Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, peace activist, and author - responds to questions from students in an inspiring manner based on his Zen practice and life experiences. He reminds the listener how to stay awake to life and understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly online meeting of questions & responses in spring 2022.

For more information: https://www.zaltho.org

If you want to ask Zen monk Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to info@zaltho.org.

Zen Book recommendations:
- Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021, also as audiobook)

- AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003, also as audiobook)

- On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024)

https://www.zaltho.org/zen-books-by-zen-monk-claude-anshin-thomas/

To support, donate.

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:
(1:47)
How is the Zaltho Zen community responding to the ongoing war in Ukraine?

(12:30)
As someone living in Hungary, there's a real possibility that the war could reach us. What should we do if that happens?

(18:18)
What emotions arise for you when you see images from the war in Ukraine?

(25:16)
What advice would you offer to President Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian government, and the Ukrainian people?

Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - responds to questions from students in an inspiring manner based on his Zen practice and life experiences. He reminds the listener how to stay awake to life and understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly online meeting of questions & responses.

For more information: https://www.zaltho.org

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to info@zaltho.org.

Book recommendations:

- Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021, also as audiobook)

- AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003, also as audiobook)

- On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024)

https://www.zaltho.org/zen-books-by-zen-monk-claude-anshin-thomas/

To support, donate.

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:

1:11 Are you initiating a new lineage?

2:14 During your pilgrimage from Auschwitz to Vietnam, did you encounter any teachers who were especially meaningful to you?

3:33 How do you sustain your curiosity about everything?

5:32 From your perspective, what makes a community truly meaningful or healthy?

7:04 How do you define self-esteem?

7:38 Do you believe that with heightened awareness, one can sense the movement of the planet?

8:36 Are there aspects of your conditioning that actually support your practice?

19:15 How do you care for yourself while also meeting the demands of others?

21:30 When I face an obstacle, should I focus on solving it directly, or shift to doing something different?

25:31 How do you recognize when your practice has weakened?

27:46 What is the current situation with COVID-19 in the U.S.?

32:46 Do you allow your practice to guide how you navigate your feelings?

36:55 While walking in Bosnia, were you aware you might be crossing a minefield?

46:18 Did your experience of living on the street help prepare you for being on pilgrimage?

Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - responds to questions from students in an inspiring manner based on his Zen practice and life experiences. He reminds the listener how to stay awake to life and understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly online meeting of questions & responses.

For more information: https://www.zaltho.org

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to info@zaltho.org.

Book recommendations:

- Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021, also as audiobook)

- AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003, also as audiobook)

- On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024)

https://www.zaltho.org/zen-books-by-zen-monk-claude-anshin-thomas/

To support, donate.

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:

01:14 – How has your spiritual practice affected how you relate to your body?

06:25 – Would you share a time when you intentionally practiced self-denial?

09:13 – How did you deal with the violence you experienced as a child?

11:34 – What’s your experience with what people call “wisdom”?

11:53 – How do you define delusion?

12:12 – Is action the absolute realm, and ideas the relative realm?

16:50 – What’s the purpose of the precept of chastity?

18:37 – What do the scrolls behind you say?

19:15 – Have you ever had an experience where the world told you the opposite of what you believed or saw?

21:13 – If action and observation are so different, what’s the value in just observing?

24:03 – Why do the icons on the altar have different hairstyles and robes?

25:19 – When you act spontaneously, are you ever afraid of making a mistake?

28:01 – Would you talk about building the zendo?

33:19 – Do you know when the drum was added to the Kan Ro Man?

34:29 – Has the way you do the Buddhist services changed over the years?

Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - speaks with veterans on the themes of personal transformation, the complexity of war, and the deep moral and spiritual inquiry reflected in the questions—while remaining short, impactful, and thought-provoking.

For more information: https://www.zaltho.org

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to info@zaltho.org.

Book recommendations:

- Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)

- AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

- On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024)

https://www.zaltho.org/zen-books-by-zen-monk-claude-anshin-thomas/

To support, donate.

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:
1:24 What was your process of discharging from the Army after the Vietnam War?

4:35 Would you expand on the topic of being both a victim and a perpetrator?

9:16 Would you speak on the practice of bearing witness?

12:25 How would you say the various war conflicts differ or are similar?

15:20 How do I sit with the realization that I am my own enemy?

18:42 Do you believe veterans deserve a special treatment?

23:00 How to you speak with people who are living in a country at war about the fact that violence is not a solution?

