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PODCAST

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee

I & A Publishing

This is a series of newly digitized talks by spiritual teacher, Lola McDowell Lee, spanning two decades—from the early Seventies through the Nineties.Lola was a Zen Roshi whose Rinzai lineage included Doctor Henry Platov and renowned Zen master, Shigetsu Sasaki. Lola was a religious scholar as well as an ordained Christian minister.While the talks are focused mainly on Zen and Buddhism, Lola drew on many spiritual traditions—including those of Jesus, Plato, Lao-Tzu, the Hindu Vedas, Meister Eckhart

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All Episodes

53:10

Instructions for Koan study. And true understanding &...

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/10/14

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, recounts the story of master Joshu who offers cups of tea to the various monks, illustrating the idea of how distinction keeps us from seeing the world as it is. When he offers the same tea to newcomers and long-time members alike, the manager asks why. And Joshu has a shouting response. Why?Our scientific world breaks the world into bits, opreating within a framework of complexity and duality because seeing the simplicity of the whole is so difficult for us to

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63:13

The limitations of human knowledge. May 17, 1987

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/10/08

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, discusses human knowledge an its limitations. Typical knowledge is the result of fragmented perception. Our knowledge is narrow, limited to appearances and governed by desire, habit, and subconscious impulses.The relationship of Surya (divine light) and Agni (divine force). Agni symbolizes will in consciousness. Together, Surya (knowing) and Agni (will) form a unity. Knowledge and Will are not separate. They are two aspects of the same foundation of reality.The

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59:56

In the struggle between opposites is the Truth. Mar...

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/09/26

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, draws on Buddhist and Hindu traditions (including the Mahabharata, Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita) to explain the human condition.Struggles and opposition are partners in our growth. Manjushri (wisdom) is not found in shrines, but is alive within each person.Lola recounts a tale of a monk and the village courtesan.She talks about how struggle is necessary for growth; it develops character. Friend and foe, like rose and thorn, are inseparable opposites. The human tendency is

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61:06

Where is God? Feb 28, 1987

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/09/11

Note: Generally, this talk is more lighthearted than most that Lola gives. It’s nice to see that side of her personality.Lola begins with a comical tale about a man and a priest he asks for advice.Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, discusses Lao Tzu concept of how the hole in the wheel’s knave makes its utility. How the emptiness of a vessel creates its utility.Lola asks, “Who would you rather be: a victim or a perpetrator?”It is in the world of the Relative that we can discover the Absolute.How freedom

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58:07

Mystica Theologica, the Sutras of Patanjali and the...

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/08/31

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, discusses various texts about the notion of God — from the biblical book of Genesis to Mystica Theologica to the sutras of Patanjali.Dionysus was a disciple of St. Paul and one-time mayor of Athens.We eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil… but we must return to the Tree of Life.Buddhism did not identify God. Or a self. So for a Buddhist, what is there? Perhaps a Buddhist might say there is a Power greater than himself.Why did God create the world as it is? How

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59:35

How do you answer: “Does God exist?” Sep 20, 1987

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/08/24

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, (who is also an ordained Christian minister) explores issues that are common to both Christian and Eastern thought to illustrate the difference between theology/philosophy and religious practice.She explains that it is easier to join a religious group and hang around it than it is to truly struggle with oneself. There are many who participate in religions just so they can tell themselves they are doing their religious duty. They learn a religious system or structure

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59:31

A detailed introductory talk about the Bauls — a...

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/08/10

Note: Unfortunately these talks about the Bauls were posted out of order. But the sound quality is much better on this one, which is also the most detailed in its explanation of who the Bauls were. And this talk develops into a wonderful, rich discussion of consciousness.Lola says that not many people have heard of the Bauls because they had no organization or dogma or scripture. They were freewheeling practitioners who loved dance, music and poetry—and looked within.Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee,

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41:44

The Bauls religious sect of India. And Prakrit and...

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/08/04

Note: this talk has some sound issues, but I found it valuable enough to include the bulk of it anyway. It’s about 8 minutes shorter because the cassette player apparently started warbling and slowing down badly at the end—during the discussion of Prakrit and Parusha. There is another talk on this subject available here if you are interested. It’s a fascinating doctrine.Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, explores the accounts of the Indian Bauls - a religious group that included members of Vaishnava

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60:00

Zen and the meaning of Easter. Apr 19, 1987

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/07/28

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, gives a talk themed on Easter. (While Lola was primarily a Zen teacher, she was also an ordained Christian minister). Lola reads from the Gospels exploring the meaning of Jesus asking, “Why have you forsaken me?”Symbols of Easter include a baby chick, pecking its way out of an egg to become that which he was destined to be. That is also a good metaphor for the human situation.Lola discusses various religious traditions, including that of the Mayans of Central America

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60:00

Guilt and rejection of life does not make you more...

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/07/23

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, explores the meaning of Verse 15 of the Isha Upanishad:"The face of Truth is covered with a brilliant golden lid; that do thou remove, O Fosterer, for the law of the Truth, for sight."Lola discusses the prevalence of guilt in Puritanical America. How some of us feel guilt our entire lives, and how many, sometimes because of religious traditions, feel they shouldn’t enjoy life. We should look at this guilt, and try to understand it.Meditation should not be an escape

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59:20

What we can learn from Indian religious traditions....

