Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast https://www.upaya.org 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. Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:24:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.upaya.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/cropped-upaya-seal-2024-transparent-32x32.png Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast https://www.upaya.org 32 32 Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot false Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot dharmapodcast@gmail.com Copyright 2006-2018, Upaya Zen Center. All rights reserved. Copyright 2006-2018, Upaya Zen Center. All rights reserved. podcast Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast https://www.upaya.org/images/upaya-dharma-podcasts-1400x1400.jpg https://www.upaya.org TV-G weekly & more bcbf1f19-8079-5135-90ac-0aea1b44afcf This Is It: The Ox-Herding Pictures and Our Spiritual Journey https://www.upaya.org/2026/04/kear-ox-herding-pictures-our-spiritual-journey/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:00:39 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=106388 https://www.upaya.org/2026/04/kear-ox-herding-pictures-our-spiritual-journey/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/04/kear-ox-herding-pictures-our-spiritual-journey/feed/ 0 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, offered during Upaya’s Spring Practice Period, Sensei Ryotan explores a central theme of the ten ox-herding pictures: why is simply being present so difficult? Drawing on John Daido Loori’s Riding the Ox Home and the child psychologist D.W. Winnicott’s concept of “going on being,” Ryotan traces how conditioning — laid down in childhood and reinforced throughout…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 46:09 A Glimpse of Awakened Mind. Now What? https://www.upaya.org/2026/04/overley-perez-glimpse-awakened-mind-now-what/ Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:00:29 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=106267 https://www.upaya.org/2026/04/overley-perez-glimpse-awakened-mind-now-what/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/04/overley-perez-glimpse-awakened-mind-now-what/feed/ 0 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, offered during Upaya’s Spring Practice Period, Sensei Monshin and Hoshi Senko guide us through the heart of the oxherding pictures — the ancient Zen metaphor of spiritual maturation. Monshin frames the third and fourth paintings, seeing and catching the ox, as our commitment to the path. Why face the bull? What truly moves us toward such a challenging practice?

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 46:41 Bearing Witness in Gaza https://www.upaya.org/2026/04/dalton-bearing-witness-in-gaza/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 11:00:18 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=106116 https://www.upaya.org/2026/04/dalton-bearing-witness-in-gaza/#comments https://www.upaya.org/2026/04/dalton-bearing-witness-in-gaza/feed/ 2 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Genryu Clayton Dalton — emergency physician, journalist, and newly ordained novice priest — reflects on what it means to bear witness across the vast distances of suffering that connect us all. Having lost his voice the weekend prior, Genryu’s rough whisper seemed hauntingly appropriate as he described the inexpressible suffering from his recent medical mission…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 35:04 The Measure of Our Humanity: Transformation https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/brown-measure-of-our-humanity-transformation/ Wed, 01 Apr 2026 02:00:10 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=106004 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/brown-measure-of-our-humanity-transformation/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/brown-measure-of-our-humanity-transformation/feed/ 0 In this session of The Measure of Our Humanity, Roshi Joan Halifax opens by reflecting on six years of monthly gatherings exploring socially engaged Buddhism — and on the urgency of the question animating this year’s series: how do we lay down a sane and compassionate path forward in these times? The session turns to Valerie Brown who grounds her teaching in a vision of collective awakening…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:29:28 Up a Tree: Precarity, Not-Knowing, and Awakening Times https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/lau-halifax-up-a-tree-precarity-not-knowing-and-awakening-times/ Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:00:48 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105956 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/lau-halifax-up-a-tree-precarity-not-knowing-and-awakening-times/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/lau-halifax-up-a-tree-precarity-not-knowing-and-awakening-times/feed/ 0 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Roshi Joan Halifax opens by naming her deep concern for the ongoing wars, displacement, and political upheaval seen throughout the world. Rather than offering direct reassurance, she turns to two stories held in deliberate tension: Kyōgen’s koan “Man Up a Tree,” in which a man hanging by his teeth from a branch is asked a question he cannot answer without…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 44:17 As The Wheel Turns https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/stibich-as-the-wheel-turns/ Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:00:07 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105914 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/stibich-as-the-wheel-turns/#comments