughts to come and go, neither chasing them nor pushing them away. Is that it? In this episode I explore exactly what we’re supposed to be doing in zazen, and how to know if we’re doing it

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30:59

213 – Deconstructing Self: Which Aspects Are Fine,...

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/08/19

The core teaching of Zen is that understanding the true nature of self is of the utmost importance to living a life that is liberated, compassionate, generous, wise, and skillful. Mindful examination of a subject like the self classically involves something akin to deconstruction; once we recognize the component parts of something, our sense of it as monolithic thing or force is undermined. I parse "the self" into six aspects, and discuss how each relates to our practice.

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28:54

212 - The Wisdom of Play

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/08/11

When we play wholeheartedly, we engage the world with energy, joy, lightheartedness, and enthusiasm, welcoming challenge and enjoying our activity for its own sake. We rarely have the same attitude toward our work, responsibilities, difficulties, or even our Buddhist practice. What if we did? Chan Master Hongzhi suggests a playful attitude might actually be an enlightened one.

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22:00

211 - Book Review: Kosho Uchiyama's “Opening the Hand...

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/07/31

Uchiyama Roshi's Opening the Hand of Thought is a great book for the beginner as well as the advanced practitioner of Zen. Uchiyama manages to balance philosophical discussion of the most challenging Zen topics - the nature of zazen, and awakening to universal self - with a compassionate, down-to-earth, creative (and sometimes humorous) style that makes you think, "I just might get it this time!"

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18:37

210 - Book Review: Kyogen Carlson’s “You Are Still Here”

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/07/21

This book is a treasure in that it collects in one place the essential subjects and themes of Kyogen Carlson’s teaching, which remains faithful to his Soto Zen lineage through Roshi Jiyu Kennett but reflects Kyogen’s ability to express the Dharma in a down-to-earth, inviting, but nonetheless challenging way.

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24:42

209 - Book Review: Issho Fujita's "Polishing a Tile"

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/07/11

In this episode I review Issho Fujita's Polishing a Tile. This is far and away my favorite book on zazen of all time, and it covers other essential aspects of Zen practice as well. This book isn't available as a hard copy, although I wish it was! However, you can access a pdf online in a number of places.

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28:56

208 - Nine Benefits of Practice in Difficult Times

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/06/30

How can practice help us deal with the strong negative emotions we experience in difficult times, such as anger, hatred, fear, or despair? Fortunately, Buddhist practice is a powerful way to decrease our pain, agitation, reactivity, and preoccupation no matter what difficulties we’re facing, whether the challenges are in our personal lives or out in the world. I talk about nine benefits of Buddhist practice that are especially helpful when you’re facing difficult times.

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25:07

207 - Dirt Zendo, Cloud Zendo, One Sangha: Buddhist...

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/06/25

In the last episode, I talked about the new phenomenon of a virtual space for practice, including its merits and benefits. In this episode, I talk about the merits of practicing in a "Dirt Zendo" - a physical practice space, in-the-flesh. I then describe, at Bright Way Zen, we are attempting to create a sense of Term Details"> Sangha that connects and includes anyone who practices with us, regardless of whether they participate in-the-flesh, online (in our Cloud Zendo), or both.

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23:20

206 - Dirt Zendo, Cloud Zendo, One Sangha: Buddhist...

The Zen Studies Podcast ·

2022/06/07

Since COVID lockdown, Buddhist communities have greatly expanded their online practice opportunities. Virtual spaces are surprisingly effective for practice and building a sense of Sangha. Many Buddhist and Zen centers are now facing the prospect of permanently including options for virtual participation, which brings many opportunities but also many challenges. I discuss how the virtual and physical practice spaces look at my Zen center, and how we structure hybrid meetings. Then I talk about the

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333 results

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