AZC Weekly talks

Episoder

• 
  2026-09-29 Giving 1 30.09.2026 46min

  Beginning to explore the Dāna Pāramitā.Main Source: The Practice of Perfection by Robert Aitken.
• 
  2026-09-10 Bodhidharma's Wake Up Sermon 10.09.2026 46min

  Description: Non-Attachment.Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma by Red Pine.
• 
  2026-09-09 Bodhidharma's Bloodstream Sermon 3 09.09.2026 46min

  Description: Buddhas and cause and effect.Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma by Red Pine.
• 
  2026-09-08 Bodhidharma's Bloodstream Sermon 2 08.09.2026 43min

  Description: Mind is Buddha.Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma by Red Pine.
• 
  2026-09-07 Master Dōgens Extensive Record 2 07.09.2026 43min

  Description: A selection ōf Dōgen's encouragement talks to inspire our practice.Main sources: Dogen's Extensive Record: Eihei Kōroku, translated by Taigen Dan Leighton and Shohaku Okumura (same as yesterday) The Art of Just Sitting edited by John Daido Loori.
• 
  2026-09-06 Master Dōgens Extensive Record 1 06.09.2026 44min

  Description: A selection ōf Dōgen's encouragement talks to inspire our practice.Main sources: Dogen's Extensive Record: Eihei Kōroku, translated by Taigen Dan Leighton and Shohaku Okumura.
• 
  2026-09-05 Bodhidharma's Bloodstream Sermon 1 05.09.2026 48min

  Description: Mind is Buddha.Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma by Red Pine.
• 
  2026-08-25 How Long Will It Take? 26.08.2026 36min

  To think of practice as having a goal takes us away from the present moment. We can become impatient when we don't see the desired results of our zazen, and this impatience can become a hindrance in our practice.Texts: The Gateless Barrier, Robert AitkenThe Three Pillars of Zen, Philip Kapleau.
• 
  2026-08-11 Patience 12.08.2026 43min

  The Kshanti Paramita. Active patience or forbearance as an antidote to anger.
• 
  2026-07-21 Nature Koans 5: Mumonkan Case 6, 'The Buddha Holds Up a Flower' 22.07.2026 35min

  The Sangha assembled on Vulture Peak to hear a discourse by the Buddha. The Buddha simply held up a flower. Only Mahakashyapa smiled.Texts: The Gateless Barrier, Robert AitkenDisciples of the Buddha, Zenno Ishigami.
• 
  2026-07-07 The Bodhisattva Precepts 3 18.07.2026 41min

  Some reflections of the 10 cardinal precepts and some questions to discuss.Source: The World Could Be Otherwise, Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path by Norman Fischer.
• 
  2026-06-23 The Bodhisattva Precepts 2 25.06.2026 44min

  A look at the three pure precepts and the first five cardinal precepts.Source: The World Could be Otherwise by Norman Fischer.
• 
  2026-06-09 The Bodhisattva Precepts 1 10.06.2026 59min

  Exploring the 16 precepts in preparation for Matariki Jukai.Source: The World Could be Otherwise by Norman Fischer.
• 
  2026-05-26 Nature Koans 4: Mumonkan Case 2, 'Hyakujo and the Fox' 28.05.2026 43min

  This koan takes the form of a folktale. An ancient teacher gives the wrong answer regarding cause and effect and must live 500 lives as a fox.Text: Shaping Text: Philosophy and Folklore in the Fox Koan by Steven HeineOf the Same Root: Animals and Our Relationship with them by Philip Kapleau.
• 
  2026-04-21 Ahimsa 22.04.2026 35min

  Ahimsa, not-harming, is a fundamental principle of both Hinduism and Buddhism, and is embodied in the first of our Ten Cardinal Precepts, "Not to kill but to cherish all life". In this teisho we look at different aspects of ahimsa: kindness, altruism and not eating meat.Text: To Cherish All Life: a Buddhist Case for Becoming Vegetarian and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.
• 
  2026-04-07 Term Intensive Tips 08.04.2026 41min

  Some thoughts on making the most of a Term Intensive.Sources: Silent Illumination by Guo Gu, Self-help for your Nerves by Claire Weekes, and Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg.
• 
  2026-03-24 Peace and War 25.03.2026 38min

  Peace must always be given precedence, in particular making peace with ourselves. But war is always present; there has never been a time in human history when a war has not been waged on some part of our planet. So, in this teisho we take a clear-eyed look at war as well.Text: Essay by James Hillman, "Wars, Arms, Rams, Mars: On the Love of War".
• 
  2026-02-10 Nature Koans 3: Wu-tsu's Buffalo Passes Through the Window 11.02.2026 36min

  This is the third in a series of koans centred on the natural world. The koan is Case 38 in the MumonkanBooks used in the teisho:Zen's Chinese Heritage by Andy Ferguson and The Gateless Barrier by Robert Aitken.
• 
  2026-01-27 The Three Fruits of Zen Practice 29.01.2026 44min

  The three fruits of Zen practice are, 1. joriki or concentration, 2. kensho, or seeing your True Nature and 3. mujo do no taigen, or embodiment of the peerless way.Source: Ruben Habito's Foreword to The Flowing Bridge by Elaine MacInnes, Wisdom 2007.
• 
  2026-01-10 Master Dōgen's Life and Teaching 6 11.01.2026 51min

  More from the Shobogenzo Zuimonki on effort.Source: A Primer of Soto Zen translated by Reiho Masunaga.