https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/stibich-as-the-wheel-turns/feed/ 1 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Butsumon Tuck Stibich — a resident priest at Upaya — opens with a teaching from Thich Nhat Hanh. No stranger to war, Thich Nhat Hanh explains that our anxiety about the world’s suffering is an obstacle to service: that fear and worry do not help us cultivate peace, or become a refuge for others. Reflecting on this and the vows made in Jukai…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 30:34 Finding Our Way https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/bristol-finding-our-way/ Mon, 16 Mar 2026 11:00:48 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105812 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/bristol-finding-our-way/#comments https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/bristol-finding-our-way/feed/ 1 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Fushin addresses what so many of us are carrying right now — the weight of a world in upheaval, the accumulation of personal grief, and the stories we tell ourselves at three in the morning when everything feels urgent and nothing feels within reach. Drawing on the Lotus Sutra’s parable of the burning house, Fushin reframes the question entirely…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 40:22 The Poetry of Cold Mountain: All You Have Is Seeds https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-poetry-cold-mountain-road-all-have-seeds-7-7/ Sun, 15 Mar 2026 22:15:19 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105803 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-poetry-cold-mountain-road-all-have-seeds-7-7/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-poetry-cold-mountain-road-all-have-seeds-7-7/feed/ 0 In the final session of The Poetry of Cold Mountain, participants share their overnight translations of Hanshan’s poems — working from character-to-word guides across five poems. The range and depth of what emerges moves Peter Levitt and Kaz Tanahashi to reflect openly on the nature of creative work. Peter observes that the participants had nothing but seeds — elements borrowed from a poet writing…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:01:54 The Poetry of Cold Mountain: You Ask the Way to Cold Mountain? https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-lau-poetry-cold-mountain-you-ask-way-6-7/ Sun, 15 Mar 2026 22:00:28 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105801 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-lau-poetry-cold-mountain-you-ask-way-6-7/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-lau-poetry-cold-mountain-you-ask-way-6-7/feed/ 0 In Part 6 of The Poetry of Cold Mountain, the evening session gathers around two offerings. Kaz Tanahashi gives a live calligraphy demonstration, rendering Hanshan’s poem “You Ask the Way to Cold Mountain” first in formal script, then in semi-cursive — pausing to explain how each style reveals something different about the characters, the poem, and the calligrapher’s mind. Sensei Dainin reads each…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:24:54 The Poetry of Cold Mountain: The Stone Bridge https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-poetry-cold-mountain-road-stone-bridge-5-7/ Sun, 15 Mar 2026 21:45:55 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105799 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-poetry-cold-mountain-road-stone-bridge-5-7/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-poetry-cold-mountain-road-stone-bridge-5-7/feed/ 0 In Part 5 of The Poetry of Cold Mountain, the session opens with a participant unexpectedly sharing two pieces of calligraphy prepared before the retreat — Hanshan poems rendered by hand as an act of study and care. Kaz Tanahashi and Peter Levitt then open the floor to another round of participant poetry. Kaz offers his own poem, inspired by Hanshan’s eccentricity: As in the previous session…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 39:53 The Poetry of Cold Mountain: Open Sharing https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-poetry-cold-mountain-road-open-sharing-4-7/ Sun, 15 Mar 2026 21:30:29 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105797 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-poetry-cold-mountain-road-open-sharing-4-7/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-poetry-cold-mountain-road-open-sharing-4-7/feed/ 0 In Part 4 of The Poetry of Cold Mountain, the session opens into a shared creative space. Kaz Tanahashi and Peter Levitt shape the afternoon around two fundamental poetry practices — writing from the present moment and listening. Peter offers a generative prompt: use lines from Hanshan as scaffolding, borrowing one to begin a poem, one to anchor the middle, one to close. What follows is an open…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:01:45 The Poetry of Cold Mountain: Quality of Mind https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/levitt-poetry-cold-mountain-road-quality-mind-3-7/ Sun, 15 Mar 2026 21:15:33 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105795 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/levitt-poetry-cold-mountain-road-quality-mind-3-7/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/levitt-poetry-cold-mountain-road-quality-mind-3-7/feed/ 0 In Part 3 of The Poetry of Cold Mountain, Peter Levitt offers a deep dive into the craft and consciousness of Hanshan’s poetry. Drawing on three defining qualities of Hanshan’s work — plain speech, imagery that moves between the literal and the symbolic, and last lines of sudden, inevitable surprise — Peter shows how each poem both instructs and enacts the journey it describes.

