In this Dharma talk which he gave shortly after he returned from a hiking adventure to Everest Base Camp in Nepal, Kelly Doman Stevens Sensei recounts the rewards and challenges of his transforming experience. “It was vast, desolate and awe-inspiring,” he says of the landscape around Mount Everest. “But I wouldn’t call it pretty exactly.” […]
Inspiring Transformation
Follow the Monk!
Affirmations Work
“When he began talking about affirmation practice, I told Nyogen, this is so long overdue for me personally. This habit of negative thinking of mine is poison, and I have been poisoning myself with it for years.”
Hey Daddy, Relax
Being a parent is something that has to be experienced to be understood, and the profundity of parenthood can’t possibly be conveyed in words. Nyogen Roshi told me before my daughter was born, “Your joys will be amplified and your pain will be amplified.” This has proven to be an accurate statement!
If I Don’t Do It Now . . .
Lailah Dainin Shima will sit as head trainee during Summer Ango 2019 at the Hazy Moon. In this video statement, Dainin talks about the life-and-death concerns behind her desire to sit as head trainee, as well as her growing appreciation for the Hazy Moon’s lineage of practice…
Pain Versus Suffering
In this excerpt, Hogen points to the power we have to reduce our own suffering. When we entertain fantasies of something “other” than what exists right now—no matter how painful or difficult the situation—our desire to escape from who and where we are actually creates more suffering for ourselves.
Flowers Fall
“The ambulance took the old man away because he wasn’t feeling good,” my daughter tells me excitedly as I walk through the door from work. I plaster myself against the window to see if this is true. She’s speaking about my neighbor, my friend, a man who has been so kind and attentive to my daughter since the day we brought her home from the hospital…
A Buddha Knows How to Talk
Nyogen Roshi tells us that when he used to resist giving talks, Maezumi Roshi would say: A buddha knows how to talk. My work as an assistant professor requires me to give many presentations on topics related to social development, which is a subject I feel very connected to. However, as long as I can remember, I have been terrified of speaking publicly—especially when I have to say something personal…
Bathing in Nature
A review of Forest Bathing by Dr. Qing Li
Forest Bathing tells us what we instinctively know to be true about being in the natural world: it “can restore our mood, give us back our energy and vitality, and refresh and rejuvenate us.”
The Wisdom of No Thought
It’s hard not to feel grateful for a place like the Hazy Moon when you see what happens here. You show up for a retreat, full of turmoil. You spend a few days going through the ancient motions, sitting when it’s time to sit, eating in formal ritual, trying to sleep at nine every night. […]
Statement from Rafael Doshin Carrasco, Head Trainee for Summer Ango 2018
I am from Santiago, Chile and I have been meditating for some years. I do not have a Sangha there, so I usually practice alone. For me, it’s really important to know that I have my teacher and my Sangha here in Hazy Moon…
My Life As It Is
I was looking for a teacher. My busy life as a mother, wife, and physician was becoming more chaotic. Meditation had intrigued me ever since I’d had a lesson at a spa. For the first time, my mind had felt relaxed—quiet yet alert. After searching local meditation groups and Zen centers, I found the Hazy Moon…
