Thousand Harbours Zen

Episode 205: THZ 205 - You're Just Like Everyone Else (Sixth Precept) 16.03.2021 15:56 ↓

On Precept 6 (not speaking of the faults of others) and how the keyword isn't "faults," it's "others."

Episode 204: ZNS 204 - We're All Addicted (Fifth Precept) 11.01.2021 25:06 ↓

On Precept 5 (not indulging in intoxicants) and the ways in which we feed our addictions.

Episode 203: ZNS 203 - What Do You Think You're Protecting? (Fourth Precept) 23.12.2020 19:10 ↓

On Precept 4 (not lying) and the reasons why we lie. What narrative are we trying to control?

Episode 202: ZNS 202 - Let's Talk About Sex (Third Precept) 09.12.2020 2:22 ↓

On Precept 3 (not misusing sex) and the messiness of intimacy.

Episode 201: ZNS 201 - What We Think is Ours (Second Precept) 26.11.2020 18:13 ↓

On Precept 2 (not stealing) and the question of what we have been offered versus what we just think belongs to us.

ZNS 200 - Being Clean is Not the Point (First Precept) 10.11.2020 16:49 ↓

On Precept 1 (not killing) and the mindset we can bring to all the precepts. It's not about becoming more pure.

ZNS 199 - Falling into Refuge 28.10.2020 19:41 ↓

Imagine that taking refuge in buddha, dharma, and sangha isn't about choosing to enter some new space, but rather that it's an act of falling without any hope of control.

ZNS 198 - Get Clear About What You Need to Do 28.09.2020 17:05 ↓

A reflection on climate activist Greta Thunberg and others who have shaped their lives around a singular intention. How do we root ourselves that deeply?

ZNS 197 - Are the Precepts Artificial? 05.09.2020 23:05 ↓

On taking up a path that has boundaries that were created by people centuries ago—why do we do it, and how do we do it sincerely?

ZNS 196 - The Three Poisons 18.08.2020 0:20 ↓

The three poisons—attachment, aversion, and ignorance—and how sometimes ignorance is at the centre.

ZNS 195 - Inspiration and the Three Pure Precepts 01.08.2020 16:09 ↓

What do we need to take with us on this path? If that's different from what we want, how do we reconcile the two?

ZNS 194 - Traps of Identity 15.07.2020 16:36 ↓

There is a difference between how we address the complexity of identity in ourselves, and how we relate to it in others. The approach can't be the same.

ZNS 193 - Actualizing the Buddha Ancestors 05.07.2020 20:42 ↓

We chant, "Now, actualizing the buddha ancestors means to bring them forth and look at them respectfully. It is not limited to the buddhas of past, present, and future, but it is going beyond buddhas who are going beyond themselves." What's it all about?

ZNS 192 - Being a Teacher, Being a Student 25.06.2020 17:25 ↓

Every teacher and every temple have different ideas about the student-teacher relationship; Koun shares some of his perspective on the complexity of it all.

ZNS 191 - A Special Transmission Outside the Scriptures 17.06.2020 21:01 ↓

Bodhidharma famously described Zen as a "special transmission outside the scriptures". What does that mean and why does it matter?

ZNS 190 - Awakening vs Awakened Activity 08.06.2020 18:09 ↓

The ground of this practice isn't what we experience, or what we feel, or even what we see—it's what we do, regardless of the rest.

ZNS 189 - Being Awake is Enough 25.05.2020 19:45 ↓

We talk a lot about some experience called "awakening," but the real task is simply to be awake.

ZNS 188 - Feeling Trapped 14.05.2020 20:03 ↓

On how we work with the feeling that there's no way out of wherever we are, or whatever we're experiencing.

ZNS 187 - We're All Sarah Connor Now 09.05.2020 22:03 ↓

In the Terminator movies, Sarah Connor has the burden of knowing what's coming and having to cultivate someone who can address it. We're in the same position.

ZNS 186 - You're Going to Lose it All 01.05.2020 18:19 ↓

There isn't anything you have now that you won't eventually lose. So why not start letting go now?

ZNS 185 - Why Do We Do Any of This? 26.04.2020 17:52 ↓

Zen usually frames itself in terms of "goallessness", or at least of a practice without object. But that doesn't mean there isn't a method to it.

ZNS 184 - The Noble Eightfold Path (8 of 8) - Right Resolve 17.04.2020 16:19 ↓

The last of eight talks on the Noble Eightfold Path - Right Resolve.

ZNS 183 - The Noble Eightfold Path (7 of 8) - Right View 10.04.2020 13:48 ↓

The seventh of eight talks on the Noble Eightfold Path - Right View.

ZNS 182 - The Noble Eightfold Path (6 of 8) - Right Concentration 04.04.2020 19:47 ↓

The sixth of eight talks on the Noble Eightfold Path - Right Concentration.

ZNS 181 - The Noble Eightfold Path (5 of 8) - Right Mindfulness 28.03.2020 16:44 ↓

The fifth of eight talks on the Noble Eightfold Path - Right Mindfulness.