Go Straight Ahead!
Zen Talks from Windhorse Zen Community
In this final teisho from the Summer '24 7-Day Sesshin, Roshi Sunya Kjolhede discusses Case #31 of The Gateless Gate (Mumonkan), "Joshu Sees Through The Old Woman." She ends with the Flowers Poem, anonymous verses written by a Zen monk often used at funerals and memorial services. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina, please go to windhosezen.org
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Zen Practice Is Like A Great Wind Sweeping Through Us
Zen Talks from Windhorse Zen Community
In this teisho offered on the fourth day of our 2024 Summer Sesshin, Sunya-roshi talks about waking up and giving ourselves fully to the practice. She tells the story of one of the Buddha’s disciples who, while not very smart, awakened to his original nature by sweeping. And she speaks of Shitou Xiqian (Sekitō Kisen) and his first meeting with his teacher. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina, please go to windhosezen.org
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You Can't Talk About Zen
Zen Talks from Windhorse Zen Community
In this teisho from the second day of the Summer 2024 sesshin, Sunya-roshi talks about how we ultimately cannot talk about Zen. Zen Practice needs to be embodied. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and the dharma work here in Western North Carolina, please go to windhorsezen.org
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At the Bedside of Vimalakirti
Zen Talks from Windhorse Zen Community
In this teisho from June of 2024, Roshi Sunya Kjolhede discusses the Vimalakirti Sutra. She talks about how we work with suffering, illness and death. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina, please go to windhosezen.org
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Zen Practice: What's Love Got To Do With It?
Zen Talks from Windhorse Zen Community
In all the mystical traditions of various religions, love is oft discussed, but it is seldom mentioned in Zen Buddhism. In this recent teisho from early March of 2025, Roshi Sunya Kjolhede discusses how love can be a tricky word to define or experience—but also how wholehearted Zen practice helps dig up the concrete of views and judgements to rediscover the "living greeness" of our own depths right here. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina, please go to windhorsezen.org
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A Living Practice In An Unravelling Time
Zen Talks from Windhorse Zen Community
In this recent and timely dharma talk from the end of February 2025, Roshi Sunya Kjolhede discusses the anxieties of our time and how despair is not an option. It's only through deep practice with a radical love that we can open to the chaos and tumult around us.
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The Importance of Being Nobody
Zen Talks from Windhorse Zen Community
In this Dharma talk from May 2024, Roshi Sunya Kjolhede uses the Eight Worldly Winds teaching of the Buddha to show that Zen practice is a radical departure from the whirlwind of our buy/sell society. She also discusses Case #26 of the Mumonkan, Two Monks Roll Up The Blinds. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and Windhorse's Dharma work in Western North Carolina, please go to windhorsezen.org
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How to Take the Practice Home
Zen Talks from Windhorse Zen Community
In this talk given on April 28, 2024 at the Windhorse Zen Community outside of Asheville, NC, Roshi Sunya Kjolhede discusses tips on how to take Zen home. She focuses on body practices such as the use of the eyes, centering your attention on your hara (lower belly), and chanting—among many others. To donate or learn more about Sunya-roshi and the dharma work here in Western North Carolina, please go to windhorsezen.org
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Vimalakirti and the Power of Silence
Zen Talks from Windhorse Zen Community
Using Case #84 of the Blue Cliff Record (Hekiganroku), Roshi Sunya Kjolhede discusses the power and necessity of silence in our lives. This talk was given on January 14th, 2024 at Windhorse Zen Community near Asheville, NC. To donate or learn more about us and our dharma work, visit windhorsezen.org Case #84: Vimalakirti's Gate of Non-Duality Vimalakirti asked Manjusri, "What is the Bodhisattva's Dharma gate of non-duality?" Manjusri answered, "To my mind, in all dharmas there are no words, no preaching, no demonstration, and no recognition. It is beyond all questions and...
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Rohatsu: The Buddha's Enlightenment
Zen Talks from Windhorse Zen Community
This talk was given by Roshi Sunya Kjolhede at Windhorse Zen Community near Asheville, NC on Sunday, November 26, 2023. To donate or learn more about us and our dharma work, visit windhorsezen.org
info_outlineThis talk was given by, Sunya Kjolhede-Roshi at one of our regular Sunday program’s. To find out more about all the things the Windhorse Zen Center has to offer, please visit:
Sunya is a sanctioned Dharma heir of the late, Philip Kapleau-Roshi (author of the Three Pillars of Zen and former abbot of the Rochester Zen center). She has been practicing in the Zen tradition for over 40 years and is currently the co—abbot (along with her husband, Lawson Sachter-Roshi) of the Windhorse Zen center, located in the mountains outside of Asheville, NC.
These teachings are offered free of charge. If you would like to help support the center, please click the “Donate” button on our website.