“How can I arouse the spirit of reconciliation and harmony right now?”



In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei invites us to reflect on what it means to truly grow up and live with wisdom.

Quoting Uchiyama Roshi, the author of this summer Commit to Sit's guiding text, he reminds us that while we may look like adults, our hearts and our behavior often remain immature.

Koshin also reflects on how, even in times of conflict and pain, we can choose harmony over division.

After speaking with sangha members in Israel and Iran, both asking how not to create enemies, he encourages us to pause and ask ourselves: “How can I arouse the spirit of reconciliation and harmony right now?”

May we have the courage to turn inward and live with greater peace.

When illness and loss touch our community, how can we transform uncertainty into deeper practice?

In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei explores how life's fragility can awaken rather than paralyze us. Drawing from Shakyamuni Buddha's third awareness, he reveals how we trap ourselves in narrow self-concepts and offers practice as the antidote.

“Let the forms of the practice dismantle your self-image,” he guides, echoing Uchiyama Roshi's wisdom to “let go of the small self to realize the vastness of life itself.”

Discover how to break free from the stories that keep you limited and step into true spaciousness.

What does it really take to build a lasting, loving relationship? In this special episode from the 10% Happier Podcast, Koshin Sensei and Chodo Sensei join Dan Harris and his wife, Bianca, for a candid conversation about marriage, connection, and the deep work of being in relationship.

Together, they explore:

• How early childhood experiences shape the way we relate to our partners
• The importance of understanding each other’s “operating manuals” and co-creating a shared path forward
• The role of humor—when it helps and when it hurts
• Why doing your own inner work outside of the relationship is essential
• How learning to be uncomfortable—together—can strengthen intimacy

Rooted in wisdom, honesty, and humor, this conversation offers insight into the realities of partnership and how we can show up with more awareness, compassion, and presence.

MUSIC Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji – Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

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“…when you practice and practice in this way and there is agreement between thoughts and words, it will truly be like intimate friends meeting, or self nodding to self. ” – Keizan Zenji

Even in the darkest of days, a faint light may be shimmering in the distance. Sometimes the dharma emerges as a mere sprinkle of goodness through the dense muck of our lives. No matter how heavy things are at the moment, can we allow something tiny and quiet and beautiful to break in?

In this recent dharma talk, Chodo Sensei reflects on Keizan Zenji’s teachings about Micchaka, the sixth ancestor in the Soto Zen lineage. The Venerable Micchaka learned from his teacher, Dhritaka, not to be preoccupied or enamored by a narrow view of things. Life is an expansive stream wide enough to allow everything to flow. How can we be more receptive to what is possible, more available to experiencing life as it is? By sharing his journey through the grips of substance abuse to a life of service to others, Chodo gives expression to the truth of Keizan’s insights. On the thirty seventh anniversary of his sobriety, Chodo honors the three treasures and expresses gratitude for his teacher.    

ZENTALK NOTES

Chodo Campbell Sensei is a Zen teacher, bereavement specialist, grief counselor and a recognized leader for those suffering with the complexities of death & dying, aging, and sobriety.  The educational non-profit he co-founded, the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, touches thousands of lives every year through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices. Chodo has been featured in the New York Times, PBS, CBS Sunday Morning and other media outlets. 

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

• Untangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
• Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL

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“Completing the ordinary things we do every day, one by one, with all of our heart—this is enlightenment itself.”

At the end of January, 120 members of the NYZC sangha gathered for a five-day retreat, together cultivating an ever-deepening sense of community practice, responsiveness, and connection.

This remarkable sesshin concluded with a joyous ceremony (with dharma combat!) honoring the completion of Shishin Falk’s training period as shuso, or senior student.

This week’s featured dharma talk is thus Koshin Sensei’s opening talk from the retreat as well as the opening talk for our winter Commit to Sit. The guiding inspiration for both are the teachings and practices of our dharma ancestors from Shakyamuni Buddha to Dogen Zenji and Keizan Jokin Zenji to those we learn from today.

