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SokukoJi Buddhist Temple Monastery

899 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 19 ratings

A Sōtō Zen Buddhist Temple. Visit: SokukoJi.org
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Buddhism Religion & Spirituality sokukoji sokuzan buddhist buddhism zen awareness meditation mindfulness suffering dharma
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Episodes

Don't Waste Your Time -04-14-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

April 14, 2024 00:00 - 59 minutes - 54.3 MB

https://youtu.be/mB8tqc_K3xo

The Six Paramitas - Exertion - 04-12-24 with Chiezan - sokukoji.org

April 11, 2024 00:00 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MB

https://youtu.be/CRwXazx3s8Y

Where Thoughts Arise - 04-10-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

April 10, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 55.2 MB

https://youtu.be/v3OKQKAr6Jw

No Attainment - 04-107-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

April 07, 2024 00:00 - 56 minutes - 51.7 MB

https://youtu.be/9KESGDMo7w4

The Six Paramitas - Patience - 04-05-24- Basic Buddhist teachings with Chiezan - sokukoji.org

April 05, 2024 00:00 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MB

https://youtu.be/d4jiZHX_bWo

Prajna Is Without Knowing - 04-03-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

April 02, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 66.9 MB

Prajna is sometimes called mirror-like; it’s reflecting back the mystery of the whole thing. You can’t know what this is. Everything that’s showing up in your life is unreal. You can continue to look at everything and just receive it. https://youtu.be/DAKI8feFhxk

The Bodhisattva Path - 3-22-24 - Basic Buddhist Teachings with Chiezan - sokukoji.org

April 01, 2024 13:19 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MB

The inspiration of the bodhisattva path is at the core of our practice. Chiezan talks about ground, path and fruition, and the first paramita of generosity. We are beginning to transition from a poverty mentality to a mentality of abundance. https://youtu.be/0B2jCWLKpKc?si=QWFHuwB75Ci4vcWP

Trap Of Believing - 03-31-24 with Chiezan - sokukoji.org

March 30, 2024 00:00 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MB

We are conditioned to make assumptions. We live in a consensus reality. The Buddhist path encourages us to begin to look beyond the reasonable aspects of our phenomenal world, to see non-duality, beyond the fear of groundlessness or spaciousness. https://youtu.be/wXCl9ZbA0Fc

Invisible Pride - 03-27-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

March 27, 2024 00:00 - 58 minutes - 53.9 MB

https://youtu.be/T5EfdwVKTEE

Response And Reaction - 03-24-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

March 21, 2024 00:00 - 59 minutes - 54.8 MB

Be responsible for your mind stream without adding your personal condiments to everything. Grasping comes out of desire, which stops the awareness, the wisdom mind. The response is just to include and observe the desire. There is no formula or standard there. https://youtu.be/DCRwdQrI87c

Don't Buy In - 03-17-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

March 14, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 56.3 MB

This is a way of looking at not attaching to what arises. Don’t buy in, but also don’t dismiss or reject it. Don’t take any position on anything. This is very difficult to do. Have some consideration for the energy that’s moving around in your kitchen or in your mind stream. If you’re training your mind, you will know if you need to do something. https://youtu.be/HnmB91AJ_Hs

Can't Fix It - 03-13-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

March 12, 2024 00:00 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MB

The fundamental issue is the suffering, anxiety and difficulty we run into, sometimes with no apparent cause. We are trying to squeeze some happiness out of samsara. You can’t fix it. This is the illusion you need to see. If you see this, nothing will be running your life. https://youtu.be/kL1GDEqPOS4

Action Not Reaction - 03-10-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

March 10, 2024 00:00 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MB

https://youtu.be/hFsLWvYa-bo

Don't Let Go - 03-06-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

March 04, 2024 00:00 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MB

Pre-order Sokuzan's newest book, Sixty Second Sokuzan: 52 one-minute Zen Buddhist teachings HERE: https://www.sokukoji.org/product-page/sixty-second-sokuzan Video-link of this talk: https://youtu.be/y_G5Bnewd6c

Captive Of Our Conclusions - 03-03-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

March 01, 2024 00:00 - 57 minutes - 52.7 MB

We tend to believe what shows up in our minds; it feels safer and more comfortable. The teaching here is that it’s an illusion. Just believing that this is an illusion doesn’t mean that it won’t continue to delude you. The two fundamental areas we need to see clearly are belief in a self as a separate being and belief that there is an other. It needs to be seen. Pre-order Sokuzan's newest book, Sixty Second Sokuzan: 52 one-minute Zen Buddhist teachings HERE: https://www.sokukoji.org/product-...

