Appamada

2026-11-08 | Dharma Talk | Mindfulness | Nate Smalley by Appamada

2026-11-3 I Inquiry I An Army of Mercy I Flint Sparks by Appamada

Following an exploration begun recently by Nate, this week’s talk will focus on two aspects of the Noble Eightfold Path: right livelihood and right effort. According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, the Buddha had some pretty specific instructions to the members of his sangha for each of these "steps." From studying the precepts at Appamada, Joel knows that what looks like narrow paths actually open up to a whole lifetime of inquiry and action. He explores them with us.

Why right speech and right action? Might we call it kind speech and kind action? But to what avail? What preciousness guides us?

The Sculptor Who Dug His Own Museum In a hermitage on Saja Mountain, Dae-chul Kang spent ten years carving a sacred grotto by hand—a space where spiritual searching and the raw material of earth converge. https://moca-ny.org/2025/08/13/the-sculptor-who-dug-his-own-museum/

2026-10-18 | Dharma Talk | Eightfold Path: Right View and Right Intention | Nate Smalley by Appamada

2026-10-13 I Inquiry I Fear and the Bodhisattva vow I Joel Barna by Appamada

2026-10-6 I Inquiry I Befriending Your Mind I Josh Gifford by Appamada

What if the Buddha’s first teaching wasn’t something to believe, but something to enact? Before the “noble truths” hardened into doctrine, the Buddha handed five skeptical friends four tasks: embrace life as it is, let the grasping be, notice when it falls quiet, and act from there. This talk, drawing on Stephen Batchelor, opens our practice-period series on the Eightfold Path. Each week, Appamada’s teachers will take up a different strand. What happens when you stop believing in the path and start walking it?

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. Susan will reflect on the experiences that brought her to Zen practice and how it continues to shape her path.

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

2026-08-11 I Inquiry I Just be ordinary and nothing special I Trudy Johnston by Appamada

2026-08-09 | Dharma Talk | Nate Smalley by Appamada

2026-08-10 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

2026-08-04 I Inquiry Accepting Yourself Completely I Josh Gifford by Appamada

2026-08-03 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

This week, we’ continue to explore Zen’s understanding of time and the moment. Conventionally, we think of the past as a place things go to stay put — old mistakes, former selves, the people we've lost, with all of it shrinking into the distance. Dōgen, characteristically, disagrees. This Sunday, we sit with his strange claim that time does not pile up in a row, which has implications for what we carry and what we release. Illustration: Hasegawa Tōhaku, Pine Trees (c. 1595) Tokyo National Museum

2026-07-28 I Slippery words I Inquiry Joel Barna by Appamada

2026-07-27 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

2026-07-26 | Dharma Talk | What is a Moment? | Nate Smalley by Appamada

“The precept today is giving, the joy of giving. Everything is something which was given; every existence in nature, every existence in human world, every cultural work we do is something which was given to us or which is being given to us, relatively speaking. But actually everything is originally one. So it may be better to say we are giving out everything. It is the same thing. Relatively speaking everything is something given to us but actually we are giving everything -- giving out or expressing out moment after moment we are creating something, moment after moment. This is the joy of our life.” ~ Shunryu Suzuki

2026-07-22 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

It’s been a surreal week. We must recognize that we are in a fundamentally altered reality. It’s quite disorienting, so perhaps we can come together and begin to explore how to navigate it. Peg offers this Dharma talk: “What are we seeking?” It’s an important inquiry, so we hope you will join us! Photo by Ben Syverson Chicago, July 16, 2026

Case 37, A monk asked Jōshū, “What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming to China?” Jōshū replied, “The oak tree in the garden.” Case 5, titled “Kyōgen’s Man Up a Tree.” Kyōgen said: “It’s like a man up a tree, hanging from a branch by his mouth. His hands can’t grasp a bough, his feet can’t touch the trunk. Another man comes and asks from below, ‘What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West?’ If he doesn’t answer, he evades his duty. If he answers, he falls and dies. What must he do?”

2026-07-13 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

The Buddhist Precepts are not a checklist. They are a practice — a genuine looking at the ways we speak, take, react, and cause harm without quite meaning to. For the past year, a group of students has been sitting with these teachings and letting them ask hard questions. Come be part of the ceremony that honors their practice.

Yunyan was sweeping the ground. Daowu said, “Too busy.” Yunyan replied, “You should know there is one who is not busy.” Daowu answered, “If so, then there is a second moon.” Yunyan lifted what he was holding and asked, “Which moon is this?”

2026-07-06 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

Joel shares reflections on Pema Chodran’s book “How We Live is How We Die” and Tibetan Buddhists’ work to live life to prepare for the transition from life to death. Joel also reads from Stephen Levine’s book “A Year to Live.” We hear a reading from the chapter titled “Fear of Fear." Joel leads us in Levine’s “soft belly meditation.”

2026-06-30 I Inquiry I No bridge needed? I Joel Barna by Appamada

2026-06-29 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

What might it look like to live a life energized by something other than preference? Recently, while getting feedback on a decision the teachers were considering, Nate was challenged by a council member to consider if a life outside of preference is even possible. Nate thinks it is, though it’s not easy to come by. In this talk, we explore possibilities together. The text of the Hsin Hsin Ming can be found in the Appamada chant book at https://appamada.org/study.

