Recent Posts

Guest teacher, Abby Mushin Terris, from Sangha Jewel Zen Center unfolds a number of salient passages from Dogen's Tenzo Kyokun including putting low things in low places and high things in high places as well as watching the pot so a mouse doesn't accidentally fall...

Seido talks about the secret ingredient in the soup of practice of joy. While Dogen talks about finding joy in the service of others for the cook, this talk explores other ways we can practice joy and what karmic conditioning gets in the way....

Seido talks about Dogen's advice to his cook to raise up "Roshin," the mind of a loving parent that brings a affectionate care and attention to their child. Roshin is the mind that knows what is needed, which sometimes means self sacrifice and sometimes holding back...

Seido continues with Uchiyama Roshi's commentary on the Tenzo Kyokun where he says that Big Mind, or Daishin, this attitude of equanimity, means that "if we fall into hell, then we need to resolve to see that hell is our home. When we are being boiled in the demon's...

The Tenzo Kyokun teaches us a wholehearted approach to life. While we long for that state, what often gets in the way is our lack of trust. In this talk, Seido explores the relationship between trust and discernment, both their "relative" aspect in human development...

Seido introduces Kosho Uchiyama's commentary on Dogen's Tenzo Kyokun calling attention to the "relentless devotion to zazen" that Uchiyama's lineage is know for. The talk explores the concept of "Daishin" or "Big Mind" that characterizes the spirit of practice for the...

Seido comments on the theme of hunger coming up as the sangha anticipates Sejiki and studies Dogen's the instructions to the cook. During the "Festival of the Hungry Ghosts," participants feed the insatiable unsettled energy embodied in the "gaki" - mythical beings...

Seido introduces Dogen Zenji's "Instructions to the Cook" and how the Zen training of working in the kitchen expresses the wholehearted spirit of engaging life, receiving each ingredient without attachment to its quality or quantity. Dogen's Tenzo Kyokun is the basis...

Seido shares some memories of her teacher and our center's founder, Kyogen Carlson Roshi, who died suddenly in 2014 at the age of 66. The talk includes one of Kyogen's favorite ancient Chinese poems that was meaningful for him when faced with an impossible situation....