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:25:21 The Poetry of Cold Mountain: The Road Does Not Go Through https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-lau-halifax-poetry-cold-mountain-road-not-go-through-2-7/ Sun, 15 Mar 2026 20:45:12 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105793 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-lau-halifax-poetry-cold-mountain-road-not-go-through-2-7/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-lau-halifax-poetry-cold-mountain-road-not-go-through-2-7/feed/ 0 Roshi Joan Halifax opens this first full session (Part 2) of The Poetry of Cold Mountain by acknowledging the violence unfolding in Iran, holding the gravity of the world alongside the refuge of practice and community. She then turns the session to Kaz Tanahashi. Kaz introduces the structure of classical Chinese characters and verse — one character, one syllable, one word — before exploring the…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:10:10 The Poetry of Cold Mountain: A Journey with Legendary Hermit Hanshan: An Introduction to Hanshan https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-lau-poetry-cold-mountain-hanshan-introduction-1-7/ Sun, 15 Mar 2026 20:15:01 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105790 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-lau-poetry-cold-mountain-hanshan-introduction-1-7/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/tanahashi-levitt-lau-poetry-cold-mountain-hanshan-introduction-1-7/feed/ 0 The Poetry of Cold Mountain weekend program opens with an evening of orientation and anticipation, as world-renowned calligrapher Kazuaki Tanahashi and poet and Zen teacher Peter Levitt — co-translators of The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan — introduce the hermit poet whose words have endured for over a thousand years. Kaz situates Hanshan in his time: the sacred…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:06:36 A Time to Mark the Reality of Vow: The Presence of Care https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/overley-halifax-time-to-mark-reality-vow-presence-care/ Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:00:12 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105670 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/overley-halifax-time-to-mark-reality-vow-presence-care/#comments https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/overley-halifax-time-to-mark-reality-vow-presence-care/feed/ 1 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Monshin opens by acknowledging the 33 practitioners preparing to receive jukai — and the vow to carry non-harming actions into the world. She reads from Thich Nhất Hạnh’s Go As a River, encouraging us to understand community as refuge from despair. Roshi Joan Halifax speaks into our heavy hearts — the outbreak of new war, the deep karmic wounds that will…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 46:18 Sitting with Original Love: Closing Session https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-closing-session/ Wed, 04 Mar 2026 01:00:18 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105585 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-closing-session/#comments https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-closing-session/feed/ 1 This final session of Sitting with Original Love opens once again with Nicolle Reigetsu leading the community in singing the Metta Sutta — words of loving kindness from the Pali canon — before Henry Shukman and Roshi Joan Halifax offer their final teaching of the retreat. Henry leads a guided reflection, then reads from his book: a passage about a grieving mother who finds herself unexpectedly…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:21:38 Sitting with Original Love: Wisdom, Love, and the Organism of Now https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-wisdom-love-and-the-organism-of-now/ Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:45:49 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105583 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-wisdom-love-and-the-organism-of-now/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-wisdom-love-and-the-organism-of-now/feed/ 0 This Saturday evening session of Sitting with Original Love opens with a beautiful performance from Nicolle Reigetsu, drawing the community into tender connection. Roshi Joan Halifax and Henry Shukman engage in warm dialogue exploring what it means to embody Original Love — not as theory but as the lived meeting of wisdom and compassion. Henry offers his own, luminous poem, Slow…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:04:42 Sitting with Original Love: First Love and Bodhicitta https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-first-love-and-bodhicitta/ Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:30:52 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105581 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-first-love-and-bodhicitta/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-first-love-and-bodhicitta/feed/ 0 In this Saturday afternoon session of Sitting with Original Love, Roshi Joan Halifax and Henry Shukman guide participants into an exploration of bodhicitta — the awakened heart — through the intimate terrain of first love. Roshi draws on Thich Nhat Hanh’s account of falling in love with a young nun at Plum Village, and how that particular love became a doorway for him into boundless compassion.

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 52:42 Sitting with Original Love: The Love That Will Not Die https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-the-love-that-will-not-die/ Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:15:50 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105579 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-the-love-that-will-not-die/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-the-love-that-will-not-die/feed/ 0 In this Saturday afternoon session of Sitting with Original Love, Henry Shukman frames the direction of spiritual practice — not as a solitary ascent away from suffering but as a descent into the heart of it. Reading from Pema Chödrön, he offers a vision of awakening that moves downward: Through guided meditation and calm instruction, he invites participants to stop treating practice as a…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 56:37 Sitting with Original Love: Beneath the Categories https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-beneath-the-categories/ Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:29 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105577 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-beneath-the-categories/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-beneath-the-categories/feed/ 0 In this mid morning session of Sitting with Original Love, Roshi Joan Halifax leads a passionate and sweeping teaching on the many faces of love — from the Greek expressions of eros, philia, storge, pragma, ludus, philautia, and agape — to the early Buddhist concepts of Samvega and Pasada, the existential unease that drives us toward practice and the quiet radiance that meets us there.

