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2026-09-29 I Inquiry I The Authenticity Trap I Nate Smalley by Appamada

Flint shares quotes from Roshi Joan Halifax's essays "Zazen: The Intimacy of the Infinite" and "Only One Lamp: The Single Reality of Shikantaza and Ekō Henshō." Flint also explores the Four Practice Principles with the following words: Caught in the self-centered dream, only suffering; (Ordinary thinking and feeling, enchanted by constructs; ordinary suffering) holding to self-centered thoughts, exactly the dream. (Determined to work it out within ordinary enchantment; a repeating dream) Each moment, life as it is, the only teacher; (Big Mind is on your side, always with you, always showing you What Is) being just this moment, compassion’s way. (Silent, illuminated, wise and compassionate, each moment unfolds as a gift)

2026-09-22 I Inquiry I The Old Woman of Mount Wutai I Trudy Johnston by Appamada

Ellen brought us together in the Appamada zendo to explore "not-twoness." What does it mean, and even more importantly, how do we live it?

2026-09-15 I Inquiry I Returning to the Mountains Returning to Yourself I Flint Sparks by Appamada

This Sunday, Nate gives an Open Talk. Rather than preparing remarks in advance, he comes with a single starting point, and the rest formed with those in the room.

2026-09-08 I Inquiry I Guard the Sense Doors I Peg Syverson by Appamada

This week Nate looks at willingness as a practice. It's the turn toward your life as it actually is, made before you feel ready.

2026-09-01 I Inquiry I A Gratitude Meditation I Joel Barna by Appamada

In a Way-Seeking Mind talk, a sangha member shares their personal narrative, key turning points, and how the Dharma has moved in their life. Manuel reflects on the experiences that brought him to Zen practice and how it continues to shape his path.

2026-08-23 | Guo Gu Guided Meditation | Joel Barna by Appamada

2026-08-25 I Inquiry I When your room becomes the whole world I Trudy Johnston by Appamada

2026-08-23 | Body Scan is Full Presence | Joel Barna by Appamada

2026-08-18 I Inquiry I Longing I Flint Sparks by Appamada

There's a word at the center of our practice that reads as mundane but might better understood as sacred: attention. At first attention is not very promising, is it? To the classroom teacher and parent in Nate, it sounds ludicrously ordinary. Paying attention seems so basic, so pedestrian. But Nate has come to think it may be the heart of practice, hiding in plain sight. For the final talk of our Zen and the Moment series, we treat this small, forgettable word seriously— with Dōgen, a poem by Ellen Bass, and practice together. Cover art: Sengai Gibon (1750–1837), ○△▢ (Circle, Triangle, Square), or Marusankakushikaku or The Universe; ink on paper. Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo. By Sengai - catalogue, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26868326