Being A Student On The Buddhist Path - 3/1/24 with Chiezan - sokukoji.org

February 29, 2024 00:00 - 38 minutes - 34.8 MB

https://youtu.be/c_CLjo_LB1o

Secret Beyond Thought - 02-25-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

February 25, 2024 00:00 - 59 minutes - 54.6 MB

https://youtu.be/NayGP3EIm8s

No Location - 02-18-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

February 18, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 66.2 MB

https://youtu.be/nv_mOJgqSLk

Ways Of Knowing - 02-11-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

February 10, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 62.6 MB

https://youtu.be/le_DOmAOGAA

Illusion Listens To Illusion - 02-04-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

February 03, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 68 MB

https://youtu.be/sdhy91flxSQ

You Are The Seer - 01-31-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

January 31, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 59.3 MB

https://youtu.be/dNrbbJaN4XI

What's Being Covered Up? - 01-28-24 with Sokuzan - Sokukoji.org

January 27, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 59.2 MB

https://youtu.be/kdk1uBpma6c

The Third & Fourth Reminders - Basic Buddhist Teachings with Chiezan - 01-26-24

January 25, 2024 00:00 - 40 minutes - 37.3 MB

https://youtu.be/6iDljPcOHjw

Crazy Memory - 01-24-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

January 24, 2024 00:00 - 56 minutes - 51.6 MB

https://youtu.be/bHtuD_wOOTo

Recognizing The Help - 01-21-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

January 21, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 63.7 MB

https://youtu.be/HcRAn1ykQ8k

The Second Reminder - Basic Buddhist Teachings with Chiezan - 01-19-24 - sokukoji.org

January 18, 2024 00:00 - 39 minutes - 36.3 MB

https://youtu.be/n39BN8-hryQ

Without And Within - 01-17-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

January 16, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 57.6 MB

Instead of trying to do things out in the world, go within. Slow down, sit still, and watch the continued, very subtle movement in your mind stream. Everything is dependently arisen. https://youtu.be/GY_RGOZW3hs

Not Knowing Is Most Intimate - 01-14-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

January 13, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 57.5 MB

This talk title is a line from a classical text in Soto Zen literature: verse 20 in the Book of Serenity. You don’t have to know anything, but you have to study and receive everything. Stop responding out of some kind of interpretation based on your conflicting emotions about the nature of reality. https://youtu.be/UyazzC2VUIY

The First Reminder - Basic Buddhist Teachings with Chiezan - 01-12-24 - sokukoji.org

January 11, 2024 00:00 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MB

Part of a series of talks, this is the first of the four reminders that return our minds to the dharma. First contemplate the preciousness of being free and well favored: our precious human birth. https://youtu.be/bS-I4YKTWGg

The Confusion Is The Awakening - 01-10-24 with Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

January 09, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 58.3 MB

Look at the confusion without stories about how to fix it. You have no control - that’s the illusion we are buying in to. https://youtu.be/ge8O5KtNb4U

Mountains & Rivers XXXV - 01-07-24 with Chiezan - sokukoji.org

January 08, 2024 15:23 - 55 minutes - 51 MB

https://youtu.be/LKihlG3Im60

Mountains & Rivers 1 - 01-07-24 with Chiezan - sokukoji.org

January 06, 2024 00:00 - 55 minutes - 51 MB

Chiezan answers students’ questions about meditation and practice in this Q and A format. https://youtu.be/LKihlG3Im60

The Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma - Basic Buddhist Teachings - 01-05-23 - sokukoji.org

January 05, 2024 00:00 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MB

https://youtu.be/dx6SF9YCLhA

Dana Paramita - Basic Buddhist Teachings with Chiezan - 12-29-23 - sokukoji.org

January 02, 2024 00:00 - 38 minutes - 35.2 MB

In Buddhism there are six or sometimes ten paramitas (perfections). The first paramita is dana, or the traditional gesture of giving, particularly to the monastic community through alms and material goods. What makes it a little different from a more traditional generosity is there is nothing transactional about it. One gives freely without expecting anything in return. https://youtu.be/YrFxlBt-FEc

Fearlessness - Basic Buddhist Teachings with Chiezan - 01-03-23 - sokukoji.org

January 01, 2024 00:00 - 44 minutes - 41.2 MB

https://youtu.be/-wN3iNYbNM0

Return To The Intention To See The Truth - 12-31-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

December 30, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 63.1 MB

You don’t have to be a Buddhist, but this is so important: you need to find the truth, to be aware, to donate your awareness to everything. You can’t maintain it. There’s no correct way to do this. Just return. Awareness doesn’t go anywhere. https://youtu.be/0B7p83GHdh0