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/07/07

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, gives a detailed discussion of the philosophical and historical backgrounds of religious traditions as they developed in India—Vedas, Brahmanism and Hinduism.Lola explains the meaning of many of the Hindu terms and explores the Isha Upanishad.Shakti, the Great Mother or feminine energy of the universe. We all have in us a power. That is shake.Hindu Tantra versus Buddhist Tantra.Prakriti and Purusha. Maya.As mentioned in the Bible, your actions in this world show your

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53:02

How to meditate. And why. Nov 29, 1987

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/06/28

(Note: original recording audio is not ideal, but Lola's message is great)Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, gives an ind-depth explanation of the practice of sitting, as this talk is during a sesshin at the temple.Who is the Buddha? What is birth and death?Zazen is learning about life by dying to one’s self. Be quietly alert, dropping the ego and identifications.Our mistake is taking the phenomenal to be the noumenal. But they are really two aspects of the same thing.Emotions confuse us and cause us

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61:01

The unconscious is the gateway to reality. July 18, 1981

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/06/20

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, discusses the meaning of the Zen saying, “Joy in the morning. Sleep at night. What else?”When we “do not know,” then we don’t concern ourselves with obsessions about outcomes. That is the meaning of “no mind.”Start by discovering what “no mind” is not. Is there a gradual acquisition of “no mind?” Is there an enduring entity called self? Is there a self to improve? Do not accept of reject an answer without learning for yourself directly.Is the thinker different than his

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56:00

Why “What is the purpose of life?” is the wrong...

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/06/02

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, discusses Chapter 10 from the Tao Te Ching (Paul Carus translation)"What can be done?"Who by unending discipline of the senses embraces unity cannot be disintegrated. By concentrating his vitality and inducing tenderness he can become like a little child. By purifying, by cleansing and profound intuition he can be free from faults."Who loves the people when administering the country will practice nonassertion."Opening and closing the gates of heaven, he will be like a

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53:02

The role of patience in Zen practice. July 5, 1981

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/05/28

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, explores the notion of patience in practice. And time.For nearly twenty years, Hon, a layman, studied under Master Egon. Several of the students went out to the edge of the district and Hon looked up at the falling snow and said, “Snowflakes as nice as these do not fall elsewhere.”We are all in such a hurry. But time is a state of mind—full of anxiety about the future and the past. If you are patient enough, you will not miss yourself. The Buddha sat and sat and sat… in

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53:53

Further exploration of the Mystica Theoligica. Dec...

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/05/18

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, further explores the Mystica Theoligica.NOTE: LOLA HAS A BAD COLD TODAY AND A PERSISTENT COUGH. If that bothers you, please skip. But the content of the talk is worth the discomfort, in my opinion.Religious life is like a sculpture… best to take away from life that which is not Him rather than ascribe characteristics to Him.Most of our thoughts and emotions are unconscious. And people think: Oh, how life without emotions and desire would be so colorless. But is that

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60:19

The meaning of the the Mystica Theoligica. Dec 4, 1988

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/05/10

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, explores the meaning of the opening of the Mystica Theoligica.“Thou Trinity beyond Being, direct us to the heights of mystical revelation, sublime beyond all thought and light, wherein the simple, absolute and immutable mysteries of Divine Truth are hidden in the translucent darkness of that silence which revealeth in secret. For this darkness, though of deepest obscurity, is yet radiantly clear, and though beyond touch and sight, it overfills our unseeing mind with

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57:06

Watch how you make your choices. Otherwise, how can...

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/05/05

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, recounts the tale of the Persian teacher who asked a disciple to place a bag of gold in the middle of a bridge. He is to find a poor man to cross the bridge. The man successfully crossed the bridge where there is a bag of gold which he desperately needs. But he missed the gold. He had been too afraid to open his eyes and never saw it.Our problem is we think know our faults. But we close our eyes to them.You seekers who want freedom… freedom from what?Do you ever watch

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48:01

How often do we think that we—as individuals—are...

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/04/28

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, shares the tale of a student who asked his teacher why, after he had fasted and prayed for 30 years that he had still not found God. The teacher’s response: “You could sit for 100 years and it wouldn’t do any good. Selfishness is your barrier.”Lola recounts a long letter to a Roshi where the practitioner listed all his thoughts about spirituality and the universe. The Roshi’s response: “You know too much.” Just accumulating words is not gonna do it.If you acknowledge

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60:08

Meditate for one hour daily, and truly concentrate,...

Talks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee ·

2025/04/21

Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, continues her examination of Lao Tsu’s Tao Te Ching, now in Chapter 17."The great rulers - the people do not notice their existence;The lesser ones - they attach to and praise them; The still lesser ones - they fear them;The still lesser ones - they despise them;For where faith is lacking,It cannot be met by faith.Now how much importance must be attached to words!"- Translated by Ch'u Ta-KaoIn today’s America, Lola’s exploration of Lao Tsu’s words are more relevant than

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