Zen Talking
Zen is a tradition from India that passed into China. Zen culture is based on the Five Lay Precepts, the Four Statements of Zen, and Zen's only practice: Public Interview, which is where we get Zen koans. This podcast covers topics like: What does that koan mean? How is Zen different from Buddhism/Christianity/Zazen? Why isn't Zen a philosophy? What do Zen Masters say that is applicable to modern life? What does it mean to have a community/sangha?
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Zen Talking: Precepts and Enlightenment, Compass and Conspiracy
08/05/2026
Zen Talking: Precepts and Enlightenment, Compass and Conspiracy
Read the History, Talk the History, 8-5-26 Episode #: 310 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: * https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/s/sgWSJawscL ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? ritual, structure, enlightenment the full case with a second visit to Mazu juggling or the compass of enlightenment Do Zen Masters teach? What are Zen answers? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: I'll have what the Teacher is Having
07/30/2026
Zen Talking: I'll have what the Teacher is Having
Call Notes Read the History, Talk the History, 4-15-26 Episode #: 309 #Post(s) https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1slh03w/a_teacher_that_makes_you_feel_i_want_what_they/ ###Link to episode: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Is Zhaozhou a teacher or merely authentic Zhaozhou? What about Osho? Why there were no Zazen teachers with famous students? Guizong Zhichang with the snake? Getting the reward vs post-christian submissives to authority Mindfulness as obedience and shutting down higher brain functions like outcome analysis. Mindfulness vs Secular Mindedness Zen Enlightenment is like catching a basketball. Is enlightenment fraud detection? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking:- Bielefeldt: 11 years later
07/21/2026
Zen Talking:- Bielefeldt: 11 years later
Zen Talking: 11 years later - Bielefeldt and the debunking of Zazen Read the History, Talk the History, Episode #308 ,7/16/2026, #Post(s) in Question ###Post: * https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1uwzo5v/the_bielefeldt_argument_the_empty_robe/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 Background: 11 years ago (ish) Bielefeldt's scholarship on the origins of Zazen was recommended in the forum. I read it. A number of other people read it. The consensus has been that Japanese Zazen is a Japanese indigenous religion, not historically or doctrinally related to Indian-Chinese Zen. While Bielefeldt's conclusions were couched in apologetic language, there has been no controversy regarding his research, which lines up with the Chinese Zen record establishing Zen as an anti-meditation tradition. We talk about what has happened over the last 11 years, how it's transformed reddit's Zen and Zen adjacent forums, as well as meditation and Buddhism forums. # What did we talk about? * 11 years ago, Bielefeldt's research debunking Dogen changed reddit forever. * People who aren't convinced by indigenous zen records are convinced by proof of Japanese buddhist fraud. * why fraud and lying in zazen * schizotypal thinking- when you aren't good at logic. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Meaning and Intention in Zen teachings
07/14/2026
Zen Talking: Meaning and Intention in Zen teachings
Read the History, Talk the History, 7/10/2026 Episode #: 307 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: * https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1uql2yh/haggling_and_babbling/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Translating the Fox Case. The cursed monk as a teacher. Red beards? Cause an effect in spirituality vs physical world repeating gossip that isn't true true vs right vs absolute from Baizhang's pov: what to do when people believe you, instead of looking for themselves. food from home, the Land of Zen The myth of the sutras as records # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Divorcing Zen from Mahayana
06/23/2026
Zen Talking: Divorcing Zen from Mahayana
Read the History, Talk the History, # Episode #: #Post(s) in Question ###Post: * https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1u7a075/divorcing_zen_from_mahayana_the_2002_paper_what/ * https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/tva86b/more_form_harrison_searching_for_the_origins_of/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? * Why is there confusion? * Why did it take until 2002 for this paper to be written? * How could 1900s academics go this wrong? * Why can't 1900s buddhists define mahayana or buddhism or practice or meditation? * Protestant Mahayana * The two truths doctrine * good you and bad you * mundane and spiritual * meditation in the face of moral problems * Zazen vs AA * "religious therapy" * day after christmas carol * day after religious experience * eureka vs mysticism * why ai won't save you # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Zen vs Mindfulness
06/16/2026
Zen Talking: Zen vs Mindfulness
Read the History, Talk the History, 4-22 Episode #: 305 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1srmxik/comment/ohm335u/?context=1 ###Link to episode: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Kinds of mindfulness, calculation, exercise, method, strategy Zen vs Chess Zen Master Buddha's three fears Methods to purity Zen as non-calculation Zen and the three poisons Zen as improv theater The Zen of being yourself # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: What are "Good Zen Manners"?