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 51:16 Sitting with Original Love: Two Tracks https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-two-tracks/ Tue, 03 Mar 2026 23:45:12 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105575 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-two-tracks/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-two-tracks/feed/ 0 In this morning session of Original Love, Henry Shukman introduces a central metaphor from early Chinese Buddhism: a cart drawn on two wheels — one wheel of mindfulness practice, where we “get better” incrementally, and one wheel of our Original Nature, which “is not really subject to improvability.” Through guided meditation, poetry, and a reading about the Tibetan master Karma Thinley…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:22:20 Sitting with Original Love: Opening Session https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-opening-session/ Tue, 03 Mar 2026 23:30:35 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105564 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-opening-session/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/shukman-halifax-sitting-with-original-love-opening-session/feed/ 0 In this opening session of Sitting with Original Love, Roshi Joan Halifax and Henry Shukman share the personal crucibles that led them to explore a more intimate and spacious relationship with their own lives. Shukman describes how a concussion and heartbreak stripped away his cognitive reliance, turning him unexpectedly toward the heart: “I found I was just living in my heart more.

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 55:23 The Measure of Our Humanity: COURAGE https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/figueres-solnit-halifax-measure-of-our-humanity-courage/ Tue, 03 Mar 2026 05:15:10 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105558 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/figueres-solnit-halifax-measure-of-our-humanity-courage/#comments https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/figueres-solnit-halifax-measure-of-our-humanity-courage/feed/ 2 This session of The Measure of Our Humanity brings together Roshi Joan Halifax, Rebecca Solnit, and Christiana Figueres to reflect on courage, interconnection, and moral responsibility amid social and ecological rupture. Rebecca Solnit offers a passionate and lucid articulation of our moment as a struggle between an ideology of isolation and a shift back into the cosmology of interconnection.

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:55:21 Dharma Discussion: Cold Mountain, Companionship, and Heart of the Poet https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/levitt-tanahashi-roen-dharma-discussion-cold-mountain-companionship-and-heart-of-the-poet/ Mon, 02 Mar 2026 12:00:45 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105547 https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/levitt-tanahashi-roen-dharma-discussion-cold-mountain-companionship-and-heart-of-the-poet/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/03/levitt-tanahashi-roen-dharma-discussion-cold-mountain-companionship-and-heart-of-the-poet/feed/ 0 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Kodo hosts a conversation with Sensei Kaz Tanahashi and poet-translator Peter Levitt in anticipation of their upcoming weekend retreat on the poetry of Cold Mountain poet Hanshan. Rather than a formal dharma talk, the evening unfolds as sharing and inquiry, touching on the nearly 40-year friendship between Kaz and Peter — a companionship born…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 46:28 Hungry Ghosts and the Five Buddha Families https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/lau-roen-hungry-ghosts-and-the-five-buddha-families/ Mon, 23 Feb 2026 12:00:39 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105347 https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/lau-roen-hungry-ghosts-and-the-five-buddha-families/#comments https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/lau-roen-hungry-ghosts-and-the-five-buddha-families/feed/ 3 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk coinciding with Lunar New Year, Senseis Kodo and Dainin Lau guide viewers through a recording of Upaya’s Gate of Sweet Nectar — a monthly new moon ceremony of radical hospitality toward all hungry and wandering spirits. These hungry ghosts become a mirror for the parts of ourselves blinded by greed, aversion, and delusion — the states that make us unable to…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 59:10 Original Love: A Path Down and Through (Not Up and Out) https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/shukman-original-love-a-path-down-and-through-not-up-and-out/ Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:00:52 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=105168 https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/shukman-original-love-a-path-down-and-through-not-up-and-out/#comments https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/shukman-original-love-a-path-down-and-through-not-up-and-out/feed/ 1 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, poet, author, and meditation teacher Henry Shukman explores the topic of his latest book, Original Love, by walking through four progressively deeper meanings of awakening. Through a light, simple, and warm narrative, Henry sets forth