S E R I E S

    Gateway Talks

    Here you will find podcast to download on all aspects of Buddhist teachings and training for study and practice.

    E P I S O D E S

    E P I S O D E   53

    Why do you worship?

    Worship in Zen is not the worship of a god, a self or even a transcendent self, it is the laying down of 'I'.

    E P I S O D E   52

    This is Just This

    When Master Daibai was about to die, he said to his monks: ‘What comes is not to be avoided, what goes is not to be followed.’ A little afterwards he heard a...

    E P I S O D E   51

    The Purpose of Life

    What is the difference between a life with meaning and one with purpose? Rinzai points to something profound in the universe that is meaningful and yet...

    E P I S O D E   50

    From Inner Lack to Inner Stillness

    ‘From the High Seat, the master said: “One is on the way for aeons without leaving his house; one  leaves his house without being on the way. Which one is...

    E P I S O D E   49

    Sokei-an's Traffic Lights

    To enter in the state of Zen we must also be in harmony with the situation we find ourselves in. This is how.

    E P I S O D E   48

    Rinzai’s instruction to commit the Five Heinous Crimes

    Zen Master Rinzai instructs us to draw blood from a Buddha, to kill our fathers and slay our mothers but is he really pointing to?

    E P I S O D E   47

    Why do we chant The Repentance Sutra?

    Troubleshooting Zen Study & Practice
    If feelings of shame and guilt reinforce the delusion of 'I', why is the Repentance Sutra seen as one of the most important daily chants in the Zen...

    E P I S O D E   46

    Step Carefully

    In this talk Martin explores the subject of the heart’s aspiration, and how it may be awakened in an encounter with the Buddha and his teachings, leading to...

    E P I S O D E   45

    Rinzai’s Attention to the Smallest Detail

    Master Rinzai explains how a teacher might use circumstances to wake students out of their slumber.

    E P I S O D E   44

    Getting Beyond Light and Shade

    Master Rinzai exhorts us to focus our attention on liberation and awakening and not to get distracted by the world.

    E P I S O D E   43

    The Three Types of Zen Students

    We look at the three different classes of Zen students and why the teaching methods of the Zen masters can sometimes seem so bizarre.

    E P I S O D E   42

    Win the Game or Lose your Head!

    A Rohatsu Dharma Talk
    Disillusionment and failure can become the vehicle for our liberation.

    E P I S O D E   41

    Death’s Three Messengers

    A young man on his wedding day finds himself standing in front of Yama, Lord and Judge of the Dead.

    E P I S O D E   40

    Rinzai 35: Do not follow the 10,000 things

    What is the difference between the regular way of grasping the world which causes suffering and the Zen state of mind that is free from it?

    E P I S O D E   39

    Do you know Buddha from Mara?

    To escape samsara we must first know the difference between Buddha and Mara. Because of the illusory nature of our world this is a difficult task indeed.

    E P I S O D E   38

    Master Rinzai's medicine for anxiety

    What is our true nature and how can we come to realise it?

    E P I S O D E   37

    Rinzai’s 'look for him before you'

    "Your physical body, formed by the four elements, cannot understand the Dharma you are listening to; nor can your spleen, stomach, liver or gall; nor...

    E P I S O D E   36

    Rest the Heart

    How can we meditate regardless of whether conditions are pleasant or unpleasant?

    E P I S O D E   35

    What do I really want?

    Martin explores what the heart really wants and how to discover it.

    E P I S O D E   34

    Shishi and the Knife

    Shi Tou asks Shishi for a knife but instead receives illumination. We take a look at what this unusual exchange is all about.

    E P I S O D E   33

    Bai Jiyu and Jingzhao Discuss Opposites and the Illusory Power of Words.

    Before thinking of good or bad, what is your true face?

    E P I S O D E   32

    The Buddha is a Privy Hole!

    Why were the Zen masters so disrespectful to the Buddha?

    E P I S O D E   31

    The Tricky Relationship between Practice and Insight

    Master Rinzai tells us that if we want to act we should just act, but how can we do that when so much of Zen practice prevents me from doing just that?

    E P I S O D E   30

    The Great Way is not Difficult

    The 3rd patriarch of Zen says, ‘The Great Way is not difficult, it merely avoids picking and choosing.’ This week’s Gateway Talk unpacks what these lines...

    E P I S O D E   29

    Nothing Further To Seek is Attaining the Dharma

    “What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West?" Martin explains this famous Zen Koan.

    E P I S O D E   28

    Throwing Oneself Into Fire to Avoid Being Downed

    Because of our tendency to view opposites as being in conflict with each other, we can't see situations clearly. Martin reveals how we can use skillful...

    E P I S O D E   27

    Daito Kokushi's Admonition

    Before his death he gave his admonition to his monk which gives the essence of his teaching and points to just that which is most important for the training...

    E P I S O D E   26

    Rinzai’s Neither Outside nor Inside

    Is the truth within us or outside of us?

    E P I S O D E   25

    Just Be Your Ordinary Selves

    The state of enlightenment points to something far more ordinary than we might assume.