SFZC Great robe of liberation Field far beyond form and emptiness Wearing the Tathagata’s teaching Saving all beings Upaya Vast is the robe of liberation, A formless field of benefaction. I wear the Tathagata’s teachings, To awaken countless beings. Appamada (Ordinary Mind) Vast is the robe of liberation A formless field of benefaction Wearing the universal teaching I realize the one true nature Thus harmonizing all being.

2026-06-22 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

Kim gives a dharma talk on "Coleus in the Garden" and other koans.

Most of us have a favorite way of getting stuck. A particular dance we do — the old pattern in new clothes, the familiar mistake in a new context, the same persistent bad habit, again. Today, we look at stuckness not as a problem to be solved but as something we might actually need. The Buddha had something to say about this, as did Suzuki Roshi. And you’ll get to find out which kind of horse you are.

2026-06-16 I Inquiry I Great Determination? I Trudy Johnston by Appamada

2026-06-16 I Inquiry I Great Determination? I Trudy Johnston by Appamada

2026-06-15 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

2026-06-08 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

2026-06-09 I Inquiry I Plight thee my troth I Flint Sparks by Appamada

For the last two Sundays, we investigated the ditches of comfort and striving. This week, we turn to what’s between them, what some describe as effortless effort. Joko Beck describes this as pure activity: Pure activity is very rare. There's nearly always a shadow, a film over it. We may not be aware of that; we may just be aware of some tension. There's no tension in pure activity, beyond the physical contraction required to do the activity itself. This activity is something altogether different from our comfort-seeking and striving. It arises and unfolds. This Sunday, we explore it together.

2026-06-01 Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

2026-06-02 I Inquiry I Wandering and Wondering I Josh Gifford by Appamada

Last week we sat with the cost of comfort. Today, we turn to comfort's restless cousin: striving. Most of us have a complicated relationship with achievement — driven by it, exhausted by it, quietly convinced that enough effort will finally get us somewhere. Dogen had thoughts. He opens the fascicle Bendowa with a puzzle: "This Dharma is abundantly present in each human being, but if we do not practice it, it does not manifest itself, and if we do not experience it, it cannot be realized." Not a permission slip for striving, nor a dismissal of it either, Dogen points to something stranger: the Dharma is already fully here — and yet it requires us. What kind of effort is that? And what does it mean for those of us who arrive on the cushion with an internal scoreboard already running? We explore together today.

2026-05-26 I Inquiry I If you examine myriad things I Joel Barna by Appamada

2026-05-25 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

How comfortable have you gotten? Is the room the perfect temperature? Does Alexa/Siri/Gemini answer all of your questions instantly? Is that difficult conversation still scheduled for someday later? Dogen’s teacher, Tendō Nyojō, carried his cushion in his sleeve. He sat until he ached. At sixty-five he still didn't claim to understand zazen, yet still hadn't missed a day in decades. Nate offers a dharma talk on what comfort costs us. Dōgen called the alternative gyoji. We explore it together.

2026-05-19 I Inquiry I A Blessing - A Birthday I Flint Sparks by Appamada

2026-05-18 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

Program Welcome Incense Offering & Three Bows Heart Sutra Head Student Reads the Case Head Student Raises the Staff Head Student Statement Questions for the Head Student Head Student Comment Final Statement Head Student Returns the Staff Congratulatory Statements Dedication of Merit Bodhisattva vows Three Bows Exit Procession Appamada Senior Teachers Nathan Smalley, Flint Sparks and Peg Syverson Entrusted Teachers Todd Bankler, Joel Barna, Kim Mosley, Laurie Winnette

2026-05-11 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

Reflection question: How have you been shaped or formed by your primary or first relationships?

2026-05-05 I Inquiry I A hidden ally I Joel Barna by Appamada

2026-05-04 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

The fear of missing out (FOMO) is the engine of missing out. The reaching is the leaving. Building on the intensive teachings of Peg, Joel, and Flint, Nate offers a dharma talk on encounter — what it is, why we keep missing it, and what the craving mind is actually building while it's busy looking elsewhere. There is a poem by Mary Oliver (below). There is a koan or two. There is a story about a youth soccer game that went poorly for a vocal subset of parents, the dharma teacher in attendance, and every available adult on the sideline— though notably not for the seven-year-olds. Except from Mary Oliver's poem, "At the River Clarion": 1. I don’t know who God is exactly. But I’ll tell you this. I was sitting in the river named Clarion, on a water splashed stone and all afternoon I listened to the voices of the river talking. Whenever the water struck a stone it had something to say, and the water itself, and even the mosses trailing under the water. And slowly, very slowly, it became clear to me what they were saying. Said the river I am part of holiness. And I too, said the stone. And I too, whispered the moss beneath the water. I’d been to the river before, a few times. Don’t blame the river that nothing happened quickly. You don’t hear such voices in an hour or a day. You don’t hear them at all if selfhood has stuffed your ears. And it’s difficult to hear anything anyway, through all the traffic, the ambition.

