Teachings about Buddhist practice in the Serene Reflection Meditation (Soto Zen) tradition from the monks at Shasta Abbey Buddhist Monastery.Learn more at: shastaabbey.orgVideo recordings of talks are uploaded to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ShastaAbbeyDharmaTalksfind us on twitter: @shastaabbeyfacebook & instagram
How to Cultivate Trust in the Buddha’s Teaching: Part 2
Rev. Enya Sapp continues with the theme of cultivating faith and trust in the Buddha's teaching. The Practice frees us from the obstacles of our suffering, but we must have the trust to be willing to put the teachings into practice. This talk was given at Shasta Abbey on Sunday June 21, 2026. YouTube: https://youtu.be/Iubb5gX4zUk Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Podcast Programming Update
Rev. Allard introduces a new programming idea for the Shasta Abbey Podcast. New podcast email: podcast@shastaabbey.org
Vigor–Joyful effort
Rev. Daishin Yalon talks about the Buddhist virtue of joyful effort or Virya in Sanskrit. He encourages us to cultivate a stillness within the activity of our every day lives that is bright and energetic. This talk was given at Shasta Abbey on Sunday, June 14, 2026. YouTube: https://youtu.be/W_lQt1OdkLI Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Law of Karma Retreat: Talk 7, Relative and Absolute Truth in Relation to Karma
Rev. Amanda Robertson led a week long retreat at Shasta Abbey, June 21-28 2026, looking at the Buddha's teaching of Karma. Her talks guide us toward how we can work with Karma in our own practice, and understand it for ourselves. YouTube: https://youtu.be/8KE_eHi62Uc Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Law of Karma Retreat: Talk 6, Karma and Past Lives
Rev. Amanda Robertson led a week long retreat at Shasta Abbey, June 21-28 2026, looking at the Buddha's teaching of Karma. Her talks guide us toward how we can work with Karma in our own practice, and understand it for ourselves. YouTube: https://youtu.be/muTgIGzuczU Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Law of Karma Retreat: Talk 5, Rebirth and Karma
Rev. Amanda Robertson led a week long retreat at Shasta Abbey, June 21-28 2026, looking at the Buddha's teaching of Karma. Her talks guide us toward how we can work with Karma in our own practice, and understand it for ourselves. YouTube: https://youtu.be/S4ey4fSCt0A Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Law of Karma Retreat: Talk 4, Cleansing Karma
Rev. Amanda Robertson led a week long retreat at Shasta Abbey, June 21-28 2026, looking at the Buddha's teaching of Karma. Her talks guide us toward how we can work with Karma in our own practice, and understand it for ourselves. YouTube: https://youtu.be/0dsoPX6Ol9A Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Law of Karma Retreat: Talk 3, Precepts and Karma
Rev. Amanda Robertson led a week long retreat at Shasta Abbey, June 21-28 2026, looking at the Buddha's teaching of Karma. Her talks guide us toward how we can work with Karma in our own practice, and understand it for ourselves. YouTube: https://youtu.be/sQ0B43rUg6A Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Law of Karma Retreat: Talk 2, Overview of the Law of Karma
Rev. Amanda Robertson led a week long retreat at Shasta Abbey, June 21-28 2026, looking at the Buddha's teaching of Karma. Her talks guide us toward how we can work with Karma in our own practice, and understand it for ourselves. YouTube: https://youtu.be/fwn37lVcBFc Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Law of Karma Retreat: Talk 1, Introduction to Retreat
Rev. Amanda Robertson led a week long retreat at Shasta Abbey, June 21-28 2026, looking at the Buddha's teaching of Karma. Her talks guide us toward how we can work with Karma in our own practice, and understand it for ourselves. YouTube: https://youtu.be/Q1pn_yntRDc Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Buddha Nature
Rev. Sanshin Alexander is a visiting monk from the community of Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey in Northumberland UK, and a disciple of Rev. Master Daishin Morgan. In this talk he explores the term 'Buddha Nature', using the ideas and teachings of Great Master Dogen and his work the Shobogenzo, to help us understand it and how we can know it for ourselves. This talk was given at Shasta Abbey on Sunday June 7, 2026. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv-KlxzVBAg Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Faith & Compassion