Upon seeing the morning star, these words attributed to Shakymuni ignite the way of awakening: “I and the great earth, and all beings, simultaneously achieve the way.”  An astonishingly ordinary moment, Koshin reminds us. To actual be where you are and see what there is to see there. A star. That tree. This body. Your face. “From the time you got of bed this morning, have you allowed yourself to be amazed by what is right in front of you?” Fully receiving reality just as it comes, however it comes in each moment, means waking up to amazement.

Koshin encourages us to get away from our “cranky rumination” about the way we want things to be and embrace the work and ease of staying in relationship to what is within and around you. Practicing together draws us out from our little, lonely heads and places us into new realms of surprise and joy; heartbreak and intimacy.

Photo: Nic Neves

ZENTALK NOTES

Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei is a Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year.

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

• Untangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
• Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL

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“How do we trust what is actually fresh and coming from a soft, unknowing place? This is the whole reason to practice.” – Koshin Sensei 

Each moment is an opportunity to notice from where our thoughts, feelings, and actions come. Do we live out of our discursive mind and entrenched reactions, or are we able to touch into what is fresh and responsive? Can we remain attuned to our soft belly breathing, from the hara, as we encounter the realities of beauty and pain in our day to day lives? Being grounded, open, upright, and soft is a place of practice. 

In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei allows the confluence of Martin Luther King, Jr Day and Inauguration Day to remind us that everyday, and truly every moment, is full to the brim with celebration and disappointment; possibility and despair. This is reality. We practice – again and again – in the same way that generations of ancestors have to live in accordance with reality. At the advent of our ninety day ango period, Commit to Sit, Koshin encourages us to show up to our lives and invite everything in. Instead of exclusion and division, can we begin to see everything as an essential part of the whole? MLK Jr’s vision of the beloved community is an inspiration to understand what it means to be a sangha. Like the opening chapter of the Lotus Sutra, can we invite all beings – those we like and those we don’t; those we name and those whose names we do not yet know – to our assembly? There is enough pushing away. Can we practice compassion for all beings, including ourselves, in a fresh way for the sake of a hurting and fractured world?    

ZENTALK NOTES

Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei is a Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year.

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

• Untangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
• Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL

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“This sangha, here and on Zoom, represents 88 generations of practitioners—how incredible to be part of this living lineage.”

Our upcoming Commit to Sit is starting this week and so we share one final dharma talk from last summer’s Commit to Sit with you.

In this moving talk, Chodo Sensei weaves personal stories with timeless Zen teachings, reflecting on the profound simplicity of zazen and its capacity to transform even the most challenging moments.

From the resilience of daffodils breaking through asphalt to the unexpected beauty of aging, Chodo inspires us to embrace the present moment and commit to the path, breath by breath.

Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or new to Zen, this talk will encourage you to remember the strength found in sincerity and community.

Chodo Campbell Sensei is a Zen teacher, bereavement specialist, grief counselor and a recognized leader for those suffering with the complexities of death & dying, aging, and sobriety.  The educational non-profit he co-founded, the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, touches thousands of lives every year through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices. Chodo has been featured in the New York Times, PBS, CBS Sunday Morning and other media outlets. 

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

• Untangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
• Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL

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“The world will always need compassion and wisdom. In our lifetime and after our lifetime.” – Koshin

The interconnectedness of everything is not an idea or a belief. No separation is a truth to experience. How can we allow the thorough, inherent relatedness of all things to inform how we think, feel, and act today? Openness and receptivity is a place a practice.  

