The Zen of Everything

A zen take on life, love, laughter, and everything else.

About the show

The Zen of Everything presents a zen take on life, love, laughter, and everything else. With Jundo Cohen, a real zen master, and Kirk McElhearn, a guy who knows a bit about zen.

Episodes

  • Episode 44: Binging & Moderation

    February 5th, 2021  |  24 mins 48 secs

    How do we control our habits in eating Oreos, watching TV series, and more? How do we watch Game of Thrones as zen practitioners? Is it okay to binge all the Star Wars movies?

  • Episode 43: Instructions for the Cook

    January 22nd, 2021  |  24 mins 34 secs

    The tenzo manages food in Zen monasteries: he is the head chef, the person responsible for ensuring that monks are fed. One of Dogen's most approachable texts is the Tenzo Kyokun, Instructions for the Cook, where he discusses not just cooking soup, but cooking all of life.

  • Episode 42: Ego

    January 8th, 2021  |  26 mins 12 secs

    The ego can be big or small, solid or permeable. Is the "ego" the "self," and when is ours too big?

  • Episode 41: Miracles

    December 25th, 2020  |  25 mins 43 secs

    Miracles are everywhere, in the tiniest blade of grass, in the noisiest sneeze, in the simplest loaf of bread.

  • Episode 40: Change

    December 11th, 2020  |  25 mins 16 secs

    "Nothing is still, everything is constantly in motion," says Jundo, as we discuss the one constant in the universe: change.

  • Episode 39: Nature

    November 27th, 2020  |  22 mins 24 secs

    It can be good to get out in nature, even to do naked forest bathing. Jundo and Kirk discuss how nature is important to Zen.

  • Episode 38: Reconciliation

    November 13th, 2020  |  26 mins 9 secs

    After the results of the presidential election in the United States, Jundo and Kirk talk about reconciliation.

  • Episode 37: The Zen Master's Dance

    October 30th, 2020  |  24 mins 5 secs

    Jundo has a new book out: The Zen Master's Dance, A Guide to Understanding Dogen and Who You Are in the Universe. He and Kirk discuss Dogen, the book, and how to dance.

  • Episode 36: A Zen Guide to Elections

    October 16th, 2020  |  22 mins 14 secs

    Without endorsing any particular candidate, Kirk and Jundo talk about how Buddhist values and Precepts should guide the voter in elections in the U.S. and other countries.

  • Episode 35: Karma

    October 2nd, 2020  |  26 mins 2 secs

    Good karma, bad karma, everyone knows about karma, right? Jundo and Kirk discuss what karma means, and how you count your karma points.

  • Episode 34: How an Online Sangha Works

    September 18th, 2020  |  27 mins 16 secs

    Treeleaf is an online sangha, and has been around since 2006. How does a sangha work when members don't meet each other physically?

  • Episode 33: Competition

    September 4th, 2020  |  24 mins

    Is zen competitive? Is competition a bad thing?

  • Episode 32: Happiness

    August 21st, 2020  |  28 mins 21 secs

    Can zen make you happy? Should it?

  • Episode 31: The Precepts

    August 7th, 2020  |  29 mins

    There are a number of precepts that have to be followed by Zen practitioners. Jundo and Kirk discuss these precepts, and how strict they are.

  • Episode 30: Rituals

    July 24th, 2020  |  27 mins 45 secs

    There are a lot of rituals in Zen. Where do they come from? Why are they still performed? And what's the thing about the number 108?

  • Episode 29: Zensex

    July 10th, 2020  |  26 mins 19 secs

    Many Zen priests in Japanese Buddhism have active sex lives, others are celibate. We discuss how Buddhism treats sex, and how it makes the world go around.