Being Here & Nowhere Else | Koshin Paley Ellison

“How often do you live in fear of what is going to happen?” 

 

Can you actually be where you are and nowhere else? In this talk, Koshin Sensei explores this simple question as an invitation to experience its truth in your everyday life. Zen ceremonies are about bringing your mind’s full attention to this moment. Koshin asks, can you see that your whole life is a ceremony?

 

Through the teachings of Dogen and Kodo Sawaki, we learn how to trust being nowhere else. Can we notice how fears and shadows take us away from the here and now and out of relationship? We create harm when everything is about the small self. The world narrows, fractures, and dims when it’s all about ‘me’. When we are actually here with each other and fully in our bodies, we nurture the buddha seeds of kindness, connection, and joy.

 

ZENTALK NOTES

Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year.

 

MUSIC

Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

 

NYZC PUBLICATIONS

 

CONNECT WITH US

Instagram

Facebook

X (Twitter)

Donate

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Add your info below to get our free monthly email with upcoming events, featured podcasts and special content on Zen and contemplative caregiving.

By submitting this form, you are consenting that you have read and agree to our privacy policy.