In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei encourages us to widen our perspective and move beyond the usual preoccupations with our ‘small’ concerns. How can we courageously allow a view of the whole to come alive through us in everyday moments? This is the meaningful shift from relative to absolute bodhichitta that the awakening way calls us to practice together.  As Koshin teaches, the exceedingly spacious view – which is all of reality – “…is the container within which our practice can actually be free.” Continuing with his series of reflections on Keizan Jokin Zenji’s “Zazen-Yojinki,” Koshin takes time in this talk to focus on the next few lines of this text. Listen to how Keizan Zenji speaks to the expansive view of the whole. “Without peak of depths, its brilliance is unthinkable, its shows itself silently. Between sky and earth, only this whole body is seen.”  How can we open ourselves up to see this whole body? How can this enliven our practice and ground our service in the world? For Koshin, the qualities of equanimity, compassion, and wisdom are key. In our lifetime, how can we embody these qualities in our relationships? Can all of our heart-minds manifest equanimity, compassion, and wisdom as medicine for a world perpetually struggling with fires, floods, and violence? May our clear and loving actions, in this moment, reverberate outward for the sake of all beings who will be here long after we are gone.   

ZENTALK NOTES

Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei is a Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year.

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

• Untangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
• Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL

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“Taking refuge in sangha is taking refuge in diversity—diversity inside and diversity in the world.”

We share this profound and tender opening dharma talk from our recent Summer Commit to Sit in honor of our upcoming Commit to Sit starting January 22nd.

In it, Koshin Sensei opens the 90-day practice period by weaving timeless teachings from Buddha’s era into the challenges and opportunities of modern life. From the joy of shared meditation to reflections on suffering, impermanence, and interconnectedness, this talk is both deeply moving and lighthearted—featuring everything from Carl Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot” to a humorous nod to Schitt’s Creek.

He also explores how to “take refuge” in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, inviting us to embrace both our fears and joys, our personal stories, and the vastness of the universe.

With reflections on love, death, and the enduring power of community, we are invited to live fully, practice deeply, and fold everything—suffering, diversity, and awe—into the richness of life.

Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei is a Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year.

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

• Untangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
• Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL

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“There is not a moment when you can’t practice.” – Koshin

The busyness of life often pulls us away from presence.

In this powerful dharma talk, Koshin Sensei invites us to pause, to soften, and to return to the stillpoint at the heart of movement.

Opening with a moving ritual of gratitude for his teacher, Koshin continues his reflections on Keizan Jokin Zenji’s Zazen-Yojinki. He reads: “Do nothing at all. The six senses produce nothing.” Through this lens, we explore how zazen can help us stop habitually following the sights, sounds, and sensations that shape our self-made world.

What opens when we stop grasping for identity or perfection?

Keizan Zenji writes: “Trying to think of it, the thought vanishes. Trying to speak of it, words die.” In this talk, we are reminded that true aspiration is not about achieving something, but about allowing boundlessness to arise.

Drawing on the mythic figure of Baba Yaga, Koshin invites us to show up fully and foolishly—to live in truth rather than fear, and to meet life as it is, not as we wish it to be.

This is the heart of our practice: setting down the demand for perfection, and opening to the spaciousness available in every moment.

‍

ZENTALK NOTES

Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei is a Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year.

MUSIC

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji – Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

NYZC PUBLICATIONS

• Untangled: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
• Awake At The Bedside: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL

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The post Boundlessness Not Perfection | Koshin Paley Ellison appeared first on New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

“What do you need to set aside?”

How often do we get stuck on ‘rightness’ and ‘wrongness’?  These judgements separate us from actually experiencing our lives moment by moment. Keizan Jokin invites us to free ourselves from such considerations and rest comfortably in our true nature for the sake of all beings. In this new year, what entanglements will you set down to enliven your practice, your life? 

In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei continues his series of talks on Keizan Jokin’s “Zazen-Yojinki”. A line-by-line study of these “points to keep in mind when practicing zazen” allows the clarity of Keizan’s teachings to impact how we function in the world. Koshin begins this talk with a tender look at the perfectly imperfect rituals and forms of zen practice. As with our lives and relationships, we are encouraged to invite everything in. Can we give dignity to what is worn out and make way for new things to emerge? When we get tangled up in our preferences, get enamored by our ideas and feelings about everything; when we are certain that we are ‘right’ and they are ‘wrong’, Keizan reminds us to “…put aside all affairs, and let go of all associations.” The new year presents an opportunity for all of us to align our values and actions. May our aspirations guide us into the full, messy, beauty of life.    

