Zen meditation is an alive, dynamic, and challenging practice. Jogen Salzberg Sensei mentions this during this dharma talk at the Great Vow Zen Monastery retreat in January 2026: we will experience doubts, difficulties, and periods where we are simply uninspired. With compassion and encouragement, Jogen Sensei reminds us that we are more capable than we tend to believe and shares key remembrances–such as the four thoughts that turn the mind and the act of seeking refuge—that can support consistency of effort when we inevitably lose motivation in our practice.
Title and description provided by Dharma Gates volunteer Scout Rainer Wiley.
To learn more about Jogen Salzberg Sensei, click here.
To learn more about Great Vow Zen Monastery, click here.
To learn more about Dharma Gates, click here.
Chapters:
00:00 — Welcome to the Dharma Gates Retreat Jogen opens the 2026 Dharma Gates retreat with the Three Refuges and an invitation to reconnect with wisdom, clarity, and our deeper capacity to serve.
02:31 — The Simplicity of Zazen What happens when we simply tune into body and breath as they are? Jogen explores the radical simplicity of Zen meditation and our tendency to complicate it.
05:45 — The “Discriminating Itch” How the mind divides experience into right and wrong, like and dislike, should and shouldn’t—and how those judgments lead to endless mental proliferation.
10:08 — What Does Effort in Meditation Actually Mean? Jogen introduces the metaphor of driving on a highway to explain meditation effort: sometimes a gentle touch is enough, while other moments require our full attention.
17:15 — From Striving to Natural Presence Practice moves through different terrain. Jogen explores what happens when intense effort gives way to abiding, staying, and a more natural presence.
20:28 — Meditation Is Never Passive Why meditation isn’t simply “sitting around and seeing what happens.” Jogen talks about active engagement, responsiveness, and meeting each moment with the right quality of effort.
25:31 — When Motivation Fades: Two Auxiliary Practices Motivation naturally fluctuates. Jogen offers two practices for reconnecting with our intention: calling on spiritual support and reflecting on our existential condition.
33:59 — The Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind A contemplation of suffering, impermanence, karma, and death—and how remembering these truths can bring us back to wholehearted practice.
37:33 — Make the Most of This Opportunity Jogen closes with an invitation to fully inhabit the retreat, care for ourselves appropriately, and return again and again to the living energy of the present moment.
