ZalthoLIVE - Claude AnShin Thomas – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - responds to questions from students in an inspiring manner based on his Zen practice and life experiences. He reminds the listener how to stay awake to life and understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.
 
This episode was recorded during a weekly online meeting of questions & responses.

For more information: https://www.zaltho.org

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to info@zaltho.org.

Book recommendations:

- Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)
- AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)
- On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024)

https://www.zaltho.org/books/

 If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:
1:16 Could you speak on the relationship between enabling and compassion?

2:57 What is violence?   5:05 What remarkable features characterize violence especially in its subtle manifestations?   7:23 What would squandering one’s life look like to you?   9:28 What if the consequences of somebody’s action cause me harm or my family, or the environment that I live in? 

12:52 How did your neighbor react to your comment and did they continue to drive over the box?

  13:32 Can there ever be peace after war?   14:38 What does healing mean for you?   15:23 When you replace a motor on a washing machine, and it works, does that bring you peace?   16:46 When you do things like repair something, do you listen to any music?   17:11 What is an example of peace in war?   18:24 Do you experience a sense of adventure or a sense of coming home during your travels?

Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - responds to questions from students in an inspiring manner based on his Zen practice and life experiences. He reminds the listener how to stay awake to life and understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.
 
This episode was recorded during a weekly online meeting of questions & responses.

For more information: https://www.zaltho.org

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to info@zaltho.org.

Book recommendations:
- Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)
- AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)
- On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024)
https://www.zaltho.org/books/

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:
1:30 How come it is sometimes difficult to just go ahead and do something?

2:05 What are the current requirements to study with you?

3:42 Do you have a secret to keeping the one breath in mind and not losing it?

4:54 What do you think of this movement of manifesting your life and of connecting it with quantum physics, does this work?

5:37 What is the role of courage?

7:00 Would you share something that was important at the beginning of your practice?

8:26 What can I do about feeling more safe about going into the unknown?

9:35 What would you say is the difference between the need for approval and insecurity? 

11:23 What has become clear to you recently?

12:37 Which experiences did you make with feeling excluded and the desire to belong?

14:51 How would you define healthy relationships? 

These are questions and topics that Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - reflects on. He reminds the listener of how to stay awake to life and how to understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly zoom session of questions&responses.

For more information: https://zaltho.org/

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question: info@zaltho.org

Book recommendations:  -       Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021) -       AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003) https://zaltho.org/en/media/our-books.html
If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.
Questions and Time Stamps: 1:14 With the death of animals occurring all the time everywhere around you, how do you determine which animal you formally mourn when they die? **** 2:08 How are you dealing with restless energy when you have a situation where you can rest and want to rest but there is this restless energy? **** 2:36 What are your thoughts at the moment, on the situation that there is a common narrative that one is either for one side or for the other side but you cannot be both. Do you think one needs to take sides? **** 4:03 What do you think are the roots of antisemitism over the centuries? **** 6:05 What would you say to someone who tells me that they are sad that Muslims are often portrayed as terrorists or backward in conservative news cycles and a certain segments of public opinion in the US? **** 8:51 Today, Veterans Day in the U.S., is there anything special or specific that you do? **** 9:54 In newspapers and on television the focus seems to be primarily on the civilians that die during war. I don’t read or hear too much about the soldiers that die. How do you respond to this focus? **** 11:16 My question is similar: with going to war, women are being raped as part of it and also this is not being talked about. Do you think that this is out of similar reasons? Because it is a topic that is filled with shame? **** 12:27 AnShin, are you aware of the trend to speak about moral injury and moral distress in the world of health care and health care workers? What do you think about the application of these terms 'moral injury' and 'moral distress'? **** 14:03 In the military, a soldier is obligated to follow orders unless those orders are against human rights. Isn’t that a little bit much responsibility to ask of them? **** 15:30 Do you think that the people who give orders to the soldiers suffer moral injury? **** 17:03 When I am speaking with my Israeli friend whose relatives are fighting in Gaza, whose family members are being bombed in Tel Aviv, is my perspective meaningless and irrelevant or should I share it?

These are questions and topics that Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - reflects on. He reminds the listener of how to stay awake to life and how to understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly zoom session of questions&responses.