ZENTALK NOTES

Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei is a Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year.

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

• Untangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
• Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL

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“Zazen is an attitude for how you live.”

For many of us, showing others who we really are is rare. But why? What causes and conditions; stories and identities do you drape around yourself? Keizan Jokin says that the practice of sitting zazen is like coming home. How can we set down what is hiding and separating us from one another to be truly at home within ourselves and of service to others? 

In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei offers the second in a series of talks on Keizan Jokin’s “Zazen-Yojinki”. Keizan is the dharma grandson of Dogen Zenji and, like Dogen, was committed to making this practice available and accessible to all people. With this aspiration, Keizan is notable for many things, including the creation of communal rituals and ceremonies honoring loss and recognizing other rites of passage. In this classic text, “Zazen-Yojinki,” translated as “Points to keep in mind when practicing zazen,” we are encouraged to set down our preoccupations with the small self and allow ourselves and others to become who we truly are. In this talk Koshin focuses on the second sentence as it expands on Keizan’s opening line. What dwelling “comfortably in your actual nature” looks like in practice and in life is “revealing yourself manifesting the original ground.” That is, when we come home to ourselves in our practice, through our relationships, “both body and mind drop off. Zazen is far beyond the form of sitting or lying down.” The forms of practice and the roles we play in life can become a barrier to meeting reality just as it is. Can we allow the small body and mind to drop off so that we may experience what else is true? We all have specific roles and identities that are important to how we function in the world. And any one of them can become a problem. It depends on how we hold these identities. Can we practice setting our smaller selves down? When our true nature is uncovered, “revealing ourselves manifesting the mind-ground,” we can come home to ourselves and be of service to others. 

ZENTALK NOTES

Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei is a Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year.

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

• Untangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
• Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL

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“What would it be like to realize that you're not missing anything, that the brightness is not somewhere else and it's not someone else.”

We share one final excerpt from last winter's Commit to Sit as the next 90-day summer practice period starts this Wednesday!

In this talk, Koshin Sensei captures the essence of Zen practice through the lens of lineage and transmission. Speaking on the 90th day, he weaves together ancient wisdom stories with intimate personal reflections from his time training in Japan earlier this year.

The talk centers on a profound paradox: how “setting down the small self” actually leads to greater intimacy and connection. Through stories of Buddha's flower-twirling at Vulture Peak and Bodhidharma's encounter with Emperor Wu, Koshin Sensei illustrates how genuine spiritual transmission happens not through concepts or credentials, but through complete presence and receptivity.

He transforms lofty spiritual concepts into immediate, practical questions: How do we really receive what life offers us? Are we dividing up the world into what we like and don't like? Can we see the light that's already emanating “through every pore”?

Koshin insists that awakening isn't somewhere else or for someone else—it's the “vivid alertness” available right now, in this moment, through whatever role we're given, whatever circumstances we face.

This is Zen practice at its most immediate and heartfelt: not escape from the world, but complete engagement with it through the ancient practice of “turning the light inward” to illuminate what we've been missing all along.

“It’s one of the challenges of our school: to be prepared, and then to drop it.”

What can a 13th-century Zen master teach us about the courage needed to challenge institutional barriers?

This week, we continue to share excerpts from our winter Commit to Sit, with a talk from our dear dharma friend, Konjin Godwin, the abbot of the Houston Zen Center and Director of the International Division of Soto Zen.

Konjin offers an intimate and accessible exploration of one of Zen's most influential figures, Eihei Dogen; revealing him not as a remote historical figure but as a “mild and peaceful” yet boldly revolutionary teacher whose thunder still roars today.

Her talk illuminates Dogen's famous awakening moment in China when he heard his teacher say “studying Zen is the dropping off of body and mind,” leading to his profound realization.

