Which Beings Are Sentient?

According to legend, Zen's Sixth Ancestor was chosen in a poetry contest. Here are the facts behind the legend, and the role of ambition in practice.

A dharma talk I gave during the New Palz Zen Center's June retreat, a few days before our sangha member Monshin gave her first talk. I was just back from a trip to Nepal and India, and I described how the rituals, symbols, and language we use today go back at least 5000 years in India and Europe. We have a duty today to preserve our ancestors' tradition and to innovate, even though someday Buddhism will be forgotten and the whole universe destroyed.

My father's dishonesty was frustrating and disappointing to many people, but I think he got the worst of it. Here's a dharma talk I gave to New Paltz Zen Center and Village Zendo on May 10, 2026. https://emptysqua.re/blog/the-kid-is-not-my-son/

Certain topics seem off-limits in Zen, like: What's the goal of meditation? How do I get better at it? What is everyone else experiencing when they sit? I spoke at the New Paltz Zen Center about getting stuck at a plateau in meditation skill, and about Zen communities' reluctance to discuss peak experiences, progress, and goals. Here's a written version: https://emptysqua.re/blog/speak-up-if-youre-stuck-in-a-zazen-rut/

Which animals are sentient, and how can we liberate them from suffering? I review the philosopher Jonathan Birch's book "The Edge of Sentience" and shares good news about humanity's moral progress regarding animal welfare.

This is a dharma talk I gave at the Village Zendo December 12, 2024, about my mother's brain surgery and end-of-life decisions. Here's the video and a transcript.

You can find yourself in a critical situation without warning. Is Zen practice preparing you? Here's a dharma talk I gave to the Village Zendo on September 5, 2024, about the classic koan, "Nansen kills the cat." Video and transcript here.

Bodhisattvas smile, though they hear the suffering cries of the world. You should smile too! A Zen talk I gave against doomerism.

Rich countries and drug firms act selfishly the COVID pandemic. Selfishness is natural, but we can strengthen our universal goodwill through training.

The United States as we know it will someday come to an end. It's shocking to see how vulnerable our democracy is, but as Buddhists we aren't surprised: Buddha told us that nothing lasts, and we can't rely on anything except the truth revealed by our own practice. A talk at the Village Zendo, November 8, 2020.