For more information: https://zaltho.org/

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question: info@zaltho.org

Book recommendations: 

-       Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)

-       AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

https://zaltho.org/en/media/our-books.html

 

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:
1:10
How do you manage it to be light on your feet during challenging times?
1:48
Is there a way to deal spiritually healthily with fame and gain?
2:54
How do you practice forgiveness?
4:46
Last week something happened in my life where it happened that this person created harm for me. I did speak with this person, but the person doesn’t see it this way. Now I catch myself wishing a similar situation to happen to her. How can I deal with this?
7:35
Could you speak about why in practice one should not settle?
8:48
What is your process around “letting go” for, say, something you are chewing on?
9:49
Do you have any idea or thought how we could be of service to a quarreling city government?
10:21
How could you meditate when you feel really sick, can hardly breath, cough and everything?
11:35
Are there people that you have problems working with because maybe they evoke old behavior patterns in you. Like they remind you of your mom or dad?
12:42
In your life how do you practice the slogan, “how important is it?”14:42
Do you sometimes remember for yourself what you can be thankful for or are you naturally thankful for all kinds of things?
16:36
Do you have actually an alive teacher?
16:50
What do you think about the scientific pursuit to possibly extend human life indefinitely that at this time is attracting significant investment?

These are questions and topics that Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - reflects on. He reminds the listener of how to stay awake to life and how to understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly zoom session of questions&responses.

For more information: https://zaltho.org/

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question: info@zaltho.org

Book recommendations: 

-       Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)

-       AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

https://zaltho.org/en/media/our-books.html

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:
1:12
What would you say to somebody who says:“I like to smoke pot every day. It makes me happy, productive, and I relate better to other people.. What’s wrong with that?"
****
2:35
You are recommending that people sit twice a day. What would you say if someone was asking you what for?
****
3:38 
How do you know and then how do you respond if someone is trying to manipulate?
****
5:38 
How come there are not more people of African origins in Zen groups?
****
6:27
Do you sometimes have bad temper without a reason and if so, do you then do efforts to understand how come?
****
8:54
From the point of view of our practice are there good moods and bad moods?
****
9:45
Would you find it useful and meaningful and also appropriate to include a meditation practice into a psychotherapeutic setting?
****
11:24
How can I deal with a grieving that suddenly overcomes me in connection with animals that I was part of them dying and at the time when it happened I did not process any of that?
****
12:49
In which ways can meditation be dangerous?
****
13:48
Does a personal response to outside stimuli ever surprise you meaning your own thoughts?
****
14:22
What does it do to you when people are initially inflamed by practice after visiting a talk or retreat and don’t continue on? Or people abandon practice and don’t come back?
****
15:27
How do I deal with a conversation in which I am sharing about my experience with meditation practice and I am being treated offensively or hurtfully?
****
17:36
When someone is angry with you, how do you deal with that?

These are questions and topics that Claude AnShin Thomas - fully ordained Zen Buddhist Monk, Combat Veteran, and Author - reflects on. He reminds the listener of how to stay awake to life and how to understand more deeply the trappings of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly zoom session of questions&responses.

For more information: https://zaltho.org/

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question: info@zaltho.org

Want to read up on this topic? Book recommendations: 

-       Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)

-       AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

https://zaltho.org/en/media/our-books.html

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:
01:11 
What do you look forward when you go back to the US? What do you hope for?
****
2:04
I met a young man who was asking for money to buy himself something to drink. I told him I don’t want to give him money but that I would buy him something to drink. He did agree. In this case, is this unconditional giving?
****
3:19
As Buddhist practice originated in Asia, how much do we need to look there regarding authentic practice?
****
4:31
Can you speak about relative and absolute a bit? Do relative and absolute ever cross or come together at all?
****
6:22
I had a near death experience two days ago. What surprised me is that I wasn’t too afraid of death, but I was terrified of leaving alone my little son and my wife. How do I deal with this without controlling another's life?
****
8:21 
Is there any sense in feeling upset and disrespected when a religious text is being burned?
****
9:48
I was traveling yesterday and people were driving very erratically. A group of cars got into a pileup, and I drove by and thought that was 'poetic justice'. Is my thinking just crazy? 
****
10:58 
What do you say to someone who asserts: the “true” Buddhism exists among people in Asia or people of Asian descent and not among Western converts like you or me?
****
12:04
Is there meaning to define ourselves as Buddhist?
****
12:49
What would be your reaction when someone says a comment like: "All the BASF places are closing now in Ludwigshafen and so all the Turkish people will go away, and then it’s finally German again.”
How would you react to such sentences?
****
13:58
Do you never have the wish or a desire to convince someone else about a right or wrong position?
****
14:46
Someone said that on the 4th of July they were thanking their father and grandfather for fighting. I was tempted to say something about what the 4th of July stands for. All this is a waste of time, did I understand this correctly?
****
17:03
What is with finding a compromise when there are two different opinions and a discussion is necessary to find a compromise?

