Cosmopolitan Zen

You Are Not Your Body, Feelings, and Thoughts - Preparing to Untangle - Ekai Joel Keisberg Roshi - September 19th, 2026 - WSP26/FPP26

The teaching introduces the Eightfold Path through a modern interpretation of the Four Noble Truths as a Fourfold Task: recognizing reactivity, understanding our attachment to that reactivity, experiencing its cessation, and practicing the path that embodies this understanding. Reactivity naturally arises through body, speech, and mind as attraction, aversion, or neutrality, but we often become attached to these reactions, turning emotions into fixed “feeling beliefs” and strengthening our sense of self. Through meditation and awareness, we can notice and loosen this “grab,” allowing the mind to settle into the spacious awareness that is already present. The Eightfold Path then becomes the practical means of bringing this insight into everyday life and continuing the journey of awakening in service of all beings. 

Our mission is to foster a diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to awakening through Buddhist teachings promoting personal and interpersonal healing with ethical compassionate action.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/

The Listening - Music, Pure Awareness, and the Symphony of Being - Ming Po Larry Matthews - September 5th, 2026 - WSP26

The talk explores pure awareness through the metaphor of music. Our thoughts, emotions, and experiences are like notes and movements in a symphony, while awareness is the quiet listening that allows everything to arise and pass without resistance. 

Rather than trying to control or eliminate difficult emotions, Zen invites us to listen to them with compassion. Awakening isn't about becoming a better “conductor” of life, but relaxing into the realization that life is already unfolding. 

The central insight is impermanence: thoughts, feelings, relationships, and even moments arise and disappear, while awareness remains present. The deepest question becomes not “What am I hearing?” but “What is listening?”

In short:
The notes come and go. The silence remains. Life is the symphony; awareness is the listening.

Our mission is to foster a diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to awakening through Buddhist teachings promoting personal and interpersonal healing with ethical compassionate action.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/

Metacognition, Finders and the Three Turnings - Ekai Joel Kreisberg - August 8th, 2026

Ekai Joel Kreisberg explains metacognition as “thinking about awareness” and connects it to Zen, Mondo Zen, and Buddhist practice. The practice develops through four stages: receptive, active, reciprocal, and interpenetrative - moving from recognizing awareness within oneself to embodying it in relationship with others and eventually seeing awareness as pervasive.

Mondo Zen and emotional koans help take awakening off the meditation cushion and into everyday life, especially when we are triggered or interacting with others. The Sangha becomes essential because relationships reveal our shadows and give us opportunities to practice compassion, insight, and awakening.

The central message is, awakening isn't just an experience we have during meditation; it's a way of showing up in every moment. Metacognitive awareness helps us notice when we forget, remember our practice, and consciously choose how we respond. 

Our mission is to foster a diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to awakening through Buddhist teachings promoting personal and interpersonal healing with ethical compassionate action.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/

You have to be Somebody before you become Nobody - Hosho Don Koehler - July 11th, 2026 - WSP26

Hosho Don Koehler explores the apparent tension between developing a healthy sense of self and the Buddhist teaching of non-self, arguing that they are complementary rather than contradictory. Drawing on psychology and Buddhism, he explains that the self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic process shaped through relationships, especially early attachment and being genuinely seen by others.

The talk emphasizes that a stable, healthy sense of self is often necessary before the liberating insight of non-self can be safely realized. Hence Jack Engler's phrase, "You have to be somebody before you can be nobody." Rather than denying the self, Buddhism reveals its interdependent, impermanent nature, freeing us from the burden of defending a separate identity.

Hosho concludes that healing relationships, loving-kindness practice, and a supportive sangha help repair insecure attachment and cultivate the inner stability needed for awakening. In this way, community and compassionate connection are not separate from the Dharma, they are the Dharma itself.

