Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast

In this informative Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Zenshin Florence Caplow explores the meaning of “Buddha meets Buddha” in the context of how we might skillfully navigate our relationships with spiritual teachers. Zenshin journeys through the relative ethical imperatives and moral responsibilities of teacher-student relationships while illustrating our need to self govern through Suzuki…

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This is the 2nd half of the session on Planting Life, where participants explore indigenous food ways and decolonization through cultivated ancient wisdoms. Artist and cultural preservationist Roxanne Swentzell shares her year of projects—from building retreat centers with pumice construction to revitalizing traditional coming-of-age ceremonies and creating seed banks for her community.

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This is the 1st half of the session on Planting Life, where participants explore indigenous food ways and decolonization through cultivated ancient wisdoms. Artist and cultural preservationist Roxanne Swentzell shares her year of projects—from building retreat centers with pumice construction to revitalizing traditional coming-of-age ceremonies and creating seed banks for her community.

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In this session of Planting Life, we participate in the sacred planting ceremony that honors indigenous wisdom through the cultivation of ancestral crops—corn, beans, and squash—known as the Three Sisters. Led by indigenous teachers, the gathering weaves together Native American agricultural practices with Buddhist mindfulness, sweeping the mind and returning to our roots.

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In this session of Planting Life, Mayan archaeoastronomer Alonso Méndez reveals the profound astronomical knowledge embedded in ancient Mesoamerican civilization. Drawing from his decades of research at Palenque, Méndez traces how corn became not just sustenance but the foundation of an entire cosmology that linked human life cycles to celestial movements. He explains the remarkable relationship…

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In this session, Roshi Joan Halifax, Troy Keido Fernandez, Sensei Wendy Johnson, and Alonso Mendez open the annual Planting Life program at Upaya Zen Center. Roshi welcomes in-person and online participants to this sacred gathering that honors ancestral wisdom and earth-based practice. She shares the story of the valley Upaya is nestled in and of the Tewa peoples who have and continue to steward…

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In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Cynthia Ryotan explores the ancient Zen poem “The Mind of Absolute Trust” or “Xinxin Ming.” She unpacks how our preferences “chop up our lives and create suffering,” from minor choices like vanilla vs. chocolate to major political divisions that can feel “like a cleaver coming down.” Ryotan challenges us to examine our attachment to preferences…

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In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Kodo explores the concept of impermanence as it relates to love, loss, and appreciation through the Portuguese word saudade – the inseparable feelings of sorrow and joy that arise from loss, and the Japanese phrase mono no aware, the slender sadness, or the inseparability of beauty and impermanence. Kodo shares his own recent encounter with saudade and…

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In this Wednesday Night Public Dharma Talk, resident practitioner Hunt Anshin Hoffman offers his first Dharma talk relating to his path and relationship with practice (way seeking mind talk). Anshin begins by invoking the 13th century German mystic Meister Eckhart’s insight: “when we seek ways to God, we find ways but lose God.” This sets the tone for Anshin’s exploration of a “practice that’s not…

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In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Keido Troy Fernandez, a 13th generation native New Mexican and Zen priest at Upaya, tenderly weaves together ancestral wisdom, land-based practice, and Buddhist teachings. Drawing from his grandmother’s dichos (sayings) and experiences from a lifetime of practice, he explores the boundless courage of a planted seed and the persistence and mystery of the life…

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In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Roshi Jan Chozen Bays provides a grounded and practical reflection on the teaching of impermanence. She explores impermanence (anicca) as one of Buddhism’s three fundamental marks of […]

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk coinciding with Upaya’s Being With Dying program, Frank Ostaseski breaks open the conversation of caring for those near death or in the dying process. Like curling up with a good […]

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Buddhist philosopher David Loy traces humanity’s evolving quest for meaning through historical religious frameworks. Loy examines how humanity’s search for purpose has evolved through the ages – […]

In this powerful talk from the Awakened Action series, Roshi Joan Halifax explores how solidarity can transform our shared and interwoven world during these critical times. After a warm introduction, Roshi begins, “From a […]

In this unique and powerful Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Roshi Joan Halifax displays the poise and clarity of practice. Unexpectedly, she turns the talk into a dialogue with the audience as she reflects on […]

In this closing talk from the last day of Spring Practice Period Sesshin, the faculty of the practice period weave together final reflections on the vows and actions of true bodhisattvas. Sensei […]

In this talk during the fifth full day of Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Cynthia Ryotan explores the fourth of the bodhisattva’s methods of guidance: kind speech. She fames the importance of […]