    E P I S O D E   24

    The Knower, The God of Buddhism

    Who is the one who sees, hears and smells? Who is the doer? Who is the one who knows?

    E P I S O D E   23

    Bankei’s ‘Unborn’

    If the natural state of mind is the Buddha mind why don’t we recognise it?

    E P I S O D E   22

    Records of the Transmission of the Lamp Vol. 2: Da'an's exchange with...

    There is a quiet a spaciousness that already exists within us, but how do we find it?

    E P I S O D E   21

    Whose Song Do You Sing?

    Although the Buddha’s teachings appear to come from the outside the Heart-Mind is their original source.

    E P I S O D E   20

    The Seed Shop

    How to let causes and conditions (or Karma) work in your favor.

    E P I S O D E   19

    The Ever Turning Wheel | Part II

    The Buddha said that to understand the teaching of the '12 Linked Chain of Causation' was to understand the Dharma itself. In this talk we take a...

    E P I S O D E   18

    Master Taian and the Old Gentleman

    In this talk we take a look at the effect that culture has on our development and the difference between loneliness and being alone.

    E P I S O D E   17

    The Ever-Turning Wheel | Part 1

    In this introduction to ‘The wheel of life’ we unpack the esoteric imagery contained within this universal piece of Buddhist iconography.

    E P I S O D E   16

    Bodhidharma Reverence -  The Way to the One Heart.

    When we hear the word ‘reverence’ in a religious context, this may give the impression that we should be apologetically meek in the face of a god who may...

    E P I S O D E   15

    Dogen’s Falling Flowers

    What does liberation really mean for Buddhists? Master Dogen says, ‘The flower petals fall though we love them, the weeds grow though we hate them - that is...

    E P I S O D E   14

    Ceasing of Notions

    What is the difference between knowing in the head and wisdom in the body and how does this work in practice?

    E P I S O D E   13

    Rohatsu Week Talk 2021

    Martin Goodson takes us through the inspiring journey of the Buddha's life and enlightenment, a journey that in some sense we must all take when walking...

    E P I S O D E   12

    Form Practice in Zen Training

    This podcast talk explores the importance of posture, deportment and energy training in the wholehearted application of daily life practice.

    E P I S O D E   11

    Practice Makes Perfect

    The Zen Gateway Talks
    The Buddha’s formula of The Triple Wisdom shows us how to practice effectively.

    E P I S O D E   10

    Master Sessan’s Three Tips for Zen Training

    “Master Sessan said: ‘In our daily life we should remember three things: joining the palms as in prayer; bowing as in worship; and charity.

    E P I S O D E   9

    The Four Foundations of Mindful Awareness: Mindfulness of Dharmas

    Dharma Talks 
    In this talk we look at the five hindrances and how they relate to the final foundation of mind, awareness of mind objects.

    E P I S O D E   8

    The Four Foundations of Mindful Awareness: Mind

    From the buddhist perspective mind includes more than just thinking. It is the place where all experience can be experienced.

    E P I S O D E   7

    The Four Foundations of Mindfulness Awareness: Sensation

    A Dharma Talk
    Mindfulness of 'feeling' is key to habit formation. How do we undo unskilful habits and create more skilful behaviours in our lives? This podcast...

    E P I S O D E   6

    The Four Foundations of Mindful Awareness: Body

    A teaching that provides the foundation for Buddhist practice, as taught by the historical Buddha Gautuma.

    E P I S O D E   5

    Introduction to The Four Foundations of Mindfulness Scripture

    In this talk we examine the fundamentals of mindfulness

    E P I S O D E   4

    The Lotus Sutra

    The Sutra of Innumerable Means
    'Skilful Means' is a central plank of a bodhisattva's training. In this extract the Buddha makes this skill central to realisation and...

    E P I S O D E   3

    The Three Temptations of Māra

    A Rohatsu Week Talk
    The three temptations take place as the ascetic Gautama sits under the Bodhi Tree in his final attempt to see into the nature of reality and become free from...

    E P I S O D E   2

    Podcast: A Passage from the Diamond Sutra (1)

    The Diamond Sutra is part of the Great Heart of Wisdom cycle of scriptures. In this talk: karma, self and no-self; the bodhisattva path and nested selves.

    E P I S O D E   1

    Unpacking Desire

    A talk about desire and what the Buddha means in the Second Noble Truth.
    What is wrong with desire anyway? Why did the Buddha link it to suffering? This talk investigates what the Buddha was talking about when he refers to it in...
    More from Gateway Talks

    Kyogen’s Real Poverty

    There is a barrier that obstructs enlightenment, what will we need to break through it? For Master Kyogen it was just a pebble hitting a bamboo trunk.

    Why do we Bow?

    Fundamentals of Zen

    Martin Goodson explains why ‘the bow’ is such important part of Zen practice.

    At Home with The Zen Gateway

    A series of live-streamed Dharma talks given on Facebook and posted up on YouTube during the COVID-19 lockdown. The talks were based on stories from The Wisdom of the Zen Masters by Irmgard Schloegl.