These are questions and topics that Claude AnShin Thomas - fully ordained Zen Buddhist Monk, Combat Veteran, and Author - reflects on. He reminds the listener of how to stay awake to life and how to understand more deeply the trappings of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly zoom session of questions&responses.

For more information: https://zaltho.org/

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question: info@zaltho.org

Want to read up on this topic? Book recommendations: 

-       Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)

-       AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

https://zaltho.org/en/media/our-books.html

 

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

 

Questions and Time Stamps:
1:24
How do you respond when someone who has asked you forsupport consistently doesn’t change?
****
2:20
Is it possible to have your mind on the essential point (of breath) and on something else at the same time while supposedly sitting in meditation?
****
3:36
AnShin, do you ever feel like you are going crazy when you had that experience or those experiences (referencing previous response)?
****
3:50
Is it your impression that nowadays in society dehumanization is increasing, for example with artificial intelligence?
****
4:58
You often respond to questions pointing in the direction of acceptance and surrender. Would you speak about that?
****
6:14
Why is it important to you to make your bed in the morning?
****
6:53
I heard you say and write that it is important to keep telling our story. How do you make sure that you are not cementing one particular narrative?
****
7:29
 Is the essential point part of relative and absolute at the same time?
****
8:29
Last weekend I was with my son, and we went on a walk with our dog in the countryside. The dog killed three chicken. My son and I witnessed that killing. He is 1-year-old, and he clearly was affected by this. How do I explain this to him?
****
9:25
Do you think a machine could ever become sentient?
****
10:34
I read emotions are empty. The problem is I tend to attach to them and then they become very powerful and have this feeling I am right. So, my emotion is right and it gets even bigger. How could I do better?
****
14:20
Where would you draw a line when your being generous crosses over into being exploited?
****
15:08
Can you expand on what you just said, about how inappropriate giving is fodder for more extreme reactions?

These are questions and topics that Claude AnShin Thomas - fully ordained Zen Buddhist Monk in the Japanese Soto Zen tradition - reflects on. He reminds the listener of how to stay awake to life and how to understand more deeply the trappings of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly zoom session of questions&responses.

For more information: https://zaltho.org/

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question: info@zaltho.org

Want to read up on this topic? Book recommendations: 

-       Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)

-       AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

https://zaltho.org/en/media/our-books.html

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions, so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:
1:30
Can the perceived need for “trigger warnings” (cautionary words when disturbing audio or visual material is being shown) go to far
2:38
I’m curious if you could speak to how writing (if it is a spiritual practice) has served you?
4:28  
With the wars in Europe and the escalating violence in the Middle East, do you ever feel anxious about the possibility of a third world war?
6:24
I read an article where a very detailed horror of war and terror was described. Is there anything you could say on redemptive violence and what it is that drives torture?
9:36
Do you not make a separation between war and peace for the current time and world war?
10:52
This realization that humanity is in a constant state of war, isn’t that for you helpless and frustrating, and if yes how do you deal with that?
11:27
For KenShin: How do you feel now that you are by yourself at the (Magnolia Zen) Center?
11:50
Earlier you talked about being a real meaningful support to people affected by war. What is the essence, what is the most supportive to such people?
12:26
I do have a craving for recognition. How can I not act out of this
13:10
As a combat veteran, what do you understand about the mind of these young men in the Middle East who killed a lot of defenseless women, children?

These are questions and topics that Claude AnShin Thomas - fully ordained Zen Buddhist Monk in the Japanese Soto Zen tradition - reflects on. He reminds the listener of how to stay awake to life and how to understand more deeply the trappings of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly zoom session of questions&responses.

