23 min
Talk · Shodo Harada Roshi
Mumonkan Case 17: The National Teacher Calls Three Times
A teisho on case 17 of the Mumonkan given at Tahoma One Drop Zen Monastery, delivered in Japanese with DaiChi Zenni's consecutive English interpretation.
Overview
What does zen point to?
Zen Buddhism is a tradition of direct practice, simplicity, and close attention to ordinary experience. Emerging from Chinese Chan and later taking distinctive forms in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and beyond, Zen places particular emphasis on meditation, awareness, and seeing into the nature of mind without relying only on concepts or beliefs.
Its practices range from silent sitting and koan inquiry to chanting, work, and everyday activity carried out with full attention. Different Zen schools have their own methods and styles, but many share the same invitation: to meet life as it is, loosen habitual ways of seeing, and discover a freedom that is not separate from this present moment.
The practice is not preparation for anything.A central teaching within Zen
Teachers
Teachers across every lineage of Zen.
Zen holds many schools and lineages beneath it. Its teachers are gathered below.
Retired
Zen
Adyashanti
American-born spiritual teacher who has taught for over 30 years, offering teachings free of any single tradition or ideology; founder of Open Gate Sangha, now retired.
TraditionZen
Zen
angel Kyodo williams
Ordained Zen teacher holding the title Rōshi, known for connecting Zen practice with social justice and structural change.
TraditionZen
DL
Zen
David Loy
American Zen teacher in the Sanbo Zen lineage and scholar of Buddhism and modernity, best known for linking Buddhist practice to social and ecological issues through his "ecodharma" work.
TraditionZen
FO
Zen
Frank Ostaseski
Co-founder of the Zen Hospice Project and author of The Five Invitations, teaching compassionate presence at the end of life.
TraditionZen
Zen
Genpo Roshi (Dennis Merzel)
American Zen teacher and founder of the Big Mind Process, head of the Kanzeon Sangha with over five decades of Zen training and teaching.
TraditionZen
Zen
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold
Head of the Mountains and Rivers Order and abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery, a direct dharma successor to founder John Daido Loori in the Sōtō Zen lineage.
TraditionZen
Talks & videos
Watch across zen.
Documentaries, interviews and talks connected to this path and its sub-paths.
22 min
Talk · Shodo Harada Roshi
Mumonkan Case 1: Joshu's Mu
A teisho on the first case of the Mumonkan, Joshu's "Mu," given in Japanese with ShoE Zenni's consecutive English interpretation.
59 min
Interview · Shodo Harada Roshi
The Way of the Buddha: A Conversation with Michael Lerner
In conversation with Commonweal's Michael Lerner, Harada Roshi discusses the Buddhist path and performs a calligraphy demonstration, his Japanese remarks interpreted into English by his longtime translator.
127 min
Talk · Shodo Harada Roshi
Wash Your Bowls: Public Talk for Enso House
A public talk in which Harada Roshi opens up Joshu's koan "wash your bowls" to show how everyday life itself is Zen practice; he teaches in Japanese with English interpretation by Chisan.
Listen
Recordings from across zen.
Talks, guided meditations and podcast conversations from the teachers within this lineage.
Reb AndersonZen
↗ rebanderson.engagewisdom.com
Giving Joy
Reb Anderson takes up the first of the ten bodhisattva practices from the Flower Adornment Scripture, joyful giving, and discusses giving without regret, without seeking honour and without attachment to the outcome.
From the podcast The No Abode Audio Archive
Listen on rebanderson.engagewisdom.comReb AndersonZen
↗ rebanderson.engagewisdom.com
Zen Bodhisattva Love
An afternoon talk at No Abode Hermitage on case twenty of the Book of Serenity and the thirty-year friendship of the Zen teachers Di Tsang and Fa Yan, used to explore not-knowing as intimacy.
From the podcast The No Abode Audio Archive
Listen on rebanderson.engagewisdom.comReb AndersonZen
↗ rebanderson.engagewisdom.com
Two Kinds of Buddhism
Drawing on chapter eighteen of the Flower Adornment Scripture, Anderson argues that nirvana and helping others are not two separate paths, and works through the bodhisattva's ten ways of practising non-negligence.
From the podcast The No Abode Audio Archive
Listen on rebanderson.engagewisdom.comReb AndersonZen
↗ rebanderson.engagewisdom.com
Clarifying Dharma
A talk on Book 18 of the Flower Adornment Scripture and the dialogue between the bodhisattvas Vigorous Wisdom and Dharma Wisdom, on finding the balance between forcing practice and neglecting it.
From the podcast The No Abode Audio Archive
Listen on rebanderson.engagewisdom.comUpcoming events
Events across zen.
Events tagged to an unpublished school or lineage automatically remain discoverable here while that level stays unpublished.
20SEP
Online Teaching — Upaya 2026 Series
Online · Online talk
See event pageOnline talk
21SEP
Mountains and Rivers Sesshin
Mount Tremper, New York, United States · In-person sesshin
See event pageIn-person sesshin
22SEP
Aikido and Zen 2026: Shizentai - the Natural Body
Crestone, Colorado, United States · Retreat
$395Retreat
22SEP
The New Bodhisattva Path
Turin, Italy · Public talk
See event pagePublic talk