Abbot John Daido Loori, Roshi - True Dharma Eye, Case 41, Shitou's "Ask the Pillar." Again and again, Zen teachers encourage us to abandon understanding and our need to know things, but what does that mean? In this discourse, Daido Roshi takes up the matter of "not understanding." If we can truly realize what this means, we'll discover that each and everything is teaching us all the time. This discourse was given at Zen Mountain Monastery in March of 2003.

True Dharma Eye: Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koans is a complete, modern English version of Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koan Shobogenzo translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi and Daido Roshi. This important collection is accompanied by Roshi's commentary, capping verse, and footnotes.

Abbot John Daido Loori, Roshi - True Dharma Eye, Dongshan's Essential Path. This discourse was given at Zen Mountain Monastery in the summer of 2006 during photography intensive led by Daido Roshi.

Beneath our conditioned sense of self our true nature always exists: wild, sacred, intelligent and free. This is Buddha nature. It is all pervasive--In the mountains or the city, in the sound of a rushing stream or the honks of rush our traffic-- there is nothing outside of it. In this discourse given at the beginning of one of his 2006 photography intensive, Daido Roshi leads us to the heart of the teaching. This path is not a place, it is a way of being in time. It is always a matter of taking care of right now.

True Dharma Eye: Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koans is a complete, modern English version of Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koan Shobogenzo translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi and Daido Roshi. This important collection is accompanied by Roshi's commentary, capping verse, and footnotes.

Abbot John Daido Loori, Roshi - True Dharma Eye, Case 151, Yaoshan's "Precious Treasure of the Way". When we have realized our buddha nature, we no longer need to look to others for fulfilment. In this dharma discourse, Daido Roshi retells the story of the Ugly Duckling, using it to support the main points of this koan, and finding it a fitting tale to remind us that we are already perfect and complete, just as we are. This talk was given at Zen Mountain Monastery in August 2003.

True Dharma Eye: Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koans is a complete, modern English version of Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koan Shobogenzo translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi and Daido Roshi. This important collection is accompanied by Roshi's commentary, capping verse, and footnotes.

Abbot John Daido Loori, Roshi - True Dharma Eye, Case 58, Shishuang's "Nothing is Concealed." How can it be that the secret of life is not a secret at all? It's our conditioned mind that obscures reality; it's our conditioned mind that gives rise to fear, anger, and self-doubt. When we practice, we peel back the layers of conditioning, and discover our true spiritual power. Daido Roshi offered this passionate discourse at the conclusion of his annual Photography Intensive during the July of 2007 at Zen Mountain Monastery.

True Dharma Eye: Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koans is a complete, modern English version of Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koan Shobogenzo translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi and Daido Roshi. This important collection is accompanied by Roshi's commentary, capping verse, and footnotes.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Sensei - The Book of Serenity, Case 88, The Surangama's "Not Seeing." To see the unity of all things, we need to move beyond our ordinary perceptions. Our senses indicate that we have a separate identity, but as Shugen Sensei teaches in this talk, this is a fundamental misunderstanding. If things are not existing independently, he asks, then how are they existing? This talk was given at Zen Mountain Monastery in September 2007.

The Book of Serenity or Shoyoroku (12th century) is a collection of 100 koans compiled and commented on by Master Wansong with poems by Master Hongzhi, both teachers in the Caodong (J. Soto) school of Zen. This important text stands as a companion to the other great Chinese koan collection, The Blue Cliff Record.

Konrad Ryushin Marchaj, Sensei - The Gateless Gate, Case 1 Joshu's "Mu." Ryushin Sensei offers the first in a series of talks on this well-known koan. When we ask "What is Mu?" with our whole bodies and minds, is it any different from asking, "Who am I?" To resolve this matter, we can't hold on to a single thing.This talk was given at Zen Mountain Monastery in June 2009

The Gateless Gate or Wumenkuan is a collection of 48 koans compiled in the early thirteenth century by the Chinese Zen master Wumen Huikai. Each koan is accompanied by Wumen's commentary and verse. The collection is widely used by practitioners to this day.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Sensei - Nourishing the World - Our own experiences of life teach us that every single thing that arises will pass away. How do we find peace in the midst of this constant change? Many religions teach renunciation -- in order to find such peace, we must leave home. In this dharma talk, Shugen Sensei dispels our common notions about what it means to truly leave home -- it doesn't necessarily mean becoming a monk or nun, or abandoning our lives and commitments in the world. Truly leaving home has to do with how we use our heart and mind. When we make this shift deep within our being, far from abandoning the world, we discover how to nourish the world.

