Shows / The Daily Zen Teisho
The Daily Zen Teisho
Daily Zen has been a contemplative haven for online visitors since 1998 offering a unique blend of Eastern quotes for each day of the year, Zen-inspired e-cards, and a meditation room where at any moment a visitor may be meditating with any one of our companion Wayfarers each day. The Journal, called On the Way, is published once a month and this podcast has been created to turn those Journals into an auditory experience allowing listeners to contemplate its ideas in another way.
Episodes
The Daily Zen TeishoAvoiding Foxes and Dogs
Occasionally, readers write that they have difficulty understanding some of the journals and seem a bit perplexed about what to do when they hit something they…
The Daily Zen Teisho“Do not grasp another’s bow”
Whenever we are reading part of a letter to a practitioner written hundreds of years ago, we are attempting to bridge time and cultural barriers. Because we…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Living Method of Turning the Light Around
While this method of “turning the light around” seems very simple and direct, there is still some room for further translation. All the various approaches to…
The Daily Zen TeishoLetter to Masanori Yuno, February 1977
Yokoyama was one of the most unusual Soto Zen monks whose life reminds one of another ordained monk, Ryokan, who is best known for his poetry and love of…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Wise Ones of Old
To say too much about Taoism can interfere with another’s own direct experience of intuitive understanding. Having read this piece many times in the past, I…
The Daily Zen TeishoFive Points in Buddhist Practice
Shosan was born into a warrior family in 1579 and lived through one of the most war-torn times of Japanese history. At age 12, he was adopted by a member of a…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe World of Intensive Practice
Reading this piece reminds me of listening to a piece of classical music. Each movement transitions so skillfully into the next that we are barely aware that…
The Daily Zen TeishoSermons – Part 2
Some pieces are overwhelming as we try to absorb the depth communicated. Ma-tsu is delivering a sermon to monks who, just like us, have been practicing for…
The Daily Zen TeishoSermons – Part 2
There are numerous sutras, teachings of the Masters, and enlightenment stories in the history of Buddhism and Zen. There are times when we read these writings…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Wayseeker
Dropping gaining mind in practice is a huge step; in the beginning, we are all awonder at these marvelous “results” of meditation and when they might appear…
The Daily Zen TeishoReadings from Sun Face Buddha
I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value. After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap. When the hut was completed, fresh weeds appeared. Now it’s been…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Ryumon-ji Sermons – The Unborn Part 3
For those of us who have read the stories of Zen masters’ lives, Bankei’s enlightenment story is among the more powerful ones. His dedication is inspiring, and…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Fundamental Expedient Teachings
This translation comes from the Tun-huang documents discovered in Cave 17 sometime around 1900. While we don’t usually explore where these translations…
The Daily Zen TeishoIllusion = Satori
At times we feel like we are “successfully” walking with a foot in both worlds where illusion and reality seem balanced. Similar to walking a balance beam, we…
The Daily Zen TeishoKing of Samadhis
Most of what we have read or heard about sitting meditation has come from contemporary vehicles for Buddhism. This lovely piece, King of Samadhis, helps…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Platform Sutra
Many of us are familiar with the first part of the Platform Sutra, recounting the story of Huineng’s life and how he obtained the robe and bowl after arriving…
The Daily Zen TeishoTo Live is Just to Live
All of us have been known to complicate our lives and our practice at times. We overthink problems, over-dwell on emotional states from time to time, and try…
The Daily Zen TeishoShikantaza
Time to return to the beginning with Spring/Fall around the corner. Many of you have asked for more instruction on beginning meditation. Read the Journal while…
The Daily Zen TeishoInformal Talks
Dogen speaks clearly about the mind that seeks the way and how to maintain the intensity of practice over time. We couldn’t ask for a world of more distraction…
The Daily Zen TeishoWhat is the Way?
