Teisho Curriculum

by Ven. Mishin ino
updated May 25th, 2012

The recorded teisho library offers students a vast treasury of instruction in the Dharma. The library contains many of the thousands of teisho, Dharma Talks and classes presented by Zen Master Anzan Hoshin, as well as Dharma Talks and mondo presented by Ven. Shikai Zuiko o-sensei, Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho and practice advisors. Listening to these recordings is part of developing an understanding of practice and familiarizing yourself with the Teachings of the Buddhas and Awakened Ancestors.

Teisho Curriculum
With so much to choose from, students often wonder where to begin or what to listen to next. As a starting point, students can work through the associate student teisho curriculum or the general student teisho curriculum listed below. New students should begin with the series, "Before Thinking: Foundations of Zen Practice", and then follow the rest of the curriculum. You can download a copy of the curriculum to keep on your computer, and use it to keep track of the teisho series' that you have listened to.

How often should you listen to teisho?
If you are sitting once a week, listen to one teisho per month. If you are sitting several times a week, listen to one teisho a week. If you are sitting at least once a day, listen to two teisho a week. It's best to set a schedule for when you will listen to teisho, rather than leaving it up to whether or not you "feel" like hearing a recording.

Thank you.
Gassho,
Ven. Mishin ino
Librarian, White Wind Zen Community Archives
mishin at gmail dot com

Associate Student Teisho Curriculum

  1. Before Thinking
  2. Sitting Up Straight
  3. The Posture of Practice
  4. Sitting and Walking
  5. Thinking About Not Thinking
  6. The Tiny Book of Stopping and Looking
  7. The Meaning of Mindfulness
  8. The Point of the Posture and What It Points To
  9. Monkey in the House of Six Windows
  10. Being Breathed
  11. Simple Minded
  12. Is There a Problem?
  13. Choice
  14. The Circle
  15. Dongshan's Hot and Cold
  16. Measureless
  17. Mind the Gap
  18. Freedom and Tyranny
  19. The Point of Wisdom: Minding Your Own Bodymind
  20. Birth, Old Age, Sickness and Death
  21. Flowers and Worms
  22. Mula Paryiya Sutta
  23. Aligned with the Way
  24. The Activity of the Primordial Mirror
  25. Wild Horse of Mind
  26. The Four Noble Truths
  27. The Four Great Vows
  28. What Does it Take to Become Buddha?
  29. Responsibility
  30. The Eightfold Path
  31. The Unborn
  32. Eight Awarenesses
  33. This World of Ten Directions
  34. Zazen: The Practice of Realization
  35. Four Dhyanas
  36. Hekiganroku 14: Yunmen's "A Right Word"
  37. Mind Cannot be Grasped
  38. Realm of Appearances
  39. The Wheel of Becoming
  40. Traps and Cages Spring Open
  41. Zen Arts: The Flowering of the Senses

General Student Teisho Curriculum

  1. Vain and Vanished
  2. Snake's Head Soup
  3. Stainless
  4. Expect to be Surprised
  5. Virya - Exertion
  6. The Bridge
  7. Dealing With the Demon
  8. Freefall
  9. Life and Death and All That
  10. Lineage
  11. Zen is Not Kidding
  12. The Forms of Attention
  13. Maintaining the Way
  14. Braising the Mind of the Way
  15. The Dragon in His Waters, the Tiger in Her Mountains
  16. Remembering Reality
  17. Return to the Root
  18. Studying the Mystery
  19. Living With This Breath
  20. Immo: Suchness
  21. Shodoka by Yoka Daishi
  22. Development of Buddhist Psychology
  23. Bodymind of the Way
  24. Landscape of Reality
  25. Painting Reality
  26. Bodhidharma's Eyes
  27. Round and Bright
  28. Playing with Space
  29. Five Fingers, Ten Directions
  30. Turning the Wheel of the Way
  31. Bright Right Through
  32. Bowing and Receiving
  33. The Thread of the Buddhas
  34. Essentially Real
  35. Without Difficulty
  36. Wandering on Medicine Mountain