The Zen of Everything

Jundo and Kirk talk about zen and parenting. Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) Biography of Gautama Buddha (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha#Biography) Dr. Seuss books (https://amzn.to/2OvfVX2) Winnie the Pooh (https://amzn.to/2tz0Rk1) The Giving Tree (https://amzn.to/3722ynT) Stone Soup (https://amzn.to/2v9dH9f) Zen Shorts (https://amzn.to/2H1YoBY) Puppy Mind (https://amzn.to/2SAxExR) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo and Kirk discuss "hard" and "easy" zen. Has zen become too easy? Is it too hard? You are New York all along. Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) Junici Saga: Memories of Silk and Straw (https://amzn.to/2NUgc5H) The Next Track podcast (https://www.thenexttrack.com) Honkyoku (https://honkyoku.com) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo and Kirk talk about zen and war. How should zen practitioners act when faced with war? How can we prevent war? Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) Brian Daizen Victoria: Zen at War (https://amzn.to/2N7yobu) “Zen at War” Brian Victoria: Throwing Bombs at Kodo (http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/ThrowingBombs_at_Kodo_JundoCohen.pdf) Edwin Starr: War (YouTube) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQHUAJTZqF0) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo and Kirk discuss how Christmas and Zen can find common ground, and discuss their favorite Zen Christmas carols. Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) Rohatsu - Bodhi Day (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_Day) Joseph Campbell: The Hero with a Thousand Faces (https://amzn.to/2ZmvJji) Santa Bodhisattva (https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?17441-December-20-21st-Treeleaf-Weekly-Zazenkai-A-Merry-Rohatsu-Happy-New-This-Moment) Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_Virginia,_there_is_a_Santa_Claus) Christmas in Japan (https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/japan.shtml) Allen Ginsberg chanting the Heart Sutra (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAP8KYdtlmQ) Kaz Tanahashi's ensos (https://www.brushmind.net/artwork-1) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