There are always layers of understanding and misunderstanding in practice. It is similar to a snake shedding its skin; at one stage that is the only protection…
The Daily Zen TeishoDivine Light
In the beginning, I was seeking that one essential point to connect with, to focus on, which would allow me a foundation that didn’t clutter up the mind with…
The Daily Zen TeishoZazen
There’s room in practice for many kinds of students; at some stage in practice, we have been them all. Everything is in a constant state of change, including…
The Daily Zen TeishoSkeletons
Death, the great equalizer, has a way of bringing life into a different kind of focus. Ikkyu’s skeletons share teachings from their point of view, which is…
The Daily Zen TeishoKuan-shin lun – Contemplation of Mind
Sometimes less is more. There is no technique discussed other than contemplating the mind. We might translate this into turning the light of awareness inward…
The Daily Zen TeishoSkeletons – Part 2
Ikkyu’s skeletons teach in rich and evocative koan-like poems. Any one of them can be read alone, and in fact, each one deserves quiet contemplation rather…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Enlightenment of Chiyono
Mugai Nyodai, known also as Chiyono, was one of the first Japanese women to receive transmission in Zen. Read the Journal while listening
The Daily Zen TeishoWhat is Ch’an?
This is a time to return to the roots of practice. With new people coming into Daily Zen every month, it is fitting now for a piece like this. Sheng-yen…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Awakening of Mugai Nyodai – Part 2
Mugai Nyodai, known also as Chiyono, was one of the first Japanese women to receive transmission in Zen.. While she is well known through her founding of many…
The Daily Zen TeishoOn the Transmission of Mind – Part 12
This piece of Huang Po’s touches elements of practice that seem to turn your mind inside out at first. He seems to raise more questions than answers, and thus…
The Daily Zen TeishoTrue School of the Ancient Buddhas
Down to earth and, at the same time, a most expanded view of practice; each line is an invitation to explore. Read the Journal while listening
The Daily Zen TeishoOn the Transmission of Mind – Part 3
We are exhorted to aspire to a paradoxical way of learning/unlearning in Zen; to “think” the unthinkable. Many words are used to help us see the limitations of…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Activity of the Reality of Life
Uchiyama Roshi begins with a powerful line that stops us right at the very beginning of this reading. To live the reality of true fluidity existing between…
The Daily Zen TeishoA Lotus in Fire
This collection of letters written to teachers, students, and lay people reveals a side of Yuanwu that is personable and easily understood. He is better known…
The Daily Zen TeishoMud and Water 1
We live in very different times from those in Japan in the 1300s, but the search for a true teacher or master beckons to students in every century. Bassui’s…
The Daily Zen TeishoA Single Handful
Perhaps we should begin at the beginning, where Buddhadhasa starts with the fundamental principles in the first chapter of this teaching, because in the above…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Teachings of the Fourth Chan Patriarch Tao-shin
There is something for everyone in this profound teaching. We don’t know who the questioner is, but really it is us. Who hasn’t asked these questions in their…
The Daily Zen TeishoOn Cultivating the Mind
Nothing much to grab onto here, not even instructions to meditate! However, we realize that a Zen master is teaching meditation; how else does one learn to…
The Daily Zen TeishoZen Mind, Beginner’s Mind – Part 2
Each journal presents a way into a larger perspective, and each piece speaks to us uniquely. There are teachers we easily connect with, and others that demand…
The Daily Zen TeishoAbsorption in the Treasury of Light – Part 1
It is rare to hear in Zen anyone state exactly what meditation is; there are a lot of questions asked, and a little technique discussed, but originally…
The Daily Zen TeishoEssential Teachings of the Stone Lion: Instructions for Meditation
In Zen, there are many styles of meditation taught through the various schools; each person has to find the approach that strikes a chord within them, one they…
The Daily Zen TeishoEssential Teachings of the Stone Lion: Stages of Meditation
Fall and Spring are both potent times to evaluate our practice; without judgment, just look to see if there are any adjustments to be made. Read the Journal…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Eight Qualities of a Great Person – Part 2
As with any translation of a very ancient teaching, and one that was passed on orally rather than written down, we are often stopped wondering what was…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Essential Gateway to Truth by Means of Instantaneous Awakening
If the questions seem to flow too precisely and neatly along, it is because this is a format Hui Hai used to communicate these principles. Read the Journal…
The Daily Zen TeishoThe Eight Qualities of a Great Person – Part 1
This was the last teaching of both the Buddha and Dogen before they died. For Dogen, it was part of his intention to rewrite all his work, and he had completed…
The Daily Zen TeishoTsung Ching Record of Hui Hai
The stubborn intellect can be crafty and tends to want “answers” and concepts to hold onto, and naturally, as students, we would appreciate a little help here…