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The Zen Studies Podcast

Jun 29, 2017

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 challenges and rewards of maintaining silence and meditating for 6-10 hours a day.


Jun 21, 2017

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 that don't exist the way we conceive of them (and what those lists refer to), and the significance of the mantra presented...


Jun 15, 2017

The Heart Sutra is probably the best-known Buddhist text in the world. It's less than 250 words long and considered to present the essence of Mahayana Buddhism. However, its meaning – and its attraction to Buddhists – may not be immediately evident! 

I first recite the Heart Sutra for you, then give you a brief...


Jun 8, 2017

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 meditation posture, place our shoes outside the door, chant and offer incense, show respect for one another,...


Jun 1, 2017

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 first lay students of the Buddha and how lay practice figures into early Buddhism, and the initial formation of the...