06/09/2026
Zen Talking: What are "Good Zen Manners"?
Read the History, Talk the History, 2/17 Episode #304 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: * https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1rehlm5/zen_manners_part_2_why_is_zen_like_this/ ###Link to episode: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen # Third thouhts I don't remember what we talked about, but Good Zen Manners has been an upsetting topic here for more than a decade. If somebody wants to be Goth or Straight Edge or a Hipster, we all agree that (a) that will entail specific subculture norms and (b) you get to. But good Zen manners, as dictated by 1,000 years of indigenous Zen historical records (called koans) and a dozen plus Zen books of instruction written by Zen Masters are **so at odds with Christian Humanism, Shinto-Buddhist Zazen and Hakuinism, and Protestant culture**, that 99% of the time the discussion is **HOW DARE U BE DIFFERENT IN A WAY I DON'T LIKE, EVEN IN UR OWN FORUM**. So it's a hard topic to discuss...
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Zen Talking: More Faith, More Mind, More Robots
05/12/2026
Zen Talking: More Faith, More Mind, More Robots
Read the History, Talk the History, 4-9 Episode #: 303 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to episode: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Faith in Mind translation... chinese and english are weird. Also is cadence in poetry a thing in ancient china? Diary of Adam and Eve: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/8525/8525-h/8525-h.htm # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: ReadZen in Korea
05/05/2026
Zen Talking: ReadZen in Korea
Read the History, Talk the History, 4-23 Episode #: 302 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: * https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1spubtz/zen_goes_to_korea/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? ***ReadZen is an rZen tool from dota2nub (download and Web versions) that makes primary texts available with translations and dictionaries and lineage trees and for 1,000 years of Zen records you kinda need it.*** Jikji is a chinese text published in Chinese in korea It has stuff I've never seen translation problems abound though koreans used modified chinese characters - super interestingly modified What records does Jikji have that Chinese records don't What is the first sayings text by a korean master? What is the first BoS BCR style book written by a korean master? what is in the "Collected works of Korean Buddhism" # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Taking a break from Zen study
04/28/2026
Zen Talking: Taking a break from Zen study
Read the History, Talk the History, 4-26 Episode #: 301 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: * https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/s/rZltoQ6tyd ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Quitting study. Quitting Enlightenment Can you quit talking to them? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Case 17 Book of Serenity, Zen instruction by Soto-Caodong Master Wansong
04/21/2026
Zen Talking: Case 17 Book of Serenity, Zen instruction by Soto-Caodong Master Wansong
Read the History, Talk the History, 4-14 Episode #: 300 #Post(s) in Question https://www.reddit.com/r/askZen/comments/1srmpqi/zen_talking_podcast_case_17_wansongs_book_of/? ###Link to episode: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? The center of this Case is Wansong's use of the metaphor of the scale. The understanding of what a scale looks like and what "steelyard" means, and how Wansong recycles the metaphor and plays it off against other metaphors. For example: To arrows meet in flight... this is a way of describing equal "wisdoms" canceling each other out. Wansong contrasts this with "equal" on a scale, and then cuts the scale center beam that holds the equal weights to "see what happens". # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Bookstore Crap vs 1,000 years of history
04/14/2026
Zen Talking: Bookstore Crap vs 1,000 years of history
Read the History, Talk the History, #299 ,2-4-26 Episode: #Post(s) in Question Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1qut7e0/ > Are most zen books you find in the book store/library a bit…. crap? www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/getstarted I want to ask people who are more well versed: am I thick if I don’t get anything from most zen books? I wrote my anecdotal shpeel for context but I think it makes more sense as a comment below. ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Am I Enlightened?
04/07/2026
Zen Talking: Am I Enlightened?
