In this talk Hogen continues his talks from Thich Naht Hanh's Art of Living book. In this talk, Hogen explores the Kalama Sutta and Thich Nhat Hanh’s reflections on how to cultivate true faith through direct experience rather than blind belief. We look deeply at how the Buddha encouraged the use of our own critical mind to investigate teachings for ourselves. Through practices like loving-kindness, compassion, and equanimity, we learn to discern what reduces suffering and brings peace. This living, ongoing inquiry keeps our spiritual path alive, fresh, and deeply authentic.

In this talk Jogen discusses how our past actions effect our current state of mind. He also discusses how our practice in the present day is a gift to our future selves even though we may not see the direct benefits yet. This talk was given during the Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple Wednesday night program on June 18, 2025.

This is the third talk of the 2025 Metta Sesshin at GVZM. In this talk Jogen talks about the heart as a "spiritual organ". He talks about the mind and our cultivation of a kind heart amidst the complications of our daily lives.

This is the second talk of the 2025 Metta Sesshin at GVZM. In this talk Jomon discusses love and appreciation. What do these words really mean, and how to they relate to our lives, right here and now?

This talk was given during the 2025 Loving-Kindness Sesshin at GVZM. This is the first talk of the sesshin. In this talk Jogen discusses Loving-Kindness in general and how we can view metta through a lens of universal friendless.

In this talk Jogen replies to a number of questions from practitioners during the Heart of Wisdom Wednesday night program on June 4 2025. Some questions include: Why is consciousness not the self? How to I balance striving, and relaxing and opening up? How do I balance enjoying pleasure and not attaching to it in my practice?

This is the fifth talk in a series on the Art of Living By Thich Naht Hanh. Hogen dicusses what he calls the physics of reality. He discusses impermanence and how it changes how we relate to our live and our sense of aliveness.

This talk is the fourth talk in a series on Thich Naht Hanh's book The Art of Living. In this talk Hogen continues to discuss chapter 1 of the book. He talks about our assumptions of who we think we are and how we can open to a more spacious view in our everyday lives.