Should a slave meditate to wake up?
How can we access a larger trauma-informed view in Zen? In this talk, Sensei Kanko discusses a very emotionally triggering koan with the greatest gentleness. How can we hold our bodies and emotions with gentleness to not fall into the shadows of Zen? How can we remain firm in our need to make changes in the society around us? And at the same time how to make sure we don't lose the golden idea of Zen that there is a possibility to wake up at any point, even in one of the worst circumstances as a sex worker forced into that profession?
Sensei Kanko gave this talk on the 3rd day of a Zen retreat in October 2020.
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com.
What is the relationship between the big “eternal” spiritual mind and our small lonely or calculative mind? How to live our daily lives in these times of polycrisis and systemic oppression?
This talk by Sensei Kanko (Dr. Kritee) flows like a compassionate boat running down a wild river and embodies a deep spontaneity. Here, she guides listeners through Zuigan's paradoxical koan—calling his own self "Master!" and then answering "Yes sir!"—to explore who these two selves “Master” and “Attendent/student” are within us: Perhaps the observer vs. the observed or the experiencing mind vs. the experience, or the small critical or lonely self vs. the vast blue sky mind. With humor and vulnerability (including her early fear that enlightenment would steal her partner away), she challenges masculine Zen's "get enlightenment at all costs" approach. She instead advocates for embodying a "curious, kind and patient host" to all clouds that visit our consciousness—even very painful clouds like fear of death or feeling unlovable.
Weaving together insights from Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, Tibetan demon-feeding spiritual practices, and Hindu wisdom traditions, Kanko also emphasizes the need for a crucial discernment: distinguishing personal struggles we can address through spiritual practice from systemic oppression. While traditional Buddhism might say "go back to your breath and hara" for every problem, Kanko insists we recognize when issues stem from societal trauma (e.g., millennial’s inability to afford housing or womxn’s inability to get education in patriarchal systems). She also teaches how we can integrate three pillars of Zen practice in our lives: faith, determination, and great curiosity.
Sensei Kanko gave this talk during the last day of May 2019 Zen retreat (sesshin).
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
How is an enlightened compassion the essence of our “impossible" suffering?
In this profound talk, Dr. Kritee explores case 21 of the Mumonkan, where a student asks Zen Master Yunmen "What is the essence of Buddhism?" and the master answers: "Kanshiketsu"—toilet stick. Through personal stories about extremely hard (impossible) life situations and sitting with a friend facing breast cancer, Sensei Kanko illustrates how the most challenging suffering can get transmuted on our spiritual path. She offers tools for working with life's inevitabilities of old age, sickness, and death—from recognizing the universality of our experience, to finding support in community, to accessing the vast inner space offered by meditation. She goes deeper and asks us to draw from Zen Buddhist, Indigenous, and Tibetan traditions which teach that our deepest spiritual potential lies in facing our greatest suffering to access the great compassion within. Using the touching example of 96-year-old Joanna Macy dying peacefully with playfulness, this talk invites us to discover how the things we desperately want to eliminate might be gateways to the sweetness we are literally made of.
Sensei Kanko gave this talk during a half day meditation in July 2025.
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
How do we cultivate deeper trust in life when everything seems to be falling apart? What does it mean to "proceed on from the top of a hundred-foot pole" - to let go just when we think we've learned to control some aspects of life.
In this powerful talk on the last day of silent May 2025 Zen retreat, Sensei Kanko explores the profound teaching of trusting the universe and releasing our grip on comfort and control. Drawing on inspiring examples - from Dipa Ma who could sit for seven days without moving to a contemporary practitioner's complete surrender to Kali - she illuminates how limitless trust in life is the essence of enlightenment. Making a crucial distinction between trusting the divine/natural order and accepting injustice and toxicity created by humans, Kanko offers practical wisdom for maintaining both trust and healthy boundaries. Through personal stories and the metaphor of learning to "kin" with nature, she shows how deepening our trust allows us to act with compassion even as we navigate these times of polycrisis.
Sensei Kanko gave this talk on the final day of the May 2025 Zen retreat (sesshin).
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
Using the example of the Babemba tribe’s harm resolution ceremony, Sensei Kritee explores “What if a wise response to our current times is to expand our vision and perception beyond the limits of a single human lifetime?”
Babemba tribe has unlimited belief in the fundamental goodness of all human beings. Where does such deep belief come from? They don’t start lashing out in fear and anger at people who cause harm. They actually remind people of their goodness when individuals end up causing harm. How does such a “beloved community” get created?
The intense times of polycrisis that we are living in are constantly making us contract our awareness and focus only on immediate survival. But what if, instead of listening to these messages from autocratic capitalist systems causing harm to our planet and vulnerable beings, the trust in life would come from expanding our awareness wider and deeper across time and space? What if we are not limited to the short timelines of a single human lifetime and not limited to a human-centric worldview? What if we are limitless in our trust that there are dimensions and beings far beyond what we can see and observe with our human eyes? When we embrace this wider perspective of the universe, we can develop a deep trust in life and have our small human life be a part of the larger process without doing what we can do in this lifetime.
In this talk, Sensei Kanko explores different approaches to living life that are rooted in Indigenous worldviews and practices that connect humans with the natural world and with “Mu” (Shunyata). These worldviews and practices help us trust the fundamental goodness of all human beings.
Sensei Kanko gave this talk during a May 2025 Zen retreat (Sesshin).
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
How can we make wholesome decisions in the face of impossible dilemmas that life throws at us? How do we face impossible choices when hanging between life and death?
In this talk, Dr. Kritee Kanko reflects on a strange Zen story where someone finds themselves in an impossible situation: hanging by their mouth from a tree branch over a cliff, he must either answer a spiritual question and fall to his death, or remain silent and fail to fulfil his vow to help all beings. Is the koan presenting us with a false choice between self-preservation and service to others?
We all need to make seemingly impossible choices around old age, sickness, and death concerning ourselves, our loved ones, and all living beings.
Sensei Kanko explains with vivid and vulnerable personal stories related to her own chronic health issues that it's not easy, that it is okay to make mistakes or to feel that we have failed. She explores how we can find profound spiritual depth even while experiencing physical limitation. With tenderness, Sensei Kanko reveals how meditation allows us to