Read the History, Talk the History, # Episode: #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1qq9ckf/from_the_dms_i_think_im_enligthened/ (Inspired by, is that a thing?) ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Talking Zen Podcast: CBETA Tool - Zen vs Machine
03/24/2026
Talking Zen Podcast: CBETA Tool - Zen vs Machine
Read the History, Talk the History Episode: 1-23 #297 #Post(s) in Question https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1pq1ws4/brief_zhaozhou/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Translation in principle vs in practice. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Zhaozhou's Person of the Past
03/17/2026
Zen Talking: Zhaozhou's Person of the Past
Read the History, Talk the History 12/16 Episode: 297 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zensangha/comments/1pniott/case_27_of_the_recorded_sayings_of_joshu/ Case 27, Zhaozhou, green trans. ###Link to episode: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? What is this Case about? Crimes of the past : just balance the scales :: teachings of the past : talking about east and west East and West is a core teaching of Zhaozhou # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Recipe from Your Heart
03/10/2026
Zen Talking: Recipe from Your Heart
Read the History, Talk the History #296, 12/10 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1pebaio/ez_absolute_truth/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? strengths and weakness of AI translators What does Prajna mean? cheeks on the back of your head Demon Path 30 Rock Buddha Path evil How to do Zen cooking using the recipe in your heart # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking - Absolute Truth
03/03/2026
Zen Talking - Absolute Truth
Read the History, Talk the History 12/11 295 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to all episodes: # What did we talk about? awareness, to have or have not, gates vs barriers vs checkpoints, salt off the back of a truck, wisdom, seeing, seen, seer, cults, kungfu panda. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Zen Barriers
02/24/2026
Zen Talking: Zen Barriers
Read the History, Talk the History #293, 12/14 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to episode: ###Link to all episodes: # What did we talk about? awareness, to have or have not, gates vs barriers vs checkpoints, salt off the back of a truck, wisdom, seeing, seen, seer, cults, kungfu panda. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Zhaozhou and 1,000 hands
02/17/2026
Zen Talking: Zhaozhou and 1,000 hands
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question, #293 ###Post: ###Link to all episodes: # What did we talk about? Cafeteria vs Cheese board: What is picking and choosing? The monk beats Zhaozhou, but Zhaozhou pulls a disappearing act. Zen Masters reject causality, proto "yo mamma" arguments and winning arguments. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Sutras are trash?
02/11/2026
Zen Talking: Sutras are trash?
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to all episodes: # What did we talk about? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Mexican Ingeniousness
02/03/2026
Zen Talking: Mexican Ingeniousness
Read the History, Talk the History - Ep #291 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to episode: ? ###Link to all episodes: # What did we talk about? MacGyver, Red Green Show, Belgian Solutions... people from anywhere can fix things! Poverty and Zen are tied together, but also separated by education. Temporary teachings. Toilet paper: not for a temple, not for showing people, not for holding on to. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Knowledge and Habit Energies
01/27/2026
Zen Talking: Knowledge and Habit Energies
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: Two different posts ###Link to all episodes: # What did we talk about? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Sangha for Everybody?
01/20/2026
Zen Talking: Sangha for Everybody?
Read the History, Talk the History, #Episode: 289 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Complete this yourself. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking - Sangha, Fear, Mental Health, Ignorance
01/13/2026
Zen Talking - Sangha, Fear, Mental Health, Ignorance
Read the History, Talk the History, #288 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1p6gkae/zen_talking_poverty/ (that's right, a podcast about a podcast episode) ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Barriers in Zen? Interest in public interviews, yet fear of not knowing enough or not being general enough? Loose assocations are a problem in religious studies... but are often corrected by public interview. * solo thinking not connected to reality... mistakenly viewed as "independence" A public interview as "slap in the reality" EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY INTERESTING Sincerity vs fraud, exclusion, being comfortable with espousing racism/bigotry Zen Masters ELI5 all the time. ### Fear of not knowing A monk asked Shishuang Xingkong, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch coming from the West?” The master answered, “Let’s say there’s a man in a thousand-foot well. Get him out without using any rope, and I’ll answer you about the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West.” The monk said, “But in Hunan now there’s a priest named Chang who freely explains all sorts of things to people.” 2 Thereupon Xingkong summoned the novice Jizi [Yangshan Huiji]3 and said, “Get this corpse out of here.” Later Huiji asked Danyuan Yingzhen, “How would one get the man out of the well?” Danyuan retorted, “Dolt! Blockhead! Who’s in a well!?” Huiji didn’t understand, and later put the same question to Guishan Lingyou. Guishan called out, “Huiji!” “Yes,” Huiji answered. “There, he’s out of the well!” said Guishan. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Why so famous? r/Zen's most controversial reference
01/06/2026
Zen Talking: Why so famous? r/Zen's most controversial reference
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/famous_cases ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Aggressiveness bad in the modern world. Virtue essential to Christianity, Buddhism, Zazen, Yoga, etc. Who is "good"? Sidewalks, Clean trains and buses? Sheepy people in religion, politics, and society is the norm in West. Killing and benefiting from death. Robot sheep... the level below sheep... when you can't give a reason for what you say on social media. Obedience is NOT mastery. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Linji Teaching... but What is he talking about?
12/30/2025
Zen Talking: Linji Teaching... but What is he talking about?
Read the History, Talk the History #286 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1p5gwt7/from_the_dms_linjis_never_been/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? What are the three vehicles? How about "obedience, compassion, and esoteric knowledge" as translations? * https://www.termatree.com/blogs/termatree/understanding-the-three-vehicles-of-buddhism-sravayana-mahayana-and-vajrayana weeds are a metaphor for what? Buddha planted a bunch of seeds. A monk asked Shitou, "What is the cardial meaning of the patrairchs? Shitou said "Right in front of me is a stretch of weeds that Ive never hoed in the past thirty years." Later someone mentioned this remark to the master [Yunyan]. The master said, "The ox doesn't eat the weeds along the edge of its pen." When exactly does Linji get upset at the lecturer monk/master? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Nanquan Reincarnated as Bull
12/16/2025
Zen Talking: Nanquan Reincarnated as Bull
Post(s) in Question Ep. 285 Post: ? Link to all episodes: What did we talk about? Multiple level of meanings of Zen koans * Zen Master traditional challenge questions: What are you doing? What is that? * Material world level, metaphorical level, Zen doctrine level Explaining the meaning of the Zen Bull: www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/bull Why the 5 Zen bulls are NOT NOT NOT the 10 Buddhist Bulls: The invisible Bull Nanquan [Cleary: Nahn-chwen] comparing himself to a bull in other cases. Zhaozhou gets called "you animal", and that means Nanquan sees him as a fellow enlightened animal. Zen enlightenment: not Buddhist ordination, Zen enlightenment is permanent. Koans as history. Zen Master Buddha's 600 years in India. What we lost in the 1900's from Zazen propaganda: loss of respect/identity for the Zen monks who worked their whole lives on Zen records. Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:
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Zen Talking: That's no moon... that's Silent Illumination!
12/09/2025
Zen Talking: That's no moon... that's Silent Illumination!
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1olllu9/moon_face_zen_master/ and https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1ojb7tp/silent_illumination_exposed/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Virtual communites. Limited time. Chatgpt translation. How much time do we have? Foreign Jesus vs Bodhidharma How fast we are we going? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Foyan's Facing It Directly... Facing What?
12/02/2025
Zen Talking: Foyan's Facing It Directly... Facing What?
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1ot5j59/foyan_qingyuan_facing_it_directly_dont_miss_whats/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Entering from the East isn't going to work because it's relative. Relatives? Why East becomes West. Can you know too much? Study too much? Travel too much? Who is the mysterious wayfarer? Did he cheat death or cheat die? Cheating Zen Masters? What if you want something that doesn't exist? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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Zen Talking: Nanquan breaks the precepts
11/28/2025
Zen Talking: Nanquan breaks the precepts
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1ovutd7/nanquan_breaks_the_precepts/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? How to explain one culture to another? Who is to blame for a series of events? Who do rules matter to? Good for the goose, good for the gander: asymetric rule breaking The threat Nanquan posed to dissovling his community Zen and personal expression: the same as religion? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
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