What Is True? Inquiry and Impermanence - Hogen, Roshi

In this talk, Hogen Roshi shares insights from a recent workshop at the monastery integrating Zen practice with Byron Katie’s method of inquiry. He explores how questioning our fixed beliefs—about ourselves, others, and the world—opens freedom and flexibility, and how this investigation aligns with the heart of Zen’s great inquiry: What is true? Drawing on examples from daily life, the teachings of Dao Wei, and Thich Nhat Hanh’s reflections on impermanence, Hogen shows how seeing from many perspectives helps loosen identification and cultivate vow. Ultimately, he reminds us that because all things are impermanent, we have the creative potential to nurture love, equanimity, and our deepest aspiration in each moment.This talk was given during the Heart of Wisdom Sunday Evening program on September 7 2025. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this talk, Kisei shares Case 58 from The Hidden Lamp, drawn from the Vimalakīrti Sūtra, where the goddess playfully transforms Shariputra to reveal the truth of nonduality beyond male and female. She explores the Mahayana roots of the story, its revolutionary challenge to purity doctrines, and its affirmation that awakening is not bound by gender, role, or condition. Through Rinzai’s “four positions” and a guided koan exercise, Kisei invites us to embody both Shariputra and the goddess, to see where our own identities and resistances arise, and to discover the freedom of dropping all positions. The talk closes with Chōzen Roshi’s reflections on zazen as both microscope and telescope, returning us to spaciousness as the ground of all forms. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this talk, Jogen reflects on what it means to protect the innate brightness of the heart-mind. He describes this luminosity not as a metaphor for “choosing happiness,” but as a living reality that shines through when the shrouds of distraction, anxiety, resentment, and tribalized thinking are set aside. Drawing from personal stories, contemporary struggles, and the wisdom of Zen practice, Jogen explores how meditation, ethical behavior, and stepping outside the “flock” of busyness and opinion can safeguard this transcendent okayness. The invitation is to discover and continually uncover the bright mind that is already present, intimate, and sustaining.This talk was given on September 17th 2025 at Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this Jizō Sesshin talk, Jomon explores the poem Peaceful Life by Dainin Katagiri Roshi, opening it as a doorway into the mystery of vow. She reflects on how we often arrive at practice seeking peace, only to find ourselves meeting distraction, longing, or grief—and how vow becomes the ground on which true peace is found. Drawing on teachings from Chozen Roshi, Thich Nhat Hanh, and stories of resilience from Dōgen to living exemplars like Jimmy Carter, Jomon shows how vow functions not as a goal to accomplish, but as an orientation of the heart that fuels compassion, love, and continuity. Through this lens, we are invited to consider what our lives are about, and how even in uncertainty we can return to this breath, this moment, and discover peaceful life in vow.This talk was given during the 2025 Jizo Sesshin at Great Vow Zen Monastery. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this talk, Hogen weaves community life, way-seeking mind reflections, and Thich Nhat Hanh’s The Art of Living into a deep exploration of impermanence. He reminds us that nothing is stuck—everything is always transforming, whether in our lives, our relationships, or the world itself. By learning to meet each moment freshly, we discover freedom, appreciation, and the possibility of transformation rooted in our vows and intentions. Drawing on the Five Remembrances and the mystery of the present, Hogen points to impermanence not as loss, but as the very ground of practice and awakening. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this talk, Kisei explores Case 15 from The Hidden Lamp, where a woman realizes awakening through the simple phrase “let it be.” She reflects on how this koan functions much like the classic Mu koan—serving as a sword to cut through discursive mind and habitual identification. With stories, metaphors, and practice instructions, Kisei shows how “let it be” invites us to meet fear, thought, and circumstance without grasping, and to discover the vast awareness in which everything arises. She also emphasizes the role of faith—not blind belief, but trust born of direct experience—in sustaining our practice and opening us to the fruit of realization.This talk was given during Kisei's online meeting on Monday evenings. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this talk, Banshō weaves together spiritual poems from across traditions—Christian, Sufi, Taoist, and Zen—to show how poetry can be a living expression of dharma. Beginning with reflections on the rarity of “radical presence,” he invites us to experience poetry as more than words: as truth, practice, heart, and shared human experience. Through poems like Joyce Rupp’s The Perfect Cup, David Whyte’s Everything is Waiting for You, Rumi’s The Guest House, and Dōgen’s timeless verses, he illustrates how beauty, impermanence, and the fullness of human emotions all belong to practice. The talk closes with selections from the Tao Te Ching, pointing to the great mystery—emptiness, interconnection, and the way of reality—revealed in the ordinary and the fleeting.This talk was given on September 21st 2025 during the GVZM Sunday Program. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this talk, Jogen reflects on a student’s feedback that Zen teachings sometimes seem to overlook compassion for oneself. From that spark, he explores how dharma practice can be both deeply compassionate and at times uncomfortable, emphasizing that releasing fixation and illusion often feels like suffering before it frees us. He distinguishes self-compassion from mere “bright-siding” or positive thinking, pointing instead to the steady cultivation of kindness, honesty, and acceptance through practice. Ultimately, he shows how true compassion arises when we release our fixed agendas—revealing love, service, and the deep transparency of self that allows us to live more fully.This talk was given by Jogen on Wednesday Aug 20th 2025 at Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple. ★ Support this podcast ★

Drawing on Thich Nhat Hanh’s The Art of Living, this talk explores the teaching of aimlessness—the practice of arriving fully in the present rather than chasing completion in the future. Hogen reflects on how our restless striving to become more or fix what feels lacking separates us from the miracle of being alive right now. Through stories of loss, illness, mosquito-filled meditation, and everyday challenges, he shows how mindfulness and attention open the way to freedom, even in difficulty. The practice of aimlessness reveals that we are already enough, and that meeting each moment with confidence, kindness, and awareness is the true purpose of our lives.This talk was given during the Sunday night program at Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple on August 24th, 2025. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this closing talk from sesshin, Kisei invokes Dōgen’s Mountains and Rivers Sutra and guides us into the practice of “mountain mind,” the spacious, steady awareness that has been the abode of sages from timeless past to timeless present. Through meditation instructions and vivid imagery, she shows how we can rest in awareness beyond self-identification, seeing our body, thoughts, and life from the perspective of mountain’s stillness. From this ground, she explores how uniqueness and interdependence naturally shine through, how sangha mirrors Buddha-nature, and how bodhisattvas like Jizō express the fearless, compassionate qualities of mountain mind. Ultimately, we are invited to live from this stability in every moment—walking, washing, speaking, and meeting our lives with freedom and presence.This talk was given during the 2025 Grasses and Trees Sesshin at Great Vow. ★ Support this podcast ★