Blue Collar Zen

Jul 04 2024 22 ep. 43 mins 315

Blue Collar Zen Podcast artwork

Come into the tea-room & with Zen monks Hwalson, and his student Myungju, at the Detroit Zen Center, as they read spiritual folk-tales, and share conversations about them.

Religion & Spirituality

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Tumbledown Sage

Jul 04 2024 38 mins

The extreme punishment for a thief -- his foot is chopped off -- transforms him into a sage. Join us in the tea room as Sunim reads the story of the great sage Tumbledown, as told by Confucius, and then he and Myungju discuss the way forward for all of us to become free.

Of Fire and Weeds

May 03 2024 35 mins

A story within a story. An unremarkable monk, a scholar, a young disciple. A loving wife, a foolish husband. Their lives separated by time, yet cross on a mountain-top, fire & weeds their teachers. ------------------------ We are seeking podcast support. Blue Collar Zen Podcast is a free offering, and we want to keep it that way, but need support. To date we have received less

The Old Man with a Broken Arm

Mar 22 2024 39 mins

War: The curse of humanity. An old man with a wrangled & broken arm shares his story from youth, of being the lone surviving man in the entire region, of a long & bloody war in 8th century China that killed 10 million men over the course of decades. A story in the book of prose & poems by Po Ch'u I, a famous poet & Taoist of 8th century China. Translated by Dav

Cutting Up the Ox

Feb 07 2024 34 mins

A simple cook shares the Way of Tao with his ruler (the Emperor).

The 4 Adepts

Jan 28 2023 63 mins

Yielding, with the 4 Adepts from the Chuang Tzu The 4 Adepts is a story read from the Chuang Tzu. Story read by Abbot Hwalson Sunim, then a conversation afterward together with Vice-Abbot Myungju Sunim. On the 4 Adepts (Taoist Sages): As Adept Cart becomes sick and faces death, he shares with us & his fellow sages his own fearless and yielding view of death, as a si

Let Go

May 20 2022 55 mins

LET GO by Zen Master Daehaeng A man journeys home through the misty mountains of old Korea. But as previous karma follows him, he meets with unexpected fortune, & terror. Letting Go, written by Zen Master Daehaeng, presents us with a story we can all relate to. Zen Master Daehaeng (1927 - 2012) was a Buddhist nun began her spiritual life at the age of 8 in Kore

Red Bean Porridge Bubbling

Feb 18 2022 57 mins

Enter the world of Zen nuns. A common kitchen nun finds her teacher's instruction simple enough, but eventually the endless work & burden of cooking in the zen community becomes a serious complication in her quest for mental, emotional & spiritual peace. Frustrated, hastily she makes the fire to prepare the winter solstice dish -- red bean porridge -- and winds

A Little Talk about Evening Things Out

Dec 25 2021 55 mins

Six thousand years ago two folks were having a walk in the mountains. They were Taoist sages, which simply means they were very sincere & accomplished spiritual practitioners. Master Timid Magpie asked the elder Master Noble Tree a question about the Way of things. Some questions are timeless, felt in the heart of ancient humans as deeply as we feel them in our own

On the Road Home

Jun 10 2021 60 mins

Abbot Yang Chu is excited to hear that his master Lao Tzu is on his way back from his remote hermitage. He drops everything to travel up to meet his teacher on the road home.

Layman Pusol, Part 2

Mar 29 2021 50 mins

This episode follows the second part of Pusol's life, and his death.