In this third full day of Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Monshin explores the concepts of beneficial action and identity action from Dogen’s Bodhisattva’s Four Methods of Guidance. She identifies beneficial action as “skillfully […]

In this second full day of Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Shinzan explores the Four Bodhisattva Vows as expressions of what Suzuki Roshi described as an “inflexible determination to carry out one’s will […]

In this talk during the Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Ryotan explores the first of Dogen’s Four Methods of Guidance: Dana (generosity). Dogen himself lived in a tumultuous era of social upheaval, war, […]

In this opening talk for the Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Senseis Monshin, Ryotan, and Shinzan offer their remarks and suggestions to make the most of the deep quiet and practice of sesshin. Sensei Shinzan explains […]

In this dharma talk during Spring Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Shinzan thoroughly explores the Ten Paramitas (Perfections) of Mahayana Buddhism. He works backward from the tenth to the first, covering knowledge, powers, vow, […]

In this second Zazenkai day talk of Spring Practice Period, Sensei Shinzan explores the essence of compassion in Buddhism. He begins with a Matrix-inspired question to illustrate the Bodhisattva vow: “Somebody tells you, […]

In this first Zazenkai day of Spring Practice Period, Sensei Monshin delivers a poignant talk in her naturally calm and lighthearted way. Monshin reflects on this opportunity to practice and asks us to […]

In this session of the Spring Practice Period, Senseis Monshin and Ryotan, introduce participants to Taigen Dan Leighton’s Faces of Compassion – the text of focus for the practice period. Sensei Ryotan emphasizes that bodhisattvas are […]

In this opening session of Spring Practice Period, Senseis Monshin, Shinzan, and Ryotan warmly welcome participants to explore “Living in the Embrace of the Bodhisattva Path.” Sensei Monshin begins by speaking to the ancient tradition […]

In this session of the Awareness in Action series, Valerie Brown passionately meets us at the crossroads of spiritual practice and social action. As democracy trembles and DEI programs face systematic dismantling, […]

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk during Spring Practice Period, Sensei Monshin explores the archetypal energies of two bodhisattvas – Samantabhadra and Jizo. She begins by asking what sustains our practice and effort, answering simply: […]

In this week’s Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, during the Spring Practice Period, Sensei Ryotan Cynthia Kear draws our attention to the foundational importance of vows, urging us to “Trust yourself and your dedication to […]

In this Wednesday Night concluding talk of the Prajnaparamita series, Kodo explores how these ancient teachings can be brought into everyday life through the practice of deep attention and appreciation. […]

In this dharma talk, Fushin discusses the Empty Bowl Sutra and its relationship to the Diamond Sutra, presenting them as complementary teachings about emptiness or boundlessness, and the bodhisattva path. […]

In this talk from the Awareness in Action series, Ruth King examines racism as “a heart disease that is curable,” exploring through a Buddhist lens how racial conditioning shapes our identities and […]

In this concluding session of the Haiku and Poetry program, Roshi Joan Halifax facilitates a rich dialogue among faculty and participants about language, beauty, and creative courage in difficult times. Roshi creates space for […]

In this Fourth full session of the Haiku and Poetry series, translator and artist Ian Boyden invites participants on a meditative journey through the landscape of Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei. Beginning with a […]

This is the 2nd part of … The third full session of the Haiku and Poetry program, where Jimmy Santiago Baca brings his characteristic energy and authenticity to the practice of […]

In this third full session of the Haiku and Poetry program, Jimmy Santiago Baca brings his characteristic energy and authenticity to the practice of writing haiku. Drawing on his background as a formerly incarcerated […]

This is the 2nd part of … The second full session of the Haiku and Poetry program, where acclaimed poet Jane Hirshfield explores the deep connections between poetry and contemplative practice. […]

In this second full session of the Haiku and Poetry program, acclaimed poet Jane Hirshfield explores the deep connections between poetry and contemplative practice. Beginning with insights into the rich tradition of Japanese women […]

In this first full session of the Haiku and Poetry series, Sensei Kazuaki Tanahashi explores the nuances of contemporary Japanese haiku through interactive discussion. He focuses on poems by Akiko Takazawa and Mitsu Suzuki, […]

In this opening session of the Haiku and Poetry series, Roshi Joan Halifax introduces a distinguished panel including Kazuaki Tanahashi, Jane Hirshfield, Ian Boyden, and Jimmy Santiago Baca. Each teacher shares their unique approaches to poetry as practice: […]