four ways we can awaken: returning to presence, waking from oppressive self-narratives, entering into flow or samadhi, and…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 40:00 What Silence Holds https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/bristol-what-silence-holds/ Mon, 09 Feb 2026 16:20:45 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104991 https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/bristol-what-silence-holds/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/bristol-what-silence-holds/feed/ 0 In this dharma talk following Upaya’s Winter Practice Period, Sensei Fushin explores silence not as absence but as presence itself—”our own true nature looking back at us.” Through his work as a family law attorney and former Chaplain intern, he reveals three moments when silence showed its active power: In his conference room after a disappointing court ruling, twenty-five seconds of excruciating…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 46:03 WPP2026: Sesshin Day 5: Direct, Ordinary, Inexhaustible: Seven Aspects of Realization https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/lau-roen-halifax-wpp2026-sesshin-day-5-direct-ordinary-inexhaustible-seven-aspects-of-realization/ Mon, 02 Feb 2026 18:00:02 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104897 https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/lau-roen-halifax-wpp2026-sesshin-day-5-direct-ordinary-inexhaustible-seven-aspects-of-realization/#comments https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/lau-roen-halifax-wpp2026-sesshin-day-5-direct-ordinary-inexhaustible-seven-aspects-of-realization/feed/ 1 On the fifth and final day of the Winter Practice Period Sesshin, Roshi Joan Halifax, and Senseis Kodo and Dainin gather the threads of practice into a teaching on Magnanimous Mind, intimacy, and not knowing. Kodo explores not knowing as a gateway to vastness, questioning how thought and naming can obscure direct experience. Roshi Joan continues this inquiry, inviting practitioners to stay with…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 55:42 WPP2026: Sesshin Day 4: Joy and Responsibility in Practice https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/lau-roen-wpp2026-sesshin-day-4-joy-and-responsibility-in-practice/ Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:40:42 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104895 https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/lau-roen-wpp2026-sesshin-day-4-joy-and-responsibility-in-practice/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/lau-roen-wpp2026-sesshin-day-4-joy-and-responsibility-in-practice/feed/ 0 On the fourth day of the Winter Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Kodo and Sensei Dainin continue the exploration of Dōgen’s Three Minds. Kodo opens by situating the dharma talk itself within silence, inviting practitioners to listen as they would to wind, creaking floorboards, or the laughter and screams arising from the nearby park, quoting Mahatma Gandhi “Do not speak unless you can improve upon…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 42:49 WPP2026: Sesshin Day 3: The Three Minds – From Kitchen to Cushion https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/stibich-roen-wpp2026-sesshin-day-3-the-three-minds-from-kitchen-to-cushion/ Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:20:08 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104893 https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/stibich-roen-wpp2026-sesshin-day-3-the-three-minds-from-kitchen-to-cushion/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/stibich-roen-wpp2026-sesshin-day-3-the-three-minds-from-kitchen-to-cushion/feed/ 0 On the third full day of the Winter Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Kodo and resident priest Butsumon reflect on how practice comes alive through ordinary activity. Butsumon opens with stories from samu (work practice), contrasting effort driven by efficiency with work done in care and attention. Drawing on Dōgen’s Three Minds, he explores how Joyful, Caring, and Magnanimous Mind transform any…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 42:27 WPP2026: Sesshin Day 2: Nyoho–Compassion, Integrity, Thussness https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/lau-halifax-wpp2026-sesshin-day-2-nyoho-compassion-integrity-thussness/ Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:00:06 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104891 https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/lau-halifax-wpp2026-sesshin-day-2-nyoho-compassion-integrity-thussness/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/lau-halifax-wpp2026-sesshin-day-2-nyoho-compassion-integrity-thussness/feed/ 0 Day two of the Winter Practice Period Sesshin opens with Sensei Dainin recalling placing the names of Renee Good and Alex Pretti—both killed in recent shootings involving federal agents in Minneapolis—on the altar. Visibly moved by these tragedies Dainin reflects on Nyoho (thusness), the practice of embracing “the good, the bad, the ugly, everything.” She invites us to consider wether even those…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 56:02 WPP2026: Sesshin Day 1: Zenki–Undivided Activity https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/roen-halifax-wpp2026-sesshin-day-1-zenki-undivided-activity/ Mon, 02 Feb 2026 12:00:34 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104877 