Living Zen Podcast
1) The Body is the Dharma — January 20, 2026 — Dharma Talk
In this talk, I reflect on form as a living, embodied Zen practicioner. Drawing on Rinzai Zen forms — gassho, sasshu, posture, breath, walking, and bowing — I explore how Zen is practiced through the ...Show More
2) Animacy in Zen — January 13, 2026 — Dharma Talk
Animacy in Zen In this episode of Living Zen, I reflect on Zen form — not as something merely procedural or symbolic, but as something alive. This talk explores how breath, movement, sound, chanti...Show More
3) Play and the Great Matter - January 6, 2026 - Dharma Talk
This talk was recorded during our first sit of 2026 at the University of Victoria's Multifaith Centre. It's a reflection on Zen practice, play, and seriousness—and how we meet the great matter of life...Show More
4) "Kōzen Daitō Kokushi Yuikai" - December 2, 2025 - Dharma Talk
In this episode, I explore one of the most treasured teachings in the Rinzai Zen tradition: Kōzen Daitō Kokushi Yuikai, the "Final Instruction" of National Teacher Daitō, founder of Daitoku-ji. This c...Show More
5) Tuning Practice - November 25, 2025 - Dharma Talk
In this talk, we explore one of the Buddha's most enduring teachings — the musician Sona and the image of practice as a stringed instrument. Too tight, the strings snap. Too loose, there's no sound. S...Show More
6) Zen Shout — November 18, 2025 — Dharma Talk
WARNING - Sudden loud sounds in this podcast. In this episode, we explore the heart of embodied practice — how a single moment of presence can cut through all the noise and return us to the immediacy ...Show More
7) Form and Responsibility - November 4, 2025 - Dharma Talk
8) Decolonize the Mind - October 21, 2025 - Dharma Talk
9) Remember the People You Came From — July 20, 2025 — Dharma Talk
In this episode of Living Zen, Eshū reflects on two guiding phrases: the Zen teaching “To study the self is to forget the self…” and the Gàidhlig seanfhacal “Cuimhnich air na daoine às an tàinig thu” ...Show More
10) On the De-Animation and Re-Animation of Zen — July 13, 2025
This week there’s no Dharma talk from the Zendo — UVic was cleaning the carpets on Sunday, so our usual sit was cancelled. But I didn’t want to leave the Sangha hungry. Instead, I’m sharing this refle...Show More