Rochester Zen Center Teisho (Zen Talks)

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Yunmen’s Two Sicknesses (Book of Serenity #11)

September 2026 Sesshin, Day 6 Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Yunmen’s Two Sicknesses (Book of Serenity #11) appeared first on Rochester Ze

Sep 25
52 min

Catching a Feather on a Fan, #5

September 2026 Sesshin, Day 5 Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Catching a Feather on a Fan, #5 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Sep 24
52 min

Catching a Feather on a Fan, #4

September 2026 Sesshin, Day 4 Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Catching a Feather on a Fan, #4 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Sep 23
55 min

Catching a Feather on a Fan, #3

September 2026 Sesshin, Day 3 Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Catching a Feather on a Fan, #3 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Sep 22
55 min

Catching a Feather on a Fan, #2

September 2026 Sesshin, Day 2 Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Catching a Feather on a Fan, #2 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Sep 21
55 min

Catching a Feather on a Fan, #1

September 2026 Sesshin, Day 1 Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Catching a Feather on a Fan, #1 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Sep 20
52 min

Abiding Nowhere

Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript The post Abiding Nowhere appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Sep 13
36 min

Zen Practice: Alone and Together

Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The post Zen Practice: Alone and Together appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Aug 23
41 min

Dukkha is the Path

Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript The post Dukkha is the Path appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Aug 2
39 min

Mumonkan #2, Hyakujo and the Fox

July 2026 Sesshin, Day 6 Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript The post Mumonkan #2, Hyakujo and the Fox appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Jul 25
44 min

Zen Essence #5

July 2026 Sesshin, Day 5 Roshi Kjolhede discusses the teachings of Zen Master Dahui. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript The post Zen Essence #5 appe

Jul 24
45 min

Zen Essence #4

July 2026 Sesshin, Day 4 Roshi Kjolhede discusses the teachings of Zen Master Wuzu and Zen Master Yuanwu. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript The pos

Jul 23
46 min

Zen Essence #3

July 2026 Sesshin, Day 3 Roshi Kjolhede discusses the teachings of Zen Master Xuedou and Zen Master Yangqi. Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated Transcript The p

Jul 22
41 min

Zen Essence #2

July 2026 Sesshin, Day 2 Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede discusses the teachings of Zen Master Fenyang from the anthology “Zen Essence.” Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automat

Jul 21
41 min

Zen Essence #1

July 2026 Sesshin, Day 1 Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede discusses the teachings of Zen Master Foyan from the anthology “Zen Essence.” Teisho by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. Automated

Jul 20
41 min

Right Brain, Left Brain

Teisho by Sensei John Pulleyn. Automated Transcript The post Right Brain, Left Brain appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Jul 13
43 min

The Brahma-Viharas: To Live and Practice with an Open Heart

The Brahma Viharas, or the Four Immeasurables: loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal. Automated Transcript The pos

Jul 5
43 min

June 2026, Day 6, Mumonkan #29, Neither the Wind Nor the Flag

June 2026 Sesshin, Day 6 Teisho by Sensei Jissai Prince-Cherry. Automated Transcript The post June 2026, Day 6, Mumonkan #29, Neither the Wind Nor the Flag appeared fi

Jun 19
34 min

June 2026 Sesshin, Day 5, Mumonkan #23, Think Neither Good Nor Evil

June 2026 Sesshin, Day 5 Teisho by Sensei Jissai Prince-Cherry. Automated Transcript The post June 2026 Sesshin, Day 5, Mumonkan #23, Think Neither Good Nor Evil appe

Jun 18
37 min

June 2026 Sesshin, Day 4, Platform Sutra #4

June 2006 Sesshin, Day 4 Topic: Enlightenment Poem #2 and Discouragement in Practice. Commentary on “Not One Single Thing” by Shodo Harada and “The Platform Sutra” trans

Jun 17
36 min

Chart trend

Position in the Buddhism chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#81#161JulAugSepOct

#27

all-time peak

123

days in the top 50 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where Rochester Zen Center Teisho (Zen Talks) ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 11, 2026).

#41 ▲ 20 Buddhism US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

I really love reading about zen, but a lot of what I read I feel is over my head or out of reach. It’s nice to be able to hear talks from the Rochester Zen Center community to help me better understand and make some of the ambiguous ideas or thoughts more concrete. It’s a practice after all. One I very much like reading and listen to. Thank you RZC!

MCliffC · May 2021

I'm really surprised that there are not alot more reviews for this podcast, it offers something unique. It primarily consists of the reading and discussion of zen texts. Now this might not seem that inspiring to some but I find it very interesting. It is very easy to read these texts on your own and believe you fully understand them, and that can be a great hinderance in the long run. Thank -you so much for offering these.

baknee · Feb 2015

As a new member of the RZC, I am glad to have these as a way to "catch up" with Roshi's teishos and talks from others. As mentioned, the sound quality is first rate. The teishos are extremely practical, and not dense at all. A great resource even for beginners like me.

NorthOfSuperior · Jun 2009

Never would the ancestors have ever imagined such an amazing way of spreading the dharma. Roshi Kjolhede's encouraging words are just what you need to get yourself on the mat and back to the practice.

Tonytabone · Sep 2012

For several years, I lived on East Ave in Rochester, NY and sat regularly at RZC, and attended sesshin. These talks are (mostly) recordings of teisho delivered by Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede after sitting on Sunday mornings. They are usually very helpful, and many inspire sober reflection and greater resolve in my practice. I moved away years ago, so I'm grateful to have access to these. That being said, I was unpleasantly surprised by the 7 July 2015 teisho. From about 1:30 to 3:00 in this particular talk, Roshi Kjolhede expresses a disturbing idea about compassion in relation to gender--I hesitate to call it sexist, since that is an oversimplification of the spirit of what he says. Nonetheless, it reveals a strong bias that he does not attempt to qualify, namely, that women are more naturally compassionate than men. Shortly after two minutes, he even invites those listening to "think of the men in your life, think of the women in your life--who is more likely to be there [...] when you need help?" I paused playback at that point, just to process what he'd said. I've met and spoken with Roshi Kjolhede, and received dokusan from him. And although he is (titles aside) a living man, feet on earth, married, etc., he does not usually intentionally lead people to hold opinions about things like this. I don't think I had ever heard him express such a strong gender bias until this. I listened to the rest of the talk, but this thought was very hard to dispel--the content of the talk was actually rendered even more relevant, but the voice delivering it was no longer neutral. Of course I disagree with the sentiment he expresses--in my life, men and women have apparently been equally capable of feeling compassion, and of behaving with compassion. But this is beside the point, which is that I don't think I can listen to Roshi Kjolhede anymore.

Kyle Arky-barky-ark-bark-bark · Aug 2015

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.