Dharma Talks

Debra Seido Martin is Zen West's Guiding Teacher. She was transmitted in 2009 by Kyogen Carlson, late Abbott of Dharma Rain Zen Center. Seido is an organic farmer and psychotherapist devoted to the wild and giving space of practice and grace of the land. She carries forward her teacher’s directive to “ordain into your life.”

Empty Boat, Flooded With Moonlight

As he is dying, the Buddha invites his followers to make the teachings our true refuge. Contemplating our own mortality, we ask: What is unfinished? What do we fear? When we release our material and ego attachments, the dying process is an invitation to a final stage of growth and liberation.

Feb 19

Nehan and Zen’s Great Death

After the Nehan ceremony, which commemorates the Buddha’s passing into “Parinirvana” or the final unbinding, Seido explores the...

Feb 16, 2024

Nehan: Teachings from the Buddha’s Deathbed

This talk was given after the traditional Nehan ceremony commemorating the historical Buddha’s death and the teachings he gave his...

Feb 17, 2023

Nehan – Last Conversations with the Buddha

Seido talks about the ceremony of Nehan performed prior to the talk. Nehan commemorates the Buddha’s death and his entry into...

Feb 25, 2022