In Zen literature the mountain’s summit is commonly used as a metaphor for realization. Using this metaphor as a point of departure, Daido Roshi talks about form and emptiness, the nature of enlightenment, and freeing ourselves from hindrance.

The koan in this talk is “Dongshan’s Top of the Mountain” Case 49 from the True Dharma Eye. It was given at ZMM in November 2006.

Our ideas of enlightenment often involve waking up into some special, heavenly realm, but Zen masters teach us that this ordinary world is all we’ve got. In this talk, Ryushin Sensei teaches that as our practice deepens, we simply get closer to this body, this breath, the sound of rain, the flower by the roadside.

The koan in this talk is “Nanquan’s ‘It’s Like a Dream’” Case 40 from the Blue Cliff Record. It was given at ZMM on June 22, 2011.

In this pithy talk, Shugen Sensei takes up the apparent solidity of the self and looks at how our consciousness and senses work together to create it. But who are we really? In our search to clarify what is true, we need to let go of our conventional sense of meaning, face our fear of freedom, and commit ourselves to practice.

The koan in this talk is “Talk by the Monk of the Third Seat,” Case 25 from the Gateless Gate. It was given at ZCNYC on July 3, 2011.

Are Zen teachers enigmatic and mysterious, or transparent and straightforward? Daido Roshi looks at the unique role of the Zen teacher in spiritual training, and shares the wondrous story of his first meeting with his teacher, Maezumi Roshi.

The koan in this talk is “Master Deng’s ‘Voice Like Thunder,”  Case 197 in the True Dharma Eye. It was given at ZMM in September 2007.

Good days and bad days; sickness, old age, and death–even amidst our pain and misfortune, the perfection of reality is present. Ryushin Sensei offers a teaching on the all-inclusive nature of the buddha mind.

The koan in this talk is “Master Ma is Unwell,” Case 3 from the Blue Cliff Record. This talk was given at ZMM on October 3, 2010.

Shugen Sensei gave this talk shortly after returning from a gathering of Western Buddhist teachers. In it, he reflects on how the dharma is evolving in this country and speaks about the direct experience of reality that is transmitted mind-to-mind.

This talk is from True Dharma Eye, Case 65, and was given at ZCNYC on June 12, 2011.

Who are you? What is the self? When our investigation of our life suffuses our being, anything we encounter can pierce our delusion.  Daido Roshi takes up the world of form, the mystery of the mind, and the truth that we already possess.

The koan in this talk is “Lingyun’s Peach Blossoms,”  Case 155 in the True Dharma Eye. It was given at ZMM in March, 2006.

Lulled into complacency by the apparent repetition of our life, our habitual passivity, or our feelings of accomplishment, we can end up more dead than alive. What better antidote than to recognize all we are receiving and to generously offer all we are in return?

The koan in this talk is “Chao Chou’s Big Turnips,” Case 30 from the Blue Cliff Record. It was given at ZMM on April 9, 2011.

Shugen Sensei explores what it means to truly leap free of time in this New Year’s dharma discourse. There is only one place that our life occurs, and no matter how far we’ve drifted, we can return there in an instant. So, he asks, “What will you do with today?”

The koan in this talk is Case 39 from The True Dharma Eye, “Jingqin’s Buddhadharma at the New Year.” Given at ZCNYC on January 2, 2011.

Daido Roshi speaks about the shift in consciousness that allows us to experience our life as our own, not as something we’re watching happen, commenting on, or judging. And zazen, of course, is the gate.

The koan in this talk is “Yangshan’s Inconceivable, Clear, Bright Mind,” Case 168 from True Dharma Eye. This talk was given at ZMM in September 2006.