26:45 Did you educate yourself before you went into Bosnia Herzegovina?

Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - responds to questions from students in an inspiring manner based on his Zen practice and life experiences. He reminds the listener how to stay awake to life and understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly online meeting of questions & responses.

For more information: https://www.zaltho.org

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to info@zaltho.org.

Book recommendations:

- Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)

- AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

- On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024)

https://www.zaltho.org/books/

To support, donate.

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:

1:05 – What impresses you with Fayan Wenyi’s teachings?

1:16 – What is your perception of Pope Francis?

1:52 – What do you think of institutions of churches in general?

2:43 – When I remain silent, how can truth be recognized?

3:02 – What would you say is the difference between intellectualization versus study of a teaching?

4:14 – What is your position on dispute and on arguing?

6:13 – When you were on pilgrimage, what was it like to be refused when asking for food, shelter, or basic needs?

8:07 – Have you ever had any conversations with chaplains in the military about their role?

9:46 – How do you keep yourself from feeling superior?

11:38 – What is humanness for you?

12:23 – How has the transition been traveling from New England to Florida this last week?

13:41 – Do you ever talk about others errors and faults and if you always abstain from blaming and criticizing others?

15:23 – How important is it to take a break, relax, or to restore yourself?

16:24 – With getting older have you become more patient or impatient?

17:15 – Have you been inspired by Thomas Merton or Enomiya-LaSalle? And if so, how?

Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - responds to questions from students in an inspiring manner based on his Zen practice and life experiences. He reminds the listener how to stay awake to life and understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly online meeting of questions & responses.

For more information: https://www.zaltho.org

If you want to ask Zen monk Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to info@zaltho.org.

Zen Book recommendations:

- Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)

- AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

- On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024)

https://www.zaltho.org/books/

To support, donate.

Questions and Time Stamps:

1:16 What does the word “manifestation” mean to you?
2:45 What is the purpose of your observation about your cushion that you just shared?
7:10 Would you speak about your experience losing someone close to you?
14:28 Is there a specific ritual you do when a human or natural disaster occurs?
16:30 When you go to a prison, how do you work with the inmates?
18:30 Who or what supported you in becoming a better communicator?
24:46 What is Vietnam-Veterans-Day and what does it mean to you?
26:59 Is having a passion for practice ever problematic?
30:06 How did you start meditation groups in other countries?
38:06 Is following a daily series of specific actions a useful practice?
40:08 How do you relate to passion?
41:18 How do you deal with expecting too much of someone else?
47:50 Do you have an interest to go to Russia?

Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - responds to questions from students in an inspiring manner based on his Zen practice and life experiences. He reminds the listener how to stay awake to life and understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly online meeting of questions & responses.

For more information: https://www.zaltho.org

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to info@zaltho.org.

Book recommendations:
- Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)

- AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

- On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024)

https://www.zaltho.org/books/

To support, donate.

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:

2:31 How come you don’t sit Sundays during the online retreats with the Ukraine Zen group?

3:04 What is your relationship with sincerity?

4:39 After so many years of practice do you still plan things in your mind while sitting or rehearse the past?

7:52 When you are confronted with suffering, no matter from people or animals, do you sometimes get trapped in feelings like being desperate?

13:09 I am curious if you experience low moods for longer time periods?

16:28 How do you encounter physical pain?

20:08 What do you think about the notion of weeds in the garden?

23:23 Would you be willing to speak about your time in the peace movement?

28:49 Since nothing is purely bad, what can you see as a positive attribute of arrogance?

29:39 I am trying to decide if I should kill the rats in my yard?

33:20 Do you consider doing another pilgrimage?

33:33 What do you mean when you state that someone has to invite you for a pilgrimage?

34:58 How can I make sure a teacher is not trapped in conditioning, so I can trust his or her teachings?

37:17 How does what is going on in Germany look to you as an American?

Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - responds to questions from students in an inspiring manner based on his Zen practice and life experiences. He reminds the listener how to stay awake to life and understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a weekly online meeting of questions & responses.

For more information: https://www.zaltho.org

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to info@zaltho.org.

Book recommendations:
- Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021)
- AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)
- On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024)

https://www.zaltho.org/books/

To support, donate.

If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

1:13
How was the feedback and resonance with your event last year in Amsterdam?
2:46
Have you experienced any of the violence in Amsterdam that took place last year?
3:42
Do you expect your students to not mention you as their teacher?