Our mission is to foster a diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to awakening through Buddhist teachings promoting personal and interpersonal healing with ethical compassionate action.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/

Metacognitive Monitoring: Pointing Out Instructions Versus Zen Koans - Ekai Joel Kreisberg - July 25th, 2026

In this talk, Ekai Joel Kreisberg explores metacognitive awareness, the practice of becoming aware of awareness itself. Drawing from Zen, Mondo Koans and pointing out instructions, he explains how reflective awareness deepens meditation, supports emotional intelligence and transforms awakening from a fleeting experience into a lifelong practice. Learn how koans train the mind to recognize awakened awareness in every moment and how metacognition can help you navigate both meditation and daily life with greater clarity and presence.   

Our mission is to foster a diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to awakening through Buddhist teachings promoting personal and interpersonal healing with ethical compassionate action.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/

The interview traces Zenko’s journey from early interests in martial arts, poetry, and meditation to a deep commitment to Zen practice. Through experiences with the Mankind Project, Warrior Monk training, Hollow Bones Zen, and Mondo Zen, he developed a path centered on self-discovery, compassion, service, and holding space for others. As he prepares for ordination as a Zen priest, his vision is to build community, teach meditation, and help people face life with greater clarity and awareness.

Our mission is to foster a diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to awakening through Buddhist teachings promoting personal and interpersonal healing with ethical compassionate action.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/

Walking the Silver River - Ming Po Larry Matthews - June 27, 2026 - WSP26

Ming Po Larry Matthews explains that the spiritual path is not separate from ordinary life, it is found in each moment, each breath, and every daily challenge. Drawing on the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, he encourages meeting life with mindful awareness rather than trying to escape or perfect it. 

The talk emphasizes noticing the small space before reacting, allowing mindfulness to replace automatic habits with wise and compassionate choices. True compassion begins with kindness toward ourselves, naturally extending to others. Letting go of the need to be right creates openness, understanding and freedom. When we forget, we simply begin again, remembering that the path is always here, in this present moment. 

Our mission is to foster a diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to awakening through Buddhist teachings promoting personal and interpersonal healing with ethical compassionate action.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/

How to Work with Emotional Koans - Part 2 - Ekai Joel Kreisberg - WSP26 - May 30th, 2026

Ekai Joel Kreisberg explains that Junpo Roshi’s emotional koans (11–13) were designed to bring Zen practice into everyday life by helping practitioners work skillfully with emotional reactivity. Rather than suppressing or bypassing feelings, he encourages slowing down and fully experiencing emotions through a process of recognition, acceptance, self-compassion, and ownership. By understanding that emotions are neither positive nor negative but valuable sources of information, practitioners can uncover what truly matters to them, take responsibility for their reactions, and respond from awakened awareness rather than habit. The practice transforms emotional triggers into opportunities for insight, compassion, and growth in relationships and daily life.

Our mission is to foster a diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to awakening through Buddhist teachings promoting personal and interpersonal healing with ethical compassionate action.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/

Shuso Ceremony - Dharma Reflection - Why Climb a Mountain - Zen Ko Ryan Harriott - June 13th, 2026

Zen Ko Ryan Harriott compares Zen practice to climbing a mountain, teaching that progress requires the three pillars of Zen: great faith, great doubt, and great determination. Through stories of rock climbing, he explains that obstacles are part of the path, and by trusting, questioning, and persevering, we develop clarity, compassion, and a deeper connection with all life.

Our mission is to foster a diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to awakening through Buddhist teachings promoting personal and interpersonal healing with ethical compassionate action.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/   

The Background Hum: Why More Insight Doesn't Produce More Freedom - Kenshin Cian Whalley - May 2nd, 2006

Kenshin talks about the “background hum” that is the constant mental effort of maintaining the self, such as planning, judging and creating stories to avoid uncertainty. Most self-work adds more layers to this narrator instead of freeing us. Zen points toward subtraction, not feeding the story, but resting in “I don’t know,” allowing uncertainty without needing control. The practice is not abandoning effort in life but starving the effort that keeps reinforcing the self.

Our mission is to foster a diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to awakening through Buddhist teachings promoting personal and interpersonal healing with ethical compassionate action.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/