Best Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot Podcasts (2025)

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Ryokan Dances Dogen 43:39

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3d ago43:39

43:39

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Genzan offers a unique exploration of true dharma expression – weaving together the teachings of 13th century Zen master Dogen with the poetry and life of 18th century hermit-monk Ryokan through the unexpected lens of modern Butoh dance choreography. Genzan suggests we may interpret Ryokan’s poetry as the…

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Way Seeking Mind 49:26

10d ago49:26

49:26

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, longtime resident and novice priest Jimon Lorene Flaming tenderly offers her long and winding path to practice in her way-seeking mind talk. Inspired by overseas medical service by her father and the values of her Mennonite upbringing, Jimon blazed a passionate path in her life toward service. Aspiring to be of …

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Discovering the Reality of the Five Remembrances 39:13

17d ago39:13

39:13

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Dainin shares deeply personal stories of accompanying her father and Roshi Joan through life-threatening medical crises, revealing how the Buddhist Five Remembrances transformed from abstract teachings into intimate companions during times of acute uncertainty. Drawing from her unique perspective as both …

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To Be a Peacemaker 46:40

24d ago46:40

46:40

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Monshin explores what it means to be a peacemaker in our complicated world. Recalling a creative renaming of the 4th of July as “Interdependence Day,” Monshin identifies the roots of war and aggression as ignorance — “ignorance as in misunderstanding the fact that we’re all connected and dependent on each…

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Awareness In Action: Homeboys with Father Gregory Boyle (Part 7 – June) 1:22:45

25d ago1:22:45

1:22:45

In this session of Upaya’s Awareness in Action series, Father Gregory Boyle—Jesuit priest and founder of Homeboy Industries—offers a profound reflection on kinship, healing, and radical compassion. Father Boyle brings humor, depth, and decades of experience to bear on the essential truths that guide his work. Reflecting on 40 years of work with gan…

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Buddha Meets Buddha: Teacher / No Teacher in Zen 38:27

1M ago38:27

38:27

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 illust…

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Planting Life 2025: Corn And Culture (Part 4B) 1:19:07

1M ago1:19:07

1:19:07

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…

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Planting Life 2025: Corn And Culture (Part 4A) 1:09:08

1M ago1:09:08

1:09:08

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…

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Planting Life 2025: Three Sisters Garden Planting Ceremony (Part 3) 1:12:43

1M ago1:12:43

1:12:43

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 an…

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Planting Life 2025: Corn, Cosmos, and the Sacred Architecture of Time (Part 2) 1:35:02

1M ago1:35:02

1:35:02

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 mo…

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Planting Life 2025 Kinship with the Earth: Bridging Worlds (Part 1) 1:13:11

1M ago1:13:11

1:13:11

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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The Mind of Absolute Trust: Practicing with Preference 42:16

1M ago42:16

42:16

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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AWARE: Opening to the Unhindered Mind 41:20

2M ago41:20

41:20

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Being Unborn: The Practice of Non-Objectification 29:06

2M ago29:06

29:06

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Life Always Gives to Life: There Is Nothing to Fear 38:53

2M ago38:53

38:53

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Living with the Fundamental Truth of Impermanence 42:33

2M ago42:33

42:33

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Becoming Intimate 48:51

2M ago48:51

48:51

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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The Meaning of Life 37:54

3M ago37:54

37:54

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 – […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Awareness In Action: Solidarity with Joan Halifax (Part 6 – May) 1:30:23

3M ago1:30:23

1:30:23

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Exploring Dharma Together 49:26

3M ago49:26

49:26

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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SPP 2025 Sesshin Day 6: Living the Bodhisattva Way 1:07:27

3M ago1:07:27

1:07:27

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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SPP2025 Sesshin Day 5: Destiny of a Nation: The Bodhisattva Practice of Kind Speech 47:32

3M ago47:32

47:32

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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SPP2025 Sesshin Day 3: The Four Methods of Guidance: Beneficial Action, Identity Action 50:14

