What do people regret most at the end of life, and what can those regrets teach us about practice now?

Drawing on the five regrets of the dying and the fears that shape the small self, Sensei Michael Brunner explores courage, authenticity, friendship, livelihood, and the urgency of using our time well. This talk is a direct reminder that Zen practice is not about avoiding life, but meeting it fully, facing what we fear, and refusing to squander the life we have.

In Book of Serenity Case 63, “Jōshū Asks About Death,” Jōshū asks what happens when one who has experienced the “great death” returns to life. Tōsu’s answer points beyond insight itself and toward the harder question: how do we actually live after seeing through the stories that define us?

In this talk, Sensei Michael Brunner reflects on the dropping away of the small self, the danger of Zen sickness and spiritual bypassing, and the necessity of returning fully to ordinary life. Practice is not an escape from suffering, responsibility, or relationship. It is learning to meet them directly and respond with clarity, compassion, and skill.

In Blue Cliff Record Case 3, “Master Ma Is Unwell,” the great Zen teacher Mazu Daoyi is asked about his failing health. His answer is simple: “Sun-faced Buddha, moon-faced Buddha.”

In this talk, Sensei Michael Brunner explores what it means to meet both vitality and decline with equanimity, to loosen our grip on fixed stories about ourselves, and to remain open to the whole of life. Along the way, he turns to Hakuin’s famous “Is that so?” as a vivid example of compassion without defensiveness and practice without escape.

In Blue Cliff Record Case 36, “Chōsha Roams the Mountains,” Chōsha returns from the mountains and says, “First, I followed the fragrant grasses on the way out. Then I came back, pursuing the falling flowers.”

What does it mean to move through life so fully that the self is forgotten? In this talk, Sensei Michael Brunner explores direct experience, dropping away, and the practice of coming home to the life that is already here.

In Blue Cliff Record Case 40, “Nansen’s ‘This Flower,’” a profound Buddhist teaching is answered with something far simpler: a flower in the garden. What is the difference between understanding the Dharma and actually seeing what is right in front of us?

In this talk, Sensei Michael Brunner explores beginner’s mind, samadhi, prajna, and the danger of allowing even spiritual teachings to harden into fixed ideas. Nansen’s flower points us back to direct experience, before judgment, explanation, and certainty take over.

Sensei Michael Brunner explores Dōgen’s Uji (Being-Time) and why Zen practice begins by fully inhabiting the life, conditions, and challenges already here.

A Zen teaching on Book of Equanimity Case 45, “The Sutra of Complete Awakening,” exploring delusion, uncertainty, Great Doubt, and what happens when we stop trying to fix ourselves and meet life directly.