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 22: Hope

    April 3rd, 2020  |  25 mins 40 secs

    In these times, we need hope. Jundo and Kirk discuss how we can cultivate hope. And we learn that the name for the Zen of Everything podcast in Japanese would be Zen no Zen.

  • Episode 21: Zen in Quarantine

    March 20th, 2020  |  23 mins 18 secs

    With many people going into quarantine, Jundo and Kirk discuss how this time can be beneficial, and how washing your hands can be the act of a Boddhisatva.

  • Episode 20: Zen in the Time of Coronavirus

    March 7th, 2020  |  27 mins 18 secs

    With a potential pandemic looming, Jundo and Kirk talk about rumors, unreasonable and reasonable fear, plagues of the past and today, and a good Zen attitude to sickness and death.

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    Episode 19: Original Buddhism, Changing Buddhism

    February 21st, 2020  |  26 mins 3 secs

    What is "original Buddhism?" In the absence of texts from the Buddha's times, how can we know what the Buddha really taught? And how does the corpus of later texts help us understand Buddhism?

  • Episode 18: The Zen of Kids

    February 7th, 2020  |  28 mins 54 secs

    Jundo and Kirk talk about zen and parenting.

  • Episode 17: Is Zen Hard or Easy?

    January 24th, 2020  |  27 mins 43 secs

    Jundo and Kirk discuss "hard" and "easy" zen. Has zen become too easy? Is it too hard? You are New York all along.

  • Episode 16: War - What Is it Good For?

    January 10th, 2020  |  30 mins 56 secs

    Jundo and Kirk talk about zen and war. How should zen practitioners act when faced with war? How can we prevent war?

  • Episode 15: I'm Dreaming of a Zen Christmas

    December 27th, 2019  |  29 mins 55 secs

    Jundo and Kirk discuss how Christmas and Zen can find common ground, and discuss their favorite Zen Christmas carols.

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    Episode 14: What Is the Sound of One Kōan Clapping?

    December 13th, 2019  |  28 mins 4 secs

    You've probably heard about kōans, those enigmatic zen dialogs that make no sense. Jundo and Kirk discuss the origin and history of kōans, what they mean, how they work, and what the sound of one hand clapping really is.

  • Episode 13: Meditation Is Easy

    November 29th, 2019  |  25 mins 31 secs

    Is meditation easy? Is it difficult? Jundo and Kirk talk about shikantaza meditation and the importance of intention. And Jundo discuss his patented Insta-Zen technique.

  • Episode 12: One Is the One

    November 15th, 2019  |  27 mins 40 secs

    Jundo and Kirk discuss the idea of oneness. The good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly are all facets of the great jewel. One ain't just one thing ... or one ... or a thing ...

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    Episode 11: The Dokusan Room is Kinda Baloney

    November 1st, 2019  |  29 mins 5 secs

    Jundo and Kirk discuss the Dokusan room, the place where the teacher tests students and students test the teacher. What goes on can be romanticized and overemphasized, misused and misunderstood (especially by modern westerners), yet greatness sometimes happens too.

  • Episode 10: Zen in the West and Zen in Japan

    October 18th, 2019  |  30 mins 19 secs

    Jundo and Kirk discuss differences between the way zen is practiced in the west compared to in Japan.

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    Episode 9: Favorites

    October 4th, 2019  |  27 mins 40 secs

    Jundo and Kirk talk discuss favorites. What is the best ice cream flavor? What is the best fruit? Do favorites matter? Do appearances matter?

  • Episode 8: Things Aren't That Bad

    September 20th, 2019  |  28 mins 27 secs

    Jundo and Kirk talk about how bad or good things are in the world. Things really aren't as bad as they may seem if you watch the news too much.

  • Episode 7: Zen and Religion, Sutra Thumpers, and Mindfulness Meditation

    September 6th, 2019  |  24 mins 8 secs

    Jundo and Kirk discuss whether you can practice Zen Buddhism if you are a Christian, Jew, Muslim, or believer in another religion.