Rev. Allard Kieres explores the vital relationship between faith, doubt, and compassion within Zen practice, contrasting rigid "absolute faith" with the open, flexible "perfect faith" described by Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett. He redefines doubt not as the enemy of faith, but as a tool that sharpens it, describing faith as the willingness to take the next step in the dark even when the path is obscured by delusion or pain. Through personal stories—including a transformative encounter with a statue of Maitreya in college and a profound, comforting experience of Avalokiteshwara (Kanzeon) during a period of intense lay training—Rev. Allard illustrates how the universe compassionately waits for us without judgment or agenda. Ultimately, he argues that the conditions of daily life are not obstacles but friends meant for our spiritual good, and that the simple, quiet act of sitting in Zazen (meditation) is itself a profound expression of "great faith" that allows practitioners to harmonize with reality exactly as it is. This talk was given at Shasta Abbey on Sunday May 31, 2026. YouTube: https://youtu.be/MpkT91OY0b8 Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Prajnaparamita And Great Wisdom–Part 3: 8,000 Lines–Divine Mother
Rev. Oswin Hollenbeck explores Prajnaparamita as the "Perfection of Wisdom", specifically focusing on the 8,000-Line Prajnaparamita Sutra and her personification as the "Great Mother." Rev. Oswin discusses how this foundational Mahayana Buddhist teaching emphasizes transcendent wisdom, emptiness, and the nurturing, compassionate nature of enlightenment. Ultimately, the lecture serves as a guide on how practitioners can understand and embody this profound wisdom in their daily spiritual practice. This talk was given at Shasta Abbey on Sunday May 24, 2026. YouTube: https://youtu.be/woR7EWel1Gk Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
The Kindness of the Buddha!
Rev. Master Meian Elbert, Abbess of Shasta Abbey, gives a talk after the annual celebration of Wesak which celebrates the Buddha's life and teaching. She emphasizes that above all else, for her, it is the Buddha's kindness that shines forth as the supreme example of his life. This talk was given at Shasta Abbey on Sunday May 17, 2026. YouTube: https://youtu.be/Pt908DbVCwQ Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
The Honest Question
Rev. Valeria Allison explores the aspect of practice in which we must be willing to ask of our teachers and ourselves, 'The Honest Question', and how we find this for ourselves. This talk was given at Shasta Abbey on Sunday May 10, 2026. YouTube: https://youtu.be/dtILL-GtoPA Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Certainty
Rev. Margaret Clyde gives a talk about faith. She addresses the idea of having 'certainty' in our practice and faith of the Triple Treasure (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) and what that word means to her and how we might approach it. This talk was given at Shasta Abbey on Sunday May 3, 2026. YouTube: https://youtu.be/uwrQUsFD3d8 Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Great Master Keizan’s Encouragement to Pure Meditation
Rev. Ando Mueller talks about Great Master Keizan Jokin after his annual festival memorial. Master Keizan is considered the 'mother' of Soto Zen in Japan and is the monk after Master Dogen who is credited with making the practice accessible to the people. This talk was given at Shasta Abbey on Sunday April 19, 2026. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvV3D6ZfNZs Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Walking the Path
Rev. Astor Douglas addresses 'changing conditions' and how we approach this dynamic, often chaotic, reality of life. This talk was given at Shasta Abbey on Sunday April 12, 2026. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmmHGPp-w50 Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Simplicity
Rev. Master Meian Elbert, Abbess of Shasta Abbey, encourages us with a teaching on 'simplicity' in a world that seems like it is getting more and more complicated. This talk was given at Shasta Abbey on April 5, 2026. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPxC97Exf9I Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
Meditation and Soto Zen #9
Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett gives and explanation of the Denkoroku and how to study this particular text. This includes a look at what the traditional 'Transmission' is about. This talk is part of a lecture series given in 1979. YouTube: N/A Twitter/X: @shastaabbey
