Zen Community of Oregon Dharma Talks

In this talk we explore the Buddhist heart practice of metta—a boundless, radiant wish for the well-being of all beings, including ourselves. Through meditation, reflection, and real-life stories, we examine how lovingkindness can soften resentment, humanize strangers, and even transform our relationship with those we struggle to forgive. Like the sun offering light without discrimination, metta invites us to live with generosity of spirit and openhearted presence. This episode is both a guided practice and a call to remember: what we shine our attention on, we help ripen and release. This talk was given during the Tuesday night program in Vancouver, WA on June 24th 2025. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode explores how moments of beauty can interrupt our mental habits and reconnect us with presence. Whether it’s light through leaves, a piece of music, or the sound of wind chimes, beauty can cut through the trance of constant thought. We reflect on how to become more available to those moments, to linger in them, and to let them open space in our busy minds. Beauty, in this sense, becomes a gateway to awareness and a form of real practice. This talk was given on July 2, 2025 at the Heart of Wisdom Temple Wednesday night program.  ★ Support this podcast ★

This talk explores the Buddhist teaching of signlessness, including the fact that who we are cannot be reduced to fixed categories or identities. Drawing on Thich Nhat Hanh’s insights, we look at how everything—including ourselves—is in constant transformation. Through mindfulness and embodied awareness, we can step outside rigid definitions and experience life as fluid and creative. This shift opens the door to compassion, integrity, and a deeper sense of freedom. This talk was given at Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple in Portland, OR on June 22, 2025. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode explores how we can live from a place of love, even when we don’t feel like we’ve earned it. We talk about the pressure to be perfect, the feeling of not being enough, and how choosing love—toward ourselves and others—can shift everything. With reflections from Adrienne Maree Brown, Rumi, and other voices, this is an honest look at what it means to let love lead. This talk was given as the fifth talk of the 2025 Loving-Kindness Sesshin. ★ Support this podcast ★

 In this talk Jomon dicusses the practice of metta, Loving-Kindness. She uses the analogy of metta being like the sun. This talk was given as the 4th talk of the 2025 Loving-Kindness Sesshin at Great Vow Zen Monastery. She also tells her story of doing metta for a difficult person and encourages us to do the same in our lives. ★ Support this podcast ★

Hogen dives into the Kalama Sutta, urging listeners to cultivate true faith through personal experience rather than blind belief. He emphasizes the importance of using critical thinking to explore teachings and discern truth. The discussion highlights practices like loving-kindness, compassion, and equanimity as tools for reducing suffering and fostering peace. This ongoing inquiry keeps the spiritual journey vibrant and authentic, encouraging self-reflection and community engagement.

In this episode, Jogen explores the nature of karma as our participation in creating the world, moment by moment. Using vivid metaphors like sending postcards to our future selves, he illustrates how our past actions echo into the present. He invites us to contemplate how these echoes shape our experience, while reminding us that each moment holds the possibility for fresh, liberating choices. This talk balances deep insight with practical reflections on compassion, equanimity, and freedom from old patterns. This talk was given during the Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple Wednesday night program on June 18, 2025. ★ Support this podcast ★

This is the third talk of the 2025 Metta Sesshin at GVZM.  In this talk, jogen explores the boundless nature of the heart and its deep entanglement with mind, body, and world. Through poetic reflections and vivid metaphors, listeners are invited to question what shapes the heart and how love can continually be chosen. The talk reminds us that tenderness is indiscriminate, that our roots hold both nourishment and toxin, and that awakening is possible when we turn toward wholeness. Ultimately, this episode calls us to stay wholeheartedly engaged in the ever-renewing experiment of love and freedom. ★ Support this podcast ★

This is the second talk of the 2025 Metta Sesshin at GVZM. In this talk Jomon discusses love and appreciation. What do these words really mean, and how to they relate to our lives, right here and now? ★ Support this podcast ★

This talk was given during the 2025 Loving-Kindness Sesshin at GVZM. This is the first talk of the sesshin. In this talk Jogen discusses Loving-Kindness in general and how we can view metta through a lens of universal friendless.  ★ Support this podcast ★