3M ago50:14

50:14

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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SPP2025 Sesshin Day 2: The Four Bodhisattva Vows: The Nourishment of Endless Practice 48:40

3M ago48:40

48:40

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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SPP2025 Sesshin Day 1: No Gift, No Giver: Dogen’s Method of Guidance on Generosity 36:44

3M ago36:44

36:44

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, […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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SPP 2025: Building the Container: Opening Remarks for Sesshin 59:06

3M ago59:06

59:06

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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The Ten Paramitas: Crossing to the Other Shore 48:57

3M ago48:57

48:57

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, […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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True Compassion on the Bodhisattva Path: SPP2025 (Part 5) 48:25

3M ago48:25

48:25

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, […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Aspiration in the Fire of Our Times: SPP2025 (Part 3) 34:57

3M ago34:57

34:57

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Opening the Text: Faces of Compassion: SPP2025 (Part 2) 50:32

3M ago50:32

50:32

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Entering the Bodhisattva’s Embrace: SPP2025 Living In The Embrace of The Bodhisattvas (Part 1) 1:15:59

3M ago1:15:59

1:15:59

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Awareness In Action: Justice with Valerie Brown (Part 5 – April) 1:34:41

3M ago1:34:41

1:34:41

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, […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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The Power of Great Vow: Samantabhadra and Jizo Bodhisattva 44:31

3M ago44:31

44:31

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: […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Bodhisattva Manjushri and Wisdom for Our Times 41:13

4M ago41:13

41:13

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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The Heart of Boundlessness: Bringing Prajna Paramita Home 45:15

4M ago45:15

45:15

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. […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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A Clearing Opens – Finding Our Way Through Boundlessness 41:29

4M ago41:29

41:29

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. […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Awareness In Action: Racism with Ruth King (Part 4 – March) 1:36:00

4M ago1:36:00

1:36:00

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Haiku and Poetry 2025: Courageous Practice (Part 6) 1:31:42

4M ago1:31:42

1:31:42

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Haiku and Poetry 2025: Cause and Effect (Part 5) 1:31:13

4M ago1:31:13

1:31:13

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Haiku and Poetry 2025: Writing from Experience (Part 4B) 1:16:26

4M ago1:16:26

1:16:26

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Haiku and Poetry 2025: Writing from Experience (Part 4A) 42:26

4M ago42:26

42:26

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Haiku and Poetry 2025: Poetry As Practice (Part 3B) 24:37

4M ago24:37

24:37

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. […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Haiku and Poetry 2025: Poetry As Practice (Part 3A) 55:07

4M ago55:07

55:07

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 […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Haiku and Poetry 2025: Elements of Haiku (Part 2) 50:03

4M ago50:03

50:03

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, […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Haiku and Poetry 2025: A Fresh Start (Part 1) 1:07:09

4M ago1:07:09

1:07:09

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: […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Nowhere Else to Look 48:55

4M ago48:55

48:55

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Chris Senko Perez explores the wisdom of the Diamond Sutra with humility and insight. Drawing from various commentaries, he investigates how this ancient text points to the fundamental […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Spin Cycle for the Logical Mind 34:12

5M ago34:12

34:12

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Wendy Dainin Lau explores the Diamond Sutra’s challenging and often paradoxical teachings and the importance of the Bodhisattva vows in cultivating an upright presence during uncertain […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Two Wings of a Bird, Nothing But Love 42:24

5M ago42:24

42:24

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Monshin thoughtfully guides us into an embodied practice of wisdom and compassion, inviting us to examine the misunderstandings that shape our perception of self and reality. […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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No Strings Attached 42:08

5M ago42:08

42:08

In this heartfelt Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Hoshi Chris Senko Perez weaves together his personal journey to Zen practice with reflections on the Prajnaparamita Sutra. Sharing the path that led him from a […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

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Heart to Heart with the Mother of All Buddhas 44:16

5M ago44:16

44:16

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Sensei Kodo brings his characteristic warmth and curiosity to an exploration of classic Mahayana literature. With equal parts scholarly enthusiasm and playful inquiry, he delves into this […]By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot