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The Zen Studies Podcast

Jul 30, 2019

The “Five Skandhas,” or aggregates, are the five aspects of a human being: Form, the body; Feelings, our positive, negative, or neutral reactions to stimuli; Perception, the basic process of labeling or identifying things; Consciousness, awareness of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and thoughts; and...


Jul 19, 2019

Buddhism includes values of Right Action and Right Livelihood, generosity, goodwill, and compassion, and Mahayana Buddhists vow to free all beings from suffering. It's not easy to enact these values and aspirations in the modern world, which is so complex we find ourselves complicit in causes of suffering simply by...


Jul 13, 2019

In the last episode I introduced an essay by Zen master Dogen called Bodaisatta-Shishobo, or the Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings. I briefly defined the bodhisattva’s four embracing actions: Giving, kind speech, beneficial action, and “sharing the same aim.” Then I started working through Dogen’s...


Jul 7, 2019

Given the many stressful and sad things happening in the world right now, I thought I'd spend a couple episodes on an inspiring essay by 13th century Zen master Dogen called “Bodaisatta-Shishobo,” or the “Four Ways Bodhisattvas Embrace Living Beings.” The bodhisattva’s four embracing actions are giving, kind...