The koan in this talk, Upagupta, is case 5 in the Transmission of the Light or Denkoroku This collection traces the transmission of the dharma from teacher to student, from the time of the Buddha through successive Buddhist masters down to 13th century Eihei Dogen's successor, Ejo. Compiled by Keizan Jokin, a seminal figure in Japanese Soto Zen, it is a record of awakening as well as a significant historical and religious document on the role of the mind-to-mind transmission in Zen.

Konrad Ryushin Marchaj, Osho - Cultivating Great Doubt - In this talk Ryushin Osho takes up the teachings of Bodhidharma as a way of exploring Great Doubt and how to cultivate it. If we ask the question deeply enough, with every part of our whole body and mind, the answer will arrive. It has always been this way.

This talk was given in February 2009 at Zen Mountain Monastery.

The Heart of Being: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen Buddhism by John Daido Loori, Roshi. Second half of chapter 14 & chapter 15, read by Kohl Seiho Suddeth.

In The Heart of Being, acclaimed Zen master John Daido Loori provides a modern interpretation of the Buddhist Precepts and discusses the ethical significance of these vows both within the context of formal Zen training and as guidelines for living an enlightened life.

This is an important text not only for those studying Buddhism but for all of us struggling to navigate the dilemmas of our modern lives. As Daido Roshi demonstrates, the Buddha's teachings can serve as a true moral compass to wise, compassionate, and "right" action.

The Body Toxic presented by Nena Baker, an investigative journalist and the author of a book with this title. Ms. Baker looks at the ordinary bodily consequences of our constant exposure to chemicals, and at what is termed, "the chemical body burden." This program comes to us from Alternative Radio, a public affairs program offering information, analyses and views that are frequently ignored or distorted in other media. Alternative Radio is part of the non-profit Institute for Social and Cultural Change.

Eshin Brenda Shoshanna: Being an Authentic Human Being

While some of us may find ourselves distancing ourselves from the religious customs and teachings we grew up with, Eshin Brenda Shoshanna has found her spiritual path in the intertwining of her Jewish faith and Zen practice. In this interview with Valerie Meiju Linet, Brenda speaks about how she feels Judaism deepens her appreciation of the dharma. Brenda is a psychologist and relationship counselor, and the author of many books, including the award-winning "Jewish Dharma." She spoke with Meiju during a weekend retreat she offered here at Zen Mountain Monastery this past December.

This talk from Rev. Tom Honey, given shortly after the tsunami in Dec. 2004, asks "how could a loving God have done this?" Challenging common theology, Rev. Honey gives a reponse that will resonate with Buddhists, and is timely once again as we confront the devestation in Haiti. Majora Carter, an activist focusing on urban renewal gives this talk on environmental justice. Pulse of the Planet: Sound Portraits of Planet Earth presented by the National Science Foundation. And music!

An hour of music hosted by DJ Mary. Selections for the New Year from around the world.

Retreat with Acharya Judith Simmer-Brown - "Meditation and Relationships " PART 2. This lively and engaging workshop led by one of Chogyam Trunpa Rinpoche's senior students examines our ideas about love and romance from the perspective of Buddhist teachings. Recorded live in the fall of 2006.

Stories Along the Way - storyteller Jack Hosho Maguire tells the stories of "The Cow Switch Tale", "The Monkey and the Crocodile," and "Rabbit's Luck." Also in this hour, some poetry, including Sylvia Plath reading "Ariel," and William Carlos Williams reading "The Red Wheelbarrow."

Talks from the annual TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference, a non-profit, independent organization that brings together this century's best thinkers to present their ideas for positive change.

Neurologist Oliver Sacks speaks about a syndrome in which the visually impaired experience lucid hallucinations, exploring its implications on how the mind creates reality.

Eve Ensler, creator of the groundbreaking Vagina Monologues has been working tirelessly to stop violence against women. In this passionate talk on the power and strength of the feminine in all of us, Eve shares stories of girls around the world who have overcome shocking adversity and manifested astonishing strength.

For more information visit www.TED.com.