2026-04-28 | 2026 Intensive | Day 3 | Joel Barna by Appamada

2026-05-01 | 2026 Intensive | Day 6 | Peg Syverson by Appamada

2026-04-28 I Inquiry I Merciful Messengers I Suzanne Kilkus by Appamada

2026-04-30 | 2026 Intensive | Day 5 | Joel Barna by Appamada

2026-04-29 | 2026 Intensive | Day 4 | Peg Syverson by Appamada

2026-04-27 | 2026 Intensive | Day 2 | Flint Sparks by Appamada

2026-04-26 | 2026 Intensive | Day 1 | Peg Syverson by Appamada

2026-04-26 | Dharma Talk | No Gaining Mind | Ellen Hippard by Appamada

2026-04-21 I Inquiry I Into the mouth of the Demon I Trudy Johnston by Appamada

2026-04-20 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

Instructions for small group activity: Divide into groups of 3. Groups of 2 are ok. Take 2 minutes for each role. Each person will have an opportunity to share, be heard, and bear witness. Person 1 will share what they like in what they see/hear/experience about Person 2. Person 3 will listen, hold the space, and notice. They will then share their observations with person 1 & 2. Person 2 can reflect about what they have heard and what it means to them to be noticed in that way, Then change roles and repeat. Additional discussion question: what would you need to change to bring out the qualities in yourself that you see in others?

2026-04-14 I Inquiry I Leaving So Much Unborn I Flint Sparks by Appamada

2026-04-13 | Depth In Practice | The Sutra of Hui-neng Grand Master of Zen by Appamada

References: "Nothing Holy About It," by Tim Burkett Hsin Hsin Ming, Appamada chant book (https://appamada.org/s/Appamada-Chant-Book.pdf) "The Wakeful Body," Willa Baker

2026-04-07 I Inquiry I The Smallest Thing I Josh Gifford by Appamada

2026-03-23 | Depth In Practice | Vimalakirti & the Awakened Heart by Appamada

This Dharma Talk is experiential, with the Sangha addressing and sharing from the prompts of the previous Dharma Talk on "Cooking & the Sangha". There is a brief summary talk given and then we delve more deeply into the topic with discussion prompts. Prior attendance at the first Dharma Talk is NOT a requirement.

Begin Flint's talk at 11 minutes in for reference to Inquiry https://youtu.be/X3m2oM_C9bQ?si=Q-4yae5iykfSjStI

2026-03-30 | Depth In Practice | Vimalakirti & the Awakened Heart by Appamada

Discussion prompts: 1. What concerns me about the world today? 2. What am I doing to care for this life? Quote from Joanna Macy's book, "Coming Back to Life." Poem by Li Po, "At Chin Ling": Tucked into the earth, Chin-Ling City the river curving past, flowing away: there were once a million homes here, and crimson towers along narrow lanes. A vanished country all spring grasses, the palace buried in ancient hills, this moon remains, facing timeless islands across Thereafter Lake waters, empty.

2026-03-28 | Introduction to Zen | Class 1 by Appamada

2026-03-24 I Inquiry I It matters to Other I Suzanne Kilkus by Appamada

This Sunday's Dharma Talk is by Head Student C. Seren8y, in which they discuss "Cooking and the Sangha," drawing from the writings of Dogen, Kosho Uchiyama and Bernie Glassman. References: Glassman, Bernie and Fields, Rick, "Instructions to the Cook: A Zen Master's Lessons in Living a Life that Matters" Dogen, Eihei and Uchiyama, Kosho Roshi, "How to Cook Your Life: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment"

2026-03-17 I Inquiry I Feel the anguish and act from Love I Trudy by Appamada

2026-03-16 | Depth In Practice | Vimalakirti & the Awakened Heart by Appamada

Today's readings are from the Platform Sutra, by Huineng, including "The Gatha of Truth and Falsehood and Movement and Stillness": Nothing that exists is true don’t think what you see is true if you think you see the true what you see is surely false if you want to find the true the mind free of the false is true unless your mind forsakes the false nothing is true where true can’t be. Living things know how to move lifeless things stay still those who practice staying still resemble motionless lifeless things to see what truly doesn’t move in movement find what doesn’t move what doesn’t move is what doesn’t move lifeless things have no buddha seeds. If you can perceive its attributes the ultimate truth doesn’t move if you can realize this you will see how reality worksall you students of the Way be relentless and concentrate don’t stand at the entrance of the Mahayana clinging to views about birth and death. If those before you are ready tell them the Buddha’s teaching and if they aren’t truly ready bow and tell them to be good there’s nothing to argue about in this teaching those who argue lose sight of the Way clinging to blindness arguing about teachings they lead their nature into birth and death.

Why love what you will lose? There is nothing else to love. “From the Japanese” by Louise Gluck

2026-03-02 | Depth In Practice | Vimalakirti & the Awakened Heart by Appamada

2026-03-09 | Depth In Practice | Vimalakirti & the Awakened Heart by Appamada