There are a lot of situations that we will not be able to solve by the end of the day, either with ourselves or with others. There will be a lot of things that we are not going to be able to solve by the end of the week in regard to our society, our environment, our family, our colleagues at work, etc. And some things might just be years away or seem unsolvable. In Zen, we talk a lot about being here now, being with this moment, but sometimes it's so hard because it feels like we're holding our breath due to a situation that's not resolved or resolving. What are the teachings in the Zen school that directly address being with our upset, our bother, the thing that isn't going away, so that we can actually be alive in this moment today and touch the beating heart of now?
Mind Waves
These days, between work, crazy housing, dating and loneliness, AI changing the world faster than we can keep up with, the endless stream of news, and feeling like we're a self-improvement project, there really is plenty to feel anxious about. But what happens when the mind responds by working overtime?
Kogetsu Mok discusses Suzuki Roshi’s teaching on “mind waves” and explores how meditation can bring us back and help us relate differently to anxious thoughts. We don’t need to fight our minds, figure it all out, force ourselves to be calm, or make uncertainty disappear. We can begin to recognize that every thought is not a fact or an emergency. They need not take the wheel.
Refraining From False Speech
Michael McCord leads the YUZ Sangha through a talk about one of the ten grave precepts: “I vow to refrain from false speech.”
This precept asks us to look closely at the space between what is true and what we say — not only outright falsehoods, but exaggeration, spin, flattery, and the small ways we shade our words to manage how others see us or how we feel about ourselves. Practicing with it means learning to notice the impulse to speak before we've checked whether what we're about to say is accurate, kind, and necessary. It's less a rule about lying and more an invitation to bring honesty — with others and with ourselves — into every corner of how we communicate. And primarily, what was the motivation to misrepresent reality?
Being Human in the Age of AI (Reupload)
This is a reupload of Michael’s talk a couple weeks ago, both with improved quality and to let you know about his workshop happening this month on AI and what it means to be human. Please see below for the original description:
Tomorrow evening I'll be leading the Young Urban Zen gathering, and it will be a preview of this online workshop that I'm teaching in August: Being Human in the Age of AI. Please feel free to sign up or ask me any questions about this online offering.
This is a course that I've been teaching for about three years, and it is constantly being updated, as you can imagine. I look forward to turning the subject over with all of you.
Attention in an Age of Distraction
Eli explores Attention in an Age of Distraction. Before asking what distracts us, we’ll look at what captures our attention in the first place particularly the subtle ways our preferences, what we like and don’t like, shape where our attention goes and how we experience the world.
Grandmotherly Mind
This week's theme is "The heart of Zen teachings - Grandmotherly Mind". Zen practice isn't about becoming a better version of yourself—it's about learning a radically different way of relating to the person you already are. This talk explores the Zen teaching of Grandmotherly Mind: a compassionate, clear, and courageous way of meeting ourselves and others that transforms how we navigate work, relationships, and everyday life. Drawing on the teachings of the great Zen master Eihei Dōgen, we'll explore how this ancient practice speaks directly to the challenges of modern life.
Accumulation
Tonight Tim Wicks will speak about accumulation. We collect lots and lots of stuff. For some of us shopping can be an addiction. A lot of it gets thrown away.
Greed is one of the three poisons that we work with in Zen, it is an obstacle to our awakening. Here we discuss…
Being Human in the Age of AI
In a culture that often measures human worth by productivity and output, this talk explores what is distinctly and irreducibly human—our capacity for empathy, our unique perspective, our ability to be present with difficulty, and our power to connect. Drawing on Zen practice, neuroscience, and contemplative wisdom, Sozan Michael McCord examines our relationships with technology, with each other, and with the processes that fill our days.
Life's a Mess, Now What?
Let's get real. Life can be messy. Relationships become complicated. Work is uncertain. We lose our way. Our bodies change. The people we love get older. We lose faith in everything. Sometimes everything seems to happen at once. Now what?
Buddhism and meditation practice doesn't promise that life will become easy or that somehow we'll rise above it all. It does offer practical ways to meet whatever arises with a little more awareness, honesty, kindness, and freedom.
Origin of Conflict and Mindfulness of Mind
Heather Iarusso leads us through a talk on the "origin of conflict" and "mindfulness of mind." How does our thought-world affect how we think, act, and speak? How can we transform harmful "verbal action" into beneficial "internal speech"? The more we pay close attention to what arises in the mind, the more we can respond to what's happening in the moment with compassion and care. There is a slightly guided meditation at the end as well!
Romance, Relationship, and Sexuality
Kodo Conlin and Mei Elliott each reflect on the topic of romance, relationship, and sexuality. How can we be free in the midst of romance, dating, and attraction? What is the relationship between practice and sexuality? American culture has a notable lack of education about what authentic and awake relationships can look like. This session explores how self-study provides a gateway to greater freedom in romance.
Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Mindfulness of Phenomena (dhammas)
Eli will conclude our exploration of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness with the Fourth Foundation: Mindfulness of Phenomena (dhammas).
This foundation invites us to look beyond individual experiences and begin noticing the patterns and conditions that shape them. Rather than asking, “What’s wrong with me?” we begin asking, “What conditions are present?” Together we’ll explore how the Buddha’s teachings including the Five Hindrances serve not as abstract concepts, but as practical maps that help us recognize the habits of mind that lead toward suffering and those that lead toward freedom.
Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Mindfulness of Mind (citta)
Hiro Ikushima leads us through a talk about the 3rd foundation of Mindfulness: Mindfulness of Mind, or citta (Pāli).
This practice invites us to notice the changing states of mind, such as calm or restless, contracted or open, clear or confused, without judgment. How can we meet the mind just as it is? And how does this awareness help us see our patterns?
Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Feelings
This podcast will be the second part in our series on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Feelings as told by Michael. By noticing how feelings arise and pass, practitioners learn that feelings themselves are not self and that attachment or aversion to them causes suffering. This awareness interrupts habitual reactions and fosters equanimity.
Four Foundations of Mindfulness: The Breath
Kōgetsu Mok leads us through a very powerful breakdown of the first of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness: the breath. How does breathing help us to come home to our bodies, our lives, and ourselves?
We can maybe see how something as ordinary as the breath can become a doorway to intimacy, humility, connection, and freedom.
Not for enlightenment.
Not to unravel emptiness.
Not to grok some complicated philosophy.
Just breathing.
Right Intention
Tim Wicks concludes our series on the Noble Eight-Fold Path with Right Intention. How does our practice direct our intention on the spiritual path, and how does that intention direct the practice?
Right View
This week's theme is "Right View" of the Eightfold Path. How do our views shape the way we meet ourselves, each other, and the world? Right View invites us to see suffering, its causes, and the possibility of freedom more clearly. Join us with Hiro in exploring these themes.
Meditation instruction + a talk on Generosity / Dāna
This week’s Young Urban Zen broadcast is a little different than usual. Abbot David leads us through a meditation instruction, a short meditation, and finally a Dharma talk about Generosity (Dāna). “The path of true liberation begins with Generosity.”
Right Livelihood
In today’s talk Michael will be continuing our series on the 8 Fold Noble Path that we started a few weeks ago. This week it will be on "Right Livelihood". We spend much of our life working. How do we determine if how we are spending our time is in alignment with our values in regards to how we support ourselves, pay our bills and save for the future?
Please come and turn this subject over in this podcast!
Right Samadhi
Kodo Conlin guides us through the topic of Right Samādhi: Sitting Buddha. We explore samādhi/concentration as part of Zen's rich heritage. This final factor of the Eightfold Path can be understood as the fruit of our wholehearted presence.