Mountains & Rivers XXXIV - 12-27-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

December 26, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 63.5 MB

In this Q & A format, a student asks, “What is the meaning of our precept of no attaching to fruition (fulfillment)?” Sokuzan answers, “See how you’re attached to outcomes. It’s about observing the attachment, not some kind of a standard that you have not live up to.” https://youtu.be/er7-o6RCWgg

Mountains & Rivers XXXIII - 12-24-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

December 23, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 71.5 MB

These questions from students include, “What is the meaning of the sixteenth Karmapa’s teaching that nothing happens?” What appears to be happening is an illusion. There are many ways to talk about this apparent singularity that doesn’t last. https://youtu.be/CjTvfQuY0Vo

Mountains & Rivers XXXII - 12-20-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

December 19, 2023 00:00 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MB

Sokuzan answers more questions from sangha in this Q and A formatted talk: What creates other? “Fear.” What creates fear? “Believing your thoughts and emotions.” https://youtu.be/QW1TBBgx-nI

Mountains & Rivers XXXI - 12-17-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

December 16, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 58.4 MB

A student asks: “If we don’t do anything with what’s arising, does that mean we're not functioning out of what’s arising?” If you see what is actually happening, you won’t do much: no commentary, just receive whatever shows up. https://youtu.be/Qr9L5lRMWmw

Mountains & Rivers XXX - 12-13-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

December 12, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 57.9 MB

If whatever shows up is what we need to see, does that include pushing away what’s showing up? What is the difference between meditation and sitting still? Sokuzan answers students questions about practice and meditation. https://youtu.be/iApaJciDuwM

Mountains & Rivers XXIX - 12/10/23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

December 09, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 64.4 MB

Questions from sangha include how to keep going on the path, and, "What is perception without a self?" Consciousness masquerades as a self. https://youtu.be/tlnizqfwkBU

Beyond Understanding - 12-03-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

December 03, 2023 00:00 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MB

https://youtu.be/hpm34zAUBCY

Don't Think About It - 11-29-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

November 28, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 57.9 MB

You don’t have to stop your thoughts, but you do have to relate to them clearly and sanely. A teaching that might help you do that is alternating sense awareness practice (ASAP). This is about including, in particular the five sense fields of touch, sight, hearing, smelling and tasting. https://youtu.be/qEF6622JtCU

Projecting Confusion - 11-26-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

November 25, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 59.3 MB

The projecting part is thinking things occur because of our interpretation of the situation. We conclude without really looking beyond our thoughts about it. Only awareness sees beyond thought. Thought is trapped by thought. https://youtu.be/G3ruIm_Uqz0

Ego Algorithms - 11-19-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

November 18, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 61.5 MB

These are opinions or structures we use to protect self-centeredness and to reify and reinforce that we are someone going somewhere and doing something, which is also ego. The impulse is to stop it. Just try to be aware of what’s happening rather than trying to control it. https://youtu.be/qhw3tZVIa1k

Commenting On What Arises - 11-15-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

November 14, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 56.5 MB

Something happens and instead of just receiving what that is, we comment on it: thinking, judging, concluding. Rarely do we receive something as it is, unless it’s so intense, we can’t help but receive it. It’s not about getting rid of anything; it’s about awareness. https://youtu.be/vc8g21FbGjI

Knowing Beyond Thoughts - 11-12-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

November 11, 2023 00:00 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MB

A reading from the Majima Nikaya, the Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, speaks about the bondage and shackles of of theorizing. The Buddha said, “It does not lead to nirvana; This is the danger I perceive in these views, which makes me discard them all.“ https://youtu.be/1QTfjFiqwPI

Empty Of Self Empty Of Other - 11-05-23 by Sokuzan - sokukoji.org

November 04, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 59.5 MB

Empty of Other is a third turning teaching. The otherness is what confuses the self-centeredness and gives the illusion that you have some say so about things. That doesn’t mean there isn’t something here, but it’s not a centralized entity, a ‘me’ with some kind of credential. Bodies come and go - you don’t go anywhere. https://youtu.be/Q8K3pgIDnew

Just Observe - 11-02-23 by Sokzuan - sokukoji.org

October 31, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 56.3 MB

It’s very important to just observe. We never can look at what something actually is. We add on things; what that is and, and almost imperceptibly, the person who is looking at it. We create an individual over and over again. Not only is what it looking at is unreal but that which is being looked at or observed is unreal. https://youtu.be/0OJvaOL0xxY