On Alienation and Intimacy

This talk was given as part of a Weekend Sitting at the Boulder Zen Center. It examines the feeling of alienation that comes from the mental construction of a separate self with an internal and an external space. What is the cure for such alienation? Learning to locate ourselves in an experiential space, in which all the contents of our lives (the physical world as well as our feelings and thoughts) are allowed to happen just as they are happening. Despite the serious personal and societal problems we face in this complicated world, we can discover that the experience of being alive is magnificent and luminous. This is intimacy! – the feeling that all that appears right now is my life right now. This intimacy exists before thought and thus separation arises. Zazen is a way to make this intimate, luminous space before thought arises our true home.

Welcome to Zen Mind!

Love the dharma talks and want to hear more? Become a Premium Podcast subscriber for only $9/month. Dive deeper into the topics through Q&A sessions related to each of the talks. You can even ask questions of your own through the 'Ask Me Anything' platform and gain access to previously unpublished talks from intensives. Learn more here: https://zenmind.supercast.com/

We have a NEW, self-paced course, "Undivided Activity", now available! In this course, Zenki Roshi offers a complete commentary and experiential translation in a series of talks on Dogen's essay 'Undivided Activity'. Learn more and purchase the course here: https://www.boulderzen.org/undivided-activity

See all events and join our mailing list at www.boulderzen.org. Email us at [email protected].

If you're enjoying these talks, please subscribe and leave us a rating or review!

Zenki Christian Dillo Roshi is the the guiding teacher at the Boulder Zen Center in Colorado, USA. This podcast shares the regular dharma talks given at the center. Zenki Roshi approaches Zen practice as a craft of transformation, liberation, wisdom and compassionate action. His interest is to bring Buddhism alive within the Western cultural context, while staying committed to the traditional emphasis on embodiment.