Particularly compelling is Konjin's focus on Dogen's radical stance on women's spiritual equality—extraordinary for medieval Japan.

Through carefully selected quotes from Dogen's writings, we see a teacher who directly challenged the male-dominated Buddhist establishment, calling those who refused to learn from accomplished female teachers “close to beasts and far from Buddhism.”



Her talk also explores the tension between solitary awakening and awakening within sangha (community), emphasizing how our practice is enriched by studying and honoring our ancestral lineage, not as dusty relics but as living teachings that continue to guide and challenge us.

P.S. Connect with Konjin: If you enjoy the talk, Konjin will be one of the returning guest teachers for our Summer Commit to Sit (starting June 18th).

“My storehouse having burnt down, nothing obscures the view of the bright moon. All of our previous conceptions, our preferences, our ideas, our understandings of the way the world works have to go up in flames.”



What happens when 40 years of perfect dedication still isn't enough?

In this excerpt from her captivating talk at our Winter's Commit to Sit, Jisho Sara Siebert, of Zen Fields in Ames, Iowa, tells the remarkable story of Ananda—the Buddha's personal attendant who had a photographic memory, knew every teaching by heart, and served with unwavering devotion for four decades. Yet despite all his knowledge and service, something was still missing.

Through Ananda's ancient story and her own experiences living in war-torn countries and practicing at historic temples in Japan, Jisho explores profound questions we all face: Why isn't intellectual understanding enough? What does it really mean to “let go”? And how do we move from simply repeating what we've learned to truly understanding it?

This isn't just a Buddhist teaching—it's a universal story about the difference between knowing about something and actually experiencing it.

Whether you're interested in personal growth, spiritual development, or simply love hearing transformative stories from across cultures and centuries, you'll find wisdom and inspiration in this accessible exploration of this profound moment of awakening.

Jisho's warm, personal storytelling brings ancient wisdom into our modern lives, showing how an attendant's moment of clarity 2,500 years ago can illuminate our own journey toward understanding and peace.

P.S. Connect with Jisho: If you enjoy the talk, Jisho will be one of the guest teachers for our Summer Commit to Sit (starting June 18th) and will also be offering her own Zen Study course through NYZC in the fall (more info & registration will be available soon).

What’s the difference between empathy and compassion—and why does it matter so deeply for those in caregiving professions?

In this moving and insightful conversation, our Guiding Teachers Koshin Paley Ellison and Chodo Robert Campbell sit down with Dr. Judson Brewer, renowned psychiatrist, neuroscientist, bestselling author, and faculty member of the Contemplative Medicine Fellowship.

Together, they explore the nuanced terrain of emotional presence, personal boundaries, burnout, and healing—both personal and collective.

Drawing from clinical research, Buddhist psychology, personal stories, and decades of experience in contemplative and medical education, the conversation opens with a core distinction: empathy as the capacity to feel another’s pain, and compassion as the act of being with suffering without being consumed by it. 

Through real-world examples, they illuminate how unchecked empathy can lead to exhaustion, resentment, or disconnection, while compassion—rooted in curiosity, humility, and care—becomes a practice that sustains rather than depletes.

They speak candidly about what it means to “take suffering home,” the toll of hero culture in medicine, and how unexamined habit loops can reinforce burnout. And they reflect on how true community—a circle of care and connection—is not a luxury, but a necessary medicine. 

Whether you’re a clinician, chaplain, caregiver, or simply someone walking with others through difficult times, this episode offers deep insight into how we might care with more courage, clarity, and joy.

Learn more about Contemplative Medicine/Care

→ May 21st: We'll be hosting a free online info session for our Contemplative Medicine Fellowship. All physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and PAs are invited to learn more about the program and apply for our fifth cohort!

→ June 4th: We'll also be hosting a free online info session for our Foundations in Contemplative Care program, now in its 18th year! Anyone interested in integrating their spiritual practice with service in the world is invited to learn more and apply. 