https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/roen-halifax-wpp2026-sesshin-day-1-zenki-undivided-activity/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/roen-halifax-wpp2026-sesshin-day-1-zenki-undivided-activity/feed/ 0 On the first full day of the Winter Practice Period Sesshin, Roshi Joan Halifax reflects on alignment and presence, exploring how practice begins by meeting things as they are. She emphasizes that Zen training is not performance but a return to our natural state—learning to act with care, attention, and nonviolence in relationship with others and the world. Addressing ongoing social violence in…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 52:07 WPP2026: Auspicious Circumstances: Responsive Recipes https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/dalton-stibich-wpp2026-auspicious-circumstances-responsive-recipes/ Sun, 01 Feb 2026 16:00:06 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104875 https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/dalton-stibich-wpp2026-auspicious-circumstances-responsive-recipes/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/dalton-stibich-wpp2026-auspicious-circumstances-responsive-recipes/feed/ 0 In this Zazenaki Talk during the Winter Practice Period, two recently ordained priests— Butsumon and Genryu—explore Dōgen’s Tenzo Kyokun through personal experiences of transformation and learning. Genryu shares how a “ghost from a past life” unexpectedly visited him just days before ordination, initially shaking him but ultimately becoming a teacher. Weaving quotes from sutras and Dogen…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 42:23 WPP2026: Wholehearted Apamada https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/johnson-flaming-wpp2026-wholehearted-apamada/ Sun, 01 Feb 2026 15:40:31 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104871 https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/johnson-flaming-wpp2026-wholehearted-apamada/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/johnson-flaming-wpp2026-wholehearted-apamada/feed/ 0 In this Winter Practice Period Zazenkai Day Talk, resident priest Jimon and Sensei Wendy Johnson explore apamada—careful, heedful practice—through the lens of everyday activity. Drawing on Dogen’s Tenzo Kyokun, Jimon shares stories on how grinding sesame, tending squash, and preparing food are opportunities for the expression of ‘gyoji’, or wholehearted engagement. She reflects on how ritual…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 53:26 WPP2026: Introduction to The Text: Tenzo Kyōkun https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/johnson-lau-roen-perez-halifax-wpp2026-introduction-to-the-text-tenzo-kyokun/ Sun, 01 Feb 2026 15:20:17 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104869 https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/johnson-lau-roen-perez-halifax-wpp2026-introduction-to-the-text-tenzo-kyokun/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/johnson-lau-roen-perez-halifax-wpp2026-introduction-to-the-text-tenzo-kyokun/feed/ 0 In this introduction to Dōgen’s Tenzo Kyōkun (Instructions for the Cook) during the opening days of Upaya’s Winter Practice Period, the faculty explores how awakening is realized through work, care, and ordinary activity. Roshi Joan Halifax reflects on Dōgen’s three minds—joyful mind, parental mind (grandmother’s heart), and big mind—emphasizing care for others in the cultivation of wholesome…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:01:24 WPP2026: Dogen’s Tenzo Kyokun – Actualizing The Way in Everyday Life: Opening Session https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/johnson-lau-roen-perez-halifax-wpp2026-dogens-tenzo-kyokun-opening-session/ Sun, 01 Feb 2026 15:00:05 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104866 https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/johnson-lau-roen-perez-halifax-wpp2026-dogens-tenzo-kyokun-opening-session/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/02/johnson-lau-roen-perez-halifax-wpp2026-dogens-tenzo-kyokun-opening-session/feed/ 0 In this opening session of the Winter Practice Period, Roshi Joan Halifax, alongside Senseis Wendy Johnson, Dainin, Kodo, and Hoshi Senko, names this month of practice as movement “against the stream”. Roshi suggests this step into structure, silence, and relationality is expressed not through personality, but through respect. Ango, she reminds us, is not only “peaceful dwelling” but safety: a…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 54:15 The Measure of Our Humanity: INTERCONNECTEDNESS https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/kabat-zinn-the-measure-of-our-humanity-interconnectedness/ Sun, 01 Feb 2026 05:15:15 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104863 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/kabat-zinn-the-measure-of-our-humanity-interconnectedness/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/kabat-zinn-the-measure-of-our-humanity-interconnectedness/feed/ 0 This opening session of The Measure of Our Humanity series gathers over 1,000 participants worldwide to reflect on what sustains our humanity in difficult times. Roshi Joan Halifax welcomes longtime friend Jon Kabat-Zinn, framing the series as a shared ‘commons’ grounded in solidarity, truth-telling, and radical care, recognizing the gathering itself as an act of collective sanity.

