Dharma Talks given by Nyogen Roshi at the Hazy Moon can be inspired by a koan, a sutra, the writings of our Zen ancestors, modern scientific explorations, a student’s question, or today’s headlines. In every talk, you hear the vitality of the living word, the spontaneous expression of prajna flowing from the awakened mind that cuts through our confusion to encourage and invigorate our practice.
You Are Everything
In this talk connecting the wisdom of Dogen Zenji with some of the insights of quantum physics, Nyogen Roshi encourages us to realize the teachings of the Buddha right where we sit. “There’s something so amazing here,” he says. His words point us toward the place of liberation–which is always where we find ourselves right […]
This Can Be Done
In this talk, Nyogen Roshi reminds us of the most essential aspect of Buddha Dharma: the practice is real! “All the egocentric rumination that you think is so important–it’s silly!—when you are this close to the most amazing kind of experience. Closer, as the great Joshu said, than the skin on your nose.”
You Can Never Leave the Now
Nyogen Roshi takes the mystery out of the practice of Buddhism and explains how brain science and quantum theory confirm some of the basic teachings of the Buddha.
One Mind
By Nyogen Roshi
You can certainly feel what is happening here with the strength of the samadhi. And yet what you are experiencing is just scratching the surface. This is the most amazing Dharma. Don’t sell it out in a simple or superficial way. It is extremely profound.
You Can Handle This
By Nyogen Roshi
This practice isn’t worth much in good times. Anybody can handle good times. But can you handle a flat? On the freeway? In the pouring rain? When you’re a half-hour late to an important meeting? How do you handle that?
Every Day is a Good Day
By Nyogen Roshi
Ummon addressed the assembly and said, “I am not asking you about the days before the 15th of the month, but what about after the 15th? Come, and give me a word about those days.” And he himself gave the answer for them. “Every day is a good day.”
Bring Me Your Mind
I was listening to a scientist describe his near-death experience. It reminded me of an experience I had when I was little. He talked about going into a blackness that was unimaginable. Black nothingness, he said, totally black nothingness. As a child I lived in the country. When I had to have my tonsils removed, […]
Freedom of Egolessness
Ours is a living practice, an experiential practice. This isn’t a religion where you sit in a room being lectured to. Sometimes it has the appearance of that, but we know what we’re really doing here. It has struck me that one of the things we need to explore in these talks is the ego, […]
The Art of Zazen
No matter how long you might have been sitting, and some of you have been sitting for a good number of years, it is easy to slip into bad habits. By that I mean we do things that we think are helping with our zazen, but they really aren’t. In a sesshin, it may take […]