→ September 24th – 28th: Our annual Contemplative Care Retreat held at the Garrison Institute will be led by Koshin Sensei, Chodo Sensei, Ayo Yetunde, Dan and Bianca Harris, and other guest teachers to be announced soon. Whether you are new to meditation and integrating spiritual practice with care or you are an experienced practitioner needing reinvigoration, this retreat is for you. The retreat also serves as a reunion for alumni of our Foundations in Contemplative Care and Contemplative Medicine Fellowship programs. 

Each of us is carrying so much—lugging around feelings and stories of deficiency, blame, or unworthiness. How can what we carry no longer separate us, but instead become the very ground of connection?

In this poignant dharma talk, Koshin Sensei reflects on the life of Jianzhi Sengcan, the 30th ancestor after Shakyamuni Buddha, who bore the visible burden of leprosy and the invisible weight of shame. At age 40, he approached his teacher Huike and pleaded, “Cleanse me of my wrongdoing.” What followed was an intimate encounter of great healing—and the heart of Zen practice.

Koshin invites us to pause and ask: What is the story I’ve been living in? What am I still carrying that keeps me from being truly present? He reminds us that it is not enough to simply be aware of our suffering. Liberation comes when we learn to put down our story and take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—not as abstract ideals, but as living, breathing relationships that can hold us in the midst of struggle.

In this powerful and poignant talk from the midst of our Commit to Sit practice period, Koshin Sensei explores the teachings of Punyamitra, the 26th ancestor in the Zen lineage.

As a crown prince seeking home-leaving, Punyamitra is asked by his teacher: “What must you do?” His answer—“I must do Buddha’s work”—echoes through the centuries as a timeless call to presence, compassion, and responsibility.

Koshin challenges us to examine what ordinary habits we are willing to set down and how we might take up the work of awakening with more precision, more kindness, and more courage.

With personal stories, humor, and deep reverence for the lineage, this talk offers an invitation to return to this moment—and to discover what is possible when we let go of our tightly held stories.

Spanish philosopher, José Ortega y Gasset once remarked: “Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are.”

A capacity to pay attention grows as we continually practice being receptive to what is happening within and around us. How do you pay attention to life? What holds you back from fully receiving reality as it is?

In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei emphasizes the important of attention and the way of awakening.

Too often, he says, we indulge the thoughts, fantasies, excuses of our small minds instead of being receptive to what is directly available to us.

This overindulgence keeps us from actually changing and truly experiencing freedom. Maturity means taking responsibility for how we are participating in life.

We can learn from our Soto Zen ancestors how to live an expansive life, not a little one; how to ask big questions and practice unbounded receptivity to this vibrating, excruciating, beautiful, ordinary, and wild life. 

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In this recent dharma talk from our winter silent retreat, Koshin Sensei offers teachings on the eve of the Hossenshiki ceremony, a rare occasion in which a teacher entrusts their head student, the Shuso, to give a dharma talk before the sangha.

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This tradition, known as Honsaku Gyocha, reflects the deep process of training, trust, and surrender at the heart of Zen practice.

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The talk focuses on Case #2 from The Book of Serenity—Bodhidharma’s famous exchange with Emperor Wu:

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"What is the highest meaning of the holy truths?"

"Empty—there is no holy."

"Who are you facing me?"

"Don’t know."

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This powerful koan is often seen as what makes Zen, Zen, revealing why we sit zazen facing the wall and the radical nature of Bodhidharma’s teaching. Koshin Sensei reflects on recognition and humility, the tension between wanting acknowledgment and letting go, and the lifelong practice of meeting the moment as it is—without clinging to status or certainty.

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How do we learn to trust what is already here? How do we let go of how we wish things were and meet life with dignity, care, and compassion? With warmth, humor, and deep encouragement, Koshin reminds us that Zen practice is about showing up—imperfect, caring, lively, and human.

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Listen now to explore what it means to embrace the unknown and walk the path of practice with an open heart.

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Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji – Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

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• Untangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
• Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
• Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL

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