Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast

The Upaya Dharma Podcast features Wednesday evening Dharma Talks and recordings from Upaya's diverse array of programs. Our podcasts exemplify Upaya’s focus on socially engaged Buddhism, including prison work, end-of-life care, serving the homeless, training in socially engaged practices, peace & nonviolence, compassionate care training, and delivering healthcare in the Himalayas.

Buddha Nature 2.0: Embodying the Four Perfections with Dōgen

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, delivered under the largest supermoon in two years, Sensei Kodo reflects on fusatsu—the full moon ceremony of vow renewal—his own marriage vows, and the absence of regular […]

11-10
50:42

Inner Sangha: Healing and Transformation with the Life and Teachings of Larry Ward

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Valerie Brown honors the life and legacy of Dr. Larry Ward, a pioneering African-American Dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition. Valerie recounts Larry’s journey from his […]

11-03
47:32

FPP2025 Sesshin Day 6: Returning Home

On the closing day of Upaya’s Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Kathy, Hoshi Senko, and Sensei Monshin offer an integrated reflection on continuing practice beyond the zendo. Sensei Kathy grounds us in the body, reminding […]

11-02
45:51

FPP2025 Sesshin Day 5: Effort Without Desire

In this Day five talk during the Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Monshin weaves together stories of generosity, effort, and hummingbirds to explore “effort without desire”—the natural, uncalculated movement of life giving to […]

11-02
35:07

FPP2025 Sesshin Day 3: The Dragon Singing in a Withered Tree

On Day three of the Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Hoshi Senko begins with Suzuki Roshi’s simple reminder: “Appreciate your life.” Senko describes sesshin as a means for this, saying sesshin is “a kind […]

11-02
47:18

FPP2025 Sesshin Day 2: Practice – Realization

In Day two of the Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Kathie Fischer likens sesshin to an artist’s colony where each practitioner’s work unfolds through the act of doing itself. “Each of us is […]

11-02
35:24

Dogen’s Unconstructedness in Stillness

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk and Day 4 of Upaya’s Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Kathie Fischer brings our attention to resonance—the way one vibration awakens or encourages another. Drawing from physics, poetry, […]

10-27
51:06

FPP2025 Sesshin Day 1: Entering Through the True Gate

In this morning talk on the first full day of the Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Shinzan draws from Dōgen’s Bendōwa (“The Wholehearted Way”) to remind us that zazen itself is the true gate of […]

10-26
46:26

Fall Practice Period 2025: Sesshin Opening

In this opening session of Upaya’s 2025 Fall Pratice Period Sesshin, four teachers—Sensei Kathie Fischer, Sensei Shinzan (joining remotely from San Diego), Sensei Monshin, and Hoshi Senko—welcome participants into the stillness and rhythm of this […]

10-26
42:05

FPP2025: The Ordinary Profundity of the Present Moment (Part 5)

In this Zazenkai Day Talk during Fall Practice Period, Chris Senko Perez reflects on Dōgen’s Genjō Kōan through his image of sailing far out to sea, where the ocean appears perfectly round. Dōgen comments on […]

10-26
48:30

FPP2025: Introduction to the Text: Actualizing the Fundamental Point (Part 3)

In this Fall Practice Period session, Senseis Kathie, Monshin, and Shinzan, with reflections from Hoshi Senko, open the study of Dogen’s Bendowa and Genjokoan. They invite participants to encounter Dogen not as a distant master to be analyzed but […]

10-26
01:00:05

FPP2025: Study of The Great Way (Part 2)

In this Zazenkai Day talk during Upaya’s Fall Practice Period, Sensei Kathie Fischer offers her reflections on the simplicity and depth of Zen practice. She begins by exploring the role of language in […]

10-26
39:10

FPP2025: Actualizing the Fundamental Point – The Heart of Dogen’s Teachings Opening Session

Senseis Monshin, Kathie Fischer, and Shinzan, together with Hoshi Senko, open Upaya’s Fall Practice Period by welcoming participants from around the world into a month of deep study of Dogen’s Genjokoan. “To study the way is […]

10-26
45:31

Awareness In Action: Embodiment with Guo Gu (Part 13 – October)

In this talk from Upaya’s Awareness and Action series, Dr. Guo Gu, founder of the Tallahassee Chan Center, explores Embodiment and Engaged Practice—how awakening through the body becomes the ground for compassionate action in […]

10-24
01:31:39

Finding your place where you are

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk during Fall Practice Period at Upaya, Sensei Monshin explores the meaning of dharma position. Building from Dogen’s Genjokoan, she explains dharma position as an expression of the inseparability of self and […]

10-20
45:40

Monkey Grasping for the Moon

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk during the Fall Practice Period, Sensei Shinzan turns to Dōgen’s Genjō Kōan, drawing on the  image of a monkey grasping at the moon’s reflection to reveal how our search for […]

10-13
40:24

Way Seeking Mind: Head to Heart

In this Way-Seeking Mind Dharma Talk, resident Tuck Butsumon Stibich offers a moving reflection on his path from intellectual inquiry to embodied Zen practice. Raised in Dayton, Ohio, in a family grounded in […]

10-06
44:17

Awareness In Action: Discernment with Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi (Part 12 – September)

In this session of Upaya’s Awareness in Action series, Bhikkhu Bodhi offers a penetrating teaching on discernment as the heart of engaged Buddhism in times of crisis. He reflects on his journey from 1960s […]

10-03
01:39:06

Love and Death 2025: Photos at the Threshold (Part 4)

In Part 4 of Upaya’s Love and Death program, Frank Ostaseski and Roshi Joan invite participants to “bring death into the room” through a mindfulness practice with photographs of people who stepped through the threshold of […]

10-02
01:07:04

Love and Death 2025: The Sovereignty of Solitude (Part 3B)

This is the 2nd half of … part 3 of Upaya’s Love and Death program, Frank Ostaseski and Roshi Joan Halifax explore the tension between belonging and accommodation. Through personal stories of illness, recovery, and […]

10-02
48:16

Willie Vargas

and you called this Buddhist , so disappointing

02-17 Reply

Debbie D

Thank you. I listened to this episode after listening to podcast History On Fire about Ikkyu Sojun. Having run into sexism in some Buddhist communities in the US I was becoming confused about how to navigate it. I have a better understanding now.🙏

07-31 Reply

Debbie D

The addictions of multitasking and solving "problems" is something I can relate to. Been working on this for a while now and making headway, but this talk was very helpful. Being aware that this is a thing for others in a more deeper sense than just intellectually helps me give myself permission to let go. Gratefully 🙏

06-03 Reply

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