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:24:48 Just Doing One Thing https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/lau-just-doing-one-thing/ Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:00:07 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104740 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/lau-just-doing-one-thing/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/lau-just-doing-one-thing/feed/ 0 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk during the Winter Practice Period at Upaya, Sensei Dainin collects our attention from the many paths we feel pulled in—gathering it toward one-pointed effort as a genuine way of relieving the suffering of self and other. Illustrating Roshi Joan’s reflection—“it’s good to stay in one place, watch the seasons change, and just do one thing”—through photographs of…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 44:28 Standing Stone https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/johnson-standing-stone/ Mon, 19 Jan 2026 12:00:54 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104646 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/johnson-standing-stone/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/johnson-standing-stone/feed/ 0 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk during the Winter Practice Period at Upaya, Sensei Wendy Johnson explores Dōgen’s Tenzo Kyokun (Instructions for the Cook) through the metaphor of standing stones like those erected in England and the British Isles by Neolithic ancestors—ancient, grounded monuments embodying power and presence. She traces the text’s origins to Tang Dynasty monastics who created…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 47:13 Open Dharma: Peaceful Dwelling https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/johnson-lau-roen-halifax-open-dharma-peaceful-dwelling/ Mon, 12 Jan 2026 12:00:38 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104541 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/johnson-lau-roen-halifax-open-dharma-peaceful-dwelling/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/johnson-lau-roen-halifax-open-dharma-peaceful-dwelling/feed/ 0 In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Roshi Joan Halifax is joined by Senseis Kodo, Dainin, and longtime Upaya friend and master Zen gardener Sensei Wendy Johnson to set the roots of the month-long Winter Ango (peaceful dwelling). Roshi traces Ango’s history to ancient traditions of seasonal retreat and offers careful instruction not to trample what arises—no longer avoiding snakes, insects…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 45:18 Rohatsu 2025: Day 6 – Full and Seamlessness https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-bristol-overley-lau-roen-halifax-rohatsu-2025-day-6-full-and-seamlessness/ Sat, 10 Jan 2026 05:00:41 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104514 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-bristol-overley-lau-roen-halifax-rohatsu-2025-day-6-full-and-seamlessness/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-bristol-overley-lau-roen-halifax-rohatsu-2025-day-6-full-and-seamlessness/feed/ 0 On the final day of Rohatsu sesshin, the faculty turn toward presence as the heart of the bodhisattva way. Sensei Kaz Tanahashi reflects on the final full day not as a rush toward the end, but as an invitation to be more fully present with each moment, as practice settles into quiet confidence and seamless activity. Roshi Joan Halifax deepens this inquiry by asking, What is a bodhisattva?

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 47:53 Rohatsu 2025: Day 5 – Indra’s Net and One Body Practice https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-bristol-rohatsu-2025-day-5-indras-net-and-one-body-practice/ Sat, 10 Jan 2026 04:30:48 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104512 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-bristol-rohatsu-2025-day-5-indras-net-and-one-body-practice/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-bristol-rohatsu-2025-day-5-indras-net-and-one-body-practice/feed/ 0 On the fifth day of Rohatsu sesshin, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi explores Indra’s Net—jewels “reflecting one another forever” in “inter-illumination”—showing how Buddhist teachings illustrate the reality of interconnected actions and outcomes. Kaz assures us that every humble action contributes to breakthrough. Reflecting on his anti-nuclear activism in the 1970s and ’80s, he says, “Everything I did…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 46:06 Rohatsu 2025: Day 4 – Ethics and the Awakened Heart https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-overley-rohatsu-2025-day-4-ethics-and-the-awakened-heart/ Sat, 10 Jan 2026 04:01:02 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104507 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-overley-rohatsu-2025-day-4-ethics-and-the-awakened-heart/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-overley-rohatsu-2025-day-4-ethics-and-the-awakened-heart/feed/ 0 On the fourth day of Rohatsu sesshin, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi reflects on the previous evening’s full moon atonement ceremony, revealing that “I think to be ethical is … life with ease and joy. You don’t have to hide anything. You don’t have to fear.” Kaz references the teaching to “thoroughly engage in each activity” to transform the world. He reframes “continuous failure” as “continuous missing”…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 42:55 Rohatsu 2025: Day 3 – The Circle of the Way https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-roen-rohatsu-2025-rohatsu-day-3-the-circle-of-the-way/ Sat, 10 Jan 2026 03:00:50 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104504 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-roen-rohatsu-2025-rohatsu-day-3-the-circle-of-the-way/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-roen-rohatsu-2025-rohatsu-day-3-the-circle-of-the-way/feed/ 0 On the third full day of Rohatsu sesshin, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi illuminates the radical teaching at the heart of Zen practice: we begin with enlightenment itself. Tracing the tension between seventh-century China’s scholarly Huayan school—requiring lifetimes of gradual study—and Huineng’s “illiterate school” of sudden enlightenment, Kaz reveals how Dogen went even further…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 42:41 Rohatsu 2025: Day 2 – Vow, Liturgy, and Becoming One Body https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-lau-rohatsu-2025-day-2-vow-liturgy-and-becoming-one-body/ Sat, 10 Jan 2026 02:00:54 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104501 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-lau-rohatsu-2025-day-2-vow-liturgy-and-becoming-one-body/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/tanahashi-lau-rohatsu-2025-day-2-vow-liturgy-and-becoming-one-body/feed/ 0 On the second full day of Rohatsu sesshin, Sensei Kaz Tanahashi explores the Avatamsaka Sutra’s vision of Shakyamuni Buddha as Vairocana—the Dharmakaya itself—and the bodhisattva path through its metaphoric landscape. Kaz teaches that bodhisattvas become bridges, letting beings cross the ocean of life and death. He offers practical guidance for working with sleepiness…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 34:49 Gratefulness & Generosity 2025 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/ostaseski-halifax-gratefulness-generosity-2025/ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 12:30:01 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104324 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/ostaseski-halifax-gratefulness-generosity-2025/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/ostaseski-halifax-gratefulness-generosity-2025/feed/ 0 In this year’s Gratefulness and Generosity program Roshi Joan Halifax and Frank Ostaseski explore gratefulness and generosity as essential Buddhist practices for navigating “the pressure of the time we’re in.” Roshi Joan situates generosity as the first paramita—a boundless state of mind—and invites participants to hold both sorrow and beauty, acknowledging the painful histories and difficult…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:32:57 Awareness In Action: Going Forth with Joan Halifax, Noah Kodo Roen, & Wendy Lau (Part 16 – December) https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/halifax-roen-lau-awareness-in-action-going-forth-with-joan-noah-kodo-wendy-part-16-december/ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 12:15:07 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104320 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/halifax-roen-lau-awareness-in-action-going-forth-with-joan-noah-kodo-wendy-part-16-december/#comments https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/halifax-roen-lau-awareness-in-action-going-forth-with-joan-noah-kodo-wendy-part-16-december/feed/ 1 In this penultimate session of Awareness in Action (2025), Roshi Joan Halifax gathers with Sharon Salzberg and Frank Ostaseski to explore love as the foundation for engaged Buddhism, acknowledging the collective “upwelling of perturbation” many feel about the body politic. Roshi describes how spiritual community calls us back into love, noting the nation’s parallel journey: “We fell out of love…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:31:21 Awareness In Action: Love with Frank Ostaseski & Sharon Salzberg (Part 15 – December) https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/ostaseski-salzberg-awareness-in-action-love-with-frank-sharon-part-15-december/ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 12:00:28 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104318 https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/ostaseski-salzberg-awareness-in-action-love-with-frank-sharon-part-15-december/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2026/01/ostaseski-salzberg-awareness-in-action-love-with-frank-sharon-part-15-december/feed/ 0 In this penultimate session of Awareness in Action (2025), Roshi Joan Halifax gathers with Sharon Salzberg and Frank Ostaseski to explore love as the foundation for engaged Buddhism, acknowledging the collective “upwelling of perturbation” many feel about the body politic. Roshi describes how spiritual community calls us back into love, noting the nation’s parallel journey: “We fell out of love…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 1:30:18 Eko Hensho – Turning the Light Around: Winter Solstice Talk https://www.upaya.org/2025/12/halifax-eko-hensho-turning-the-light-around-winter-solstice-talk/ Mon, 29 Dec 2025 12:00:55 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=104164 https://www.upaya.org/2025/12/halifax-eko-hensho-turning-the-light-around-winter-solstice-talk/#respond https://www.upaya.org/2025/12/halifax-eko-hensho-turning-the-light-around-winter-solstice-talk/feed/ 0 In this Winter Solstice gathering, Roshi Joan Halifax offers a grounded teaching on awareness amid darkness. Speaking during the longest night of the year, she introduces the Zen phrase ekō henshō—“turning the light around”—as the practice of directing awareness toward awareness itself. Through a story from a vinaya gathering in Thailand and a single word—“phenomena”—Roshi explores how we meet…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 36:38 No Other Life https://www.upaya.org/2025/12/dalton-no-other-life/ Mon, 22 Dec 2025 12:00:46 +0000 https://www.upaya.org/?p=103988 https://www.upaya.org/2025/12/dalton-no-other-life/#comments https://www.upaya.org/2025/12/dalton-no-other-life/feed/ 2 In this Way-Seeking Mind Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, resident Clayton Genryu Dalton charmingly shares his unexpected path to Zen and reflects on meaningful moments and insights from his life. From bathroom graffiti at UT Austin to Alan Watts, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, emergency medicine, and the abrupt end of his marriage, Genryu embodies life as process. Smiling at his own mistakes and…

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]]> Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot full false 51:13