For more information: https://zaltho.org/

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question: info@zaltho.org

Want to read up on this topic? Book recommendations:

-       Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)

-       AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

https://zaltho.org/en/media/our-books.html

 Zen teacher Claude AnShin Thomas responds inspiringly from Zen practice and his life experiences

 

These are questions and topics that Claude AnShin Thomas - fully ordained Zen Buddhist Monk in the Japanese Soto Zen tradition - reflects on. He reminds the listener of how to stay awake to life and how to understand more deeply the trappings of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly zoom session of questions&responses.

For more information: https://zaltho.org/

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question: info@zaltho.org

Want to read up on this topic? Book recommendations:

-       Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)

-       AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

https://zaltho.org/en/media/our-books.html

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of  questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:
1:12 What do you do when you notice that you got stuck in an a certain pattern that feels uncomfortable, (if you have such and experience)?
******
2:34 There is a study where dying people were asked what they regret. The number one that was mentioned most often is the regret of not having lived one’s own life. How do you relate to that? Or how do you see that spiritually: living one’s own life?
******
3:04 I have gotten a couple emails recently from other groups that are celebrating “Vesak” again? I am curious, is there multiple “Vesak” days?
******
4:16 Has any of the protests affected your movement or anything you are doing?
******
5: 15 At the moment when you travel quickly from one place to the next, how long does it take you to arrive there with your whole being or is it that after awhile you haven't really arrived at all the places?
******
6: 17 How do you work with the "ant street" passing through your kitchen in relationship to the precept of not killing?
******
7:35 What are you able to share with us about the topic of “failure?"
******
8:22 If you listen to a number of stories of suffering that people share with you on the same day, what do you do to not carry the sad stories with you around?
******
9:38 Referring back to KG’s question, if everything is an idea, what is there tangible or is there anything?
******
11:46 In order to understand those two realms (relative and absolute) can science and intellect also be helpful with that or, in general, are they an obstacle?
******
13:32 Is this something you are currently engaged in, in such a study (in reference to previous response)?
******
14: 09 How do you explain expanded consciousness or the concept of with LSD?
******
15:27: A question to KenShin on how your return to the United States has been?

These are questions and topics that Claude AnShin Thomas - fully ordained Zen Buddhist Monk in the Japanese Soto Zen tradition - reflects on. He reminds the listener of how to stay awake to life and how to understand more deeply the trappings of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly zoom session of questions&responses.

For more information: https://zaltho.org/

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question: info@zaltho.org

Want to read up on these topics? Book recommendations: 

-       Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)

-       AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

https://zaltho.org/en/media/our-books.html

Questions and their time stamps:
1:10 If daily life and meditation are not two separate things, should we aim at keeping breath awareness as long as we are awake?
****
1:25 In my relationship, especially with cats, I realize that loving them comes with some attachment. How is it in practice that non-attachment doesn’t mean not to love?
****
3: 34 Would you say that as humans most of our problems are created by ourselves, for example through our attitude or our behavior? ****
3:53 Do you have any recommendations for work when one is working with people with different cultural backgrounds? **** 6:55 Would you expand on a quote I read?  “When the mind appears reality disappears and when the mind disappears reality appears." **** 7:14 Is suicide ever a solution? **** 7:55 You mentioned that my conditioning is being reflected back to me by my world. Do you have an example of this? **** 8:36 Earlier in this session you said that expecting love to be reciprocated is to ignore the interconnectedness of the world? Could you explain that? **** 10:42 Do you see a difference between taking one’s own life and or engaging in assisted dying? **** 11:07 How would you evaluate Buddhism in context of a perspective through the Abraham religions? **** 11:55 There are those poems from Rumi. Do they speak to you? **** 12:43 How can you see that the grass loves you? **** 13:27 Yesterday you mentioned to not to seek external comfort. If you support someone in their suffering, what are you doing it for if not to comfort them? **** 14:54 How would you respond to someone who sincerely believes that they perceive dead people and can speak for them? **** 16:16 I have problems with hearing something and understanding it in that moment, then remembering and repeating it. Mostly it’s too much for me. **** 17:18 How would you respond to a teenager who says that she hates her mother, that her mother doesn’t deserve any love or recognition, even though the mother does a lot for them?