Hōan Taishin's Dharma Talks

This talk centers on the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta (“Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dharma”), the Buddha’s first teaching after enlightenment. I explore how the Buddha addressed his five companions and introduce the Middle Way between two extremes. Also, I summarize the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths as practical insights for living nobly and compassionately. While suffering is unavoidable, we have a...

Yesterday, I offered a Dharma talk on the mirror-like quality of all things, including religious or spiritual writings and, especially, the Heart Sutra , to No Barriers Zen . You can listen to the talk via the above embedded audio. The recording opens with Ōshin Jennings Sensei signing and Tess Wenderski interpreting for him. I begin speaking around the two-minute mark. In time, a video recording...

Yesterday, I offered a Dharma talk to the No Barriers Zen sangha. You can learn about us here and listen to a recording of the talk by pressing the Play Button above. A video recording, complete with captions and live interpretation in ASL, will be available in the future. The centerpiece of the talk are the opening lines of Hongzhi Zhengjue’s poem, “Guidepost for the Hall of Pure Bliss.” Specific...

This morning, I had the pleasure of offering a Dharma Talk to the No Barriers Zen sangha—my sangha. I’m grateful for the opportunity, and humbled by everyone’s attentive presence and thoughtful comments and questions. The talk centers on the practice of zazen (seated meditation), “choppy waves,” how we can navigate them, and what we might find along the way. Part playful and part serious, I speak...

The following is an approximate transcript of a Dharma talk that I offered on Saturday, July 27th, during O-An Zendo’s Udumbara Sesshin. You can also listen to a live recording. Enjoy. Almost one year ago, I sat in this seat and offered a Dharma talk on the topic of the transmission of the teachings. Specifically, I spoke about the first transmission of the Dharma from Shakyamuni Buddha to Mahakas...

The following is an approximate transcript of the Dharma Talk I delivered as part of O-An Zendo’s Sunday Program on July 14th, 2024. You can also listen to a live recording of the talk. Enjoy . Good morning. Thank you for being here and for continuing to participate in the great effort together. As we begin, I ask two things of you. First, please remember this line from Hsin Hsin Ming ( Song Of Tr...

The following is an approximate transcript of the Dharma Talk I offered on June 16th as part of O-An Zendo’s Sunday program. You can also listen to a live recording. Enjoy. Last week, we explored one way of relating to the precepts. As a way of complementing Roshi’s admonishment to “forget the precepts,” I suggested that we can also see the precepts as “invitations to exploration.” I said asking q...

The following is an approximate transcript of the Dharma Talk I offer on Sunday, June 9th, as part of O-An Zendo’s Sunday program. You can also listen to a live recording of the talk. Enjoy. Precepts—that is what I want us to explore this morning. What are the precepts? How do we work with the precepts? How do we incorporate them into daily practice and our everyday lives? Roshi offered one respon...

Below is an approximate transcript of the Dharma Talk I gave on May 5th as part of O-An Zendo’s Sunday program. You can read the transcript or listen to the live recording. Thank you for listening, reading, and supporting. I bow with gratitude. Two weeks ago, I spoke about the “essential art of zazen [ seated meditation ]” and kin hin ( walking meditation ), a companion to our sitting practice. I...

O-An Zendo, the small Sōtō Zen temple where I live, practice, and serve the local community, resumed in-person gatherings last week. This change in the temple’s activities, mostly on Sundays, also changes my activities. Notably, I once more serve as the Doshi ( Officiant ) roughly every other week during our Sunday program and offer the Dharma Talk. Zen temples, Buddhist temples, and Dharma Center...

A new Dharma Talk is now available. The title is “The Promise Of You.” The offering was given on Saturday, April 6th, as a Dharma Talk during O-An Zendo’s Vesak Sesshin. The centerpiece is a passage from Dōgen Zenji’s Genjōkōan, which encourages us to think differently about how events in our lives relate to each other and about the past and future generally. I close the talk with the reminder tha...

For this week’s Buddhism and recovery post, I thought to share an older Dharma Talk. I’m steadily approaching my second sobriety birthday; it seems appropriate to revisit where I was roughly one year and three or four months ago. Also, I spent the last two days driving across a large section of the United States. There was very little time to write! The Dharma Talk offered here presents my recover...

For my second-to-last post of the year, I’m sharing the Dharma Talk that I offered during O-An Zendo’s O-Bon Sesshin. This is also the talk that I offered the day before Shukke Tokudo , Novice Priest Ordination. As the talk’s title indicates, the focus is Trust—trust in oneself, trust in the Dharma, and trust in the universe. Trust has been at the center of my practice for the last couple of years...

Today I am sharing the Dharma Talk that I offered during O-An Zendo’s Rōhatsu Sesshin. “Rōhatsu” is one of the terms used for an assembly on the occasion of Shakyamuni Buddha’s Enlightenment. Every year, Buddhists, the Buddha-curious, and spiritual practitioners generally gather to practice and celebrate what is otherwise called “Bodhi Day,” and marks the turning of the Dharma Wheel in this world....