You've probably heard about kōans, those enigmatic zen dialogs that make no sense. Jundo and Kirk discuss the origin and history of kōans, what they mean, how they work, and what the sound of one hand clapping really is. Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) Kōan (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kōan) Tang dynasty (618–907) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_dynasty) Song dynasty (960–1297) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_dynasty) John Daido Loori (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Daido_Loori) Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (https://amzn.to/2PAWZpL) Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (https://amzn.to/2rs7fst) Dahui Zonggao (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahui_Zonggao) Hakuin Ekaku (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakuin_Ekaku) Episode 11: The Dokusan Room is Kinda Baloney (https://www.zen-of-everything.com/11) Zen Sand: The Book of Capping Phrases for Koan Practice (https://amzn.to/38uV8LR) The Blue Cliff Record (https://amzn.to/38FzAwa) The Gateless Gate (https://amzn.to/2PbO8vI) The Book of Equanimity (https://amzn.to/38w73ZO) The True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koans (https://amzn.to/2PdsCXl) Like Cats and Dogs: Contesting The Mu Koan In Zen Buddhism (https://amzn.to/2LMerGx) The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen's Most Important Koan (https://amzn.to/2RM8Nbd) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Is meditation easy? Is it difficult? Jundo and Kirk talk about shikantaza meditation and the importance of intention. And Jundo discuss his patented Insta-Zen technique. Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) The Circle of the Way (https://amzn.to/2XZZAgH) The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation (https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/gunaratana/wheel351.html) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo and Kirk discuss the idea of oneness. The good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly are all facets of the great jewel. Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) Transparent eyeball (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparent_eyeball) Emerson and Zen Buddhism (https://amzn.to/2qbSjxT) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo and Kirk discuss the Dokusan room, the place where the teacher tests students and students test the teacher. What goes on can be romanticized and overemphasized, misused and misunderstood (especially by modern westerners), yet greatness sometimes happens too. Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) Philip Kapleau: The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment (https://amzn.to/2ITlOe3) Brad Warner: Hardcore Zen (http://hardcorezen.info) Teachers checking students (Treeleaf forum thread) (https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?17320-Teachers-checking-students) Jack Kornfield: After the Ecstasy, the Laundry (https://amzn.to/2NupCnv) Honkyoku: Kirk's shakuhachi website (https://honkyoku.com) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo and Kirk discuss differences between the way zen is practiced in the west compared to in Japan. Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) Philip Kapleau: The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment (https://amzn.to/2ITlOe3) The Zen Teaching of Homeless Kodo (https://amzn.to/35JUcBG) Paris Hilton takes Buddhist monk Shopping (http://wisdomquarterly.blogspot.com/2008/09/paris-hilton-takes-buddhist-monk.html) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo and Kirk talk discuss favorites. What is the best ice cream flavor? What is the best fruit? Do favorites matter? Do appearances matter? Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) Wabi-sabi (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi) Introduction to Agama Sutra: The First Buddhist Scripture (on Wei Nung) (https://aaari.info/notes/02-06-06Tam.pdf) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo and Kirk talk about how bad or good things are in the world. Things really aren't as bad as they may seem if you watch the news too much. Steven Pinker: The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (https://amzn.to/31z0mSK) Malaria vaccine launched in Kenya: Kenya joins Ghana and Malawi to roll out landmark vaccine in pilot introduction (https://www.afro.who.int/news/malaria-vaccine-launched-kenya-kenya-joins-ghana-and-malawi-roll-out-landmark-vaccine-pilot) Dieter Rams' Ten principles for good design (https://www.vitsoe.com/gb/about/good-design) I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (YouTube) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlR0KElxxVg) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo and Kirk discuss whether you can practice Zen Buddhism if you are a Christian, Jew, Muslim, or believer in another religion. Meditation helped me drag myself out of self-loathing and failure (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/sep/02/meditation-helped-me-drag-myself-out-of-self-loathing-and-failure) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo and Kirk take a look at the zen of the future, discussing whether or not robots are sentient, and whether they have Buddha nature. Kannon Bodhisattva robot unveiled at Kyoto temple to share Buddha's religious teachings (https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/02/23/business/tech/robotic-kannon-unveiled-kyoto-temple/) Guanyin (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanyin) The hard question (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_problem_of_consciousness) Trolley problem (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem) Susan Blackmore (https://www.susanblackmore.uk) Ian McEwan: Machines Like Me (https://amzn.to/2Hh7aMU) Love in another dimension: Japanese man 'marries' Hatsune Miku hologram (https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/11/12/national/japanese-man-marries-virtual-reality-singer-hatsune-miku-hologram/) Doomsday Book (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Book_(film)) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo and Kirk discuss whether shikantaza is meditation, how to get a grape juice stain out of a carpet, how to deal with Alzheimers, how mindfulness is integrating in modern society, whether Buddhism is a religion, and the interesting case of a woman who feels no pain. Just a little reminder: Shikantaza Zazen is --not-- "Meditating" (https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?17110-Just-a-little-reminder-Shikantaza-Zazen-is-not-Meditating) Toddler Destroys Sand Mandala (YouTube) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj2dA_ncPg4) Meet The Woman Who Feels No Pain... (https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?17095-Meet-The-Woman-Who-Feels-No-Pain) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo explains why all days are good days, and Kirk laments the hot weather in Europe. They revisit Ikkyu ("that old horndog"), and discuss politics, anger, a dead appliance, and the Ugly Lama. Kōdō Sawaki (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kōdō_Sawaki) lKKYU was a DRUNKEN HORNDOG (Facebook) (https://www.facebook.com/groups/SotoZenGlobal/permalink/10157264545010692/) Dalai Lama 'deeply sorry' for remarks about women (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-48844825) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

Jundo and Kirk discuss what makes a car a car, whether gamblers and criminals should donate money to good causes, how a bus driver can help make the world better, and a book on simple living. Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) He’s Playing His Cards Right (https://www.lionsroar.com/hes-playing-his-cards-right/) Ikkyū (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikkyū) Welcome to "Simple Living" - Chapters 1 and 2 (https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?17020-Welcome-to-Simple-Living-Chapters-1-and-2) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

All things are impermanent, but this podcast has made it to its second episode. Jundo and Kirk discuss whether a hot dog is a sandwich, explore the question of being a vegetarian, whether one should wear glasses when sitting zazen, and whether one really, truly needs to sit zazen every day. Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) Śūraṅgama Sūtra (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Śūraṅgama_Sūtra) Dōgen (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dōgen) Monkfish (Wikipedia) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lophius) Zazen: Not Sitting is as Vital as Sitting (https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?17011-Zazen-Not-Sitting-is-as-Vital-as-Sitting) SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: Yes! No! Sometimes! NEVER! (https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?12430-SIT-A-LONG-with-Jundo-Yes%21-No%21-Sometimes%21-NEVER%21) Theme music by Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com). To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com. If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.

For the first episode of The Zen of Everything, we explain why we started this podcast, and what we plan to do. We then explore whether cats are zen masters, discuss Buddhist lawyers, talk about practicing zen with health problems, explore the idea of calling the Buddha a "she," and explain what a roshi is. Treeleaf Zendo (https://www.treeleaf.org) The Soto Zen Buddhist Association (http://szba.org) Thanks to Kiku Day (http://www.kikuday.com) for performing our theme music. To submit a question, send an email to podcast@zen-of-everything.com (mailto:podcast@zen-of-everything.com). If you like the podcast, please subscribe in iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-next-track/id1116242606) or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast.