Sue Moon speaks to the Mar de Jade December Sesshin on Teachers.

Talk on EDZ teachers followed by a talk on the Senses given at Samish Island Sesshin 2007.

Norman gives the first talk of the Samish Island 2011 Sesshin on "Teachers Meeting; Six Step Breathing Practice". Due to technical errors the volume on the recordings for the Sesshin are very low.

Zoketsu comments on "Tao Wu's Condolence Call" from The Blue Cliff Record. Yuan hits a coffin and says, "Alive or dead?" Tao Wu said, "I won't say alive and I won't say dead." Zoketsu discusses how birth/death are not opposites.

Teachings on Death (AYALA) 2006

How can we be there for others who are dying, when we are in denial and cannot explain death with words or phrases? Zoketsu discusses how birth/death can be experienced as nirvana and not as polar opposites.

Norman gives the second talk at the Mar De Jade December 2011 Sesshin on the Ten Paramittas.

Third talk of Mar de Jade Sesshin December 2008. This talk is the first of four talks on the Tenzo kyokun by Dogan.

First Talk on Tenzo Kyokun or Instructions for the Zen Cook by Dogen as found in "From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment - Refining Your Life" by Kosho Uchiyama, or "Moon in a Dewdrop" by Kazuaki Tanahashi.

A beautiful essay by Susan Moon about vision and her father's blindness.

A very important sutra that includes material on perception and consciousness. The complete version of the sutra offered here as a text file was downloaded from the Buddhist Text Society. It is also available at the Gold Buddha Monastery website.

"This is a difficult piece I wrote for "enough" a poetry journal published especially in protest of the bombing of Afghanistan. While its point is difficult, and maybe too extreme, I think it is an interesting piece and says some things that are important to me."

Do sectarian differences between schools of Zen really mean any thing? Zoketsu suggests we re-consider the roots of our Zen Buddhist tradition.

Sometimes when I get far afield with my practice, as I can too easily do, I have to bring myself back. I am doing a million things – there is poetry, my family, household chores; I am reading the bible, or science- it is all very interesting. But then I have to stop myself and ask, what am I doing? Where is my anchor, my home? What’s my basic commitment?

"When your life is ending how will you be free?" Zoketsu discusses practice in the light of our living and dying.

Zoketsu introduces the emptiness teachings of the Vajracheddika Prajna Paramita Sutra, also known as the Diamond Sutra.

Zoketsu continues an exploration of the essential emptiness of phenomena, as taught in the Diamond Sutra, with a discussion of the practice of renunciation.

Drawing on Zhaozhou's reminder to wash our bowls, Zoketsu explores the Zen approach to the material world.

Stephen Batchelor's edition of "A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life" was the main text for Norman's ten talks on Shantideva. See Study Guide: Compassion.

Taking Our Places: the Buddhist Path to Truly Growing Up, is a book about spiritual practice as a journey toward true human maturity based on mentoring work Norman did with a group of four boys on the cusp of adulthood. Taking Our Places discusses the practices and the values that can deepen our lives as we grow. It includes chapters on meditation, listening, suffering, and ethical conduct.

This classic first collection of Suzuki Roshi's lectures, published in the 1970's, is a wonderful introduction to Zen teachings, from basic posture in meditation to emptiness and enlightenment.

This is the second collection of Suzuki Roshi's lectures, and a companion volume to "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind." Suzuki talks about Zen in everyday language, with clarity and insight.

Robert Aiken Roshi's clear, insightful discussion of the complexities of Zen ethics, as they relate to personal and social action.

Another recommended version of the Shantideva text.

Another recommended Shantideva text, by the Dalai Lama and the Padmakara Translation Group

"'Being Upright'...takes us beyond the conventional interpretation of ethical precepts to the ultimate meaning that informs them."

Suzuki Roshi talks about this important Soto Zen text whose theme is the interpenetration of oneness and diversity, a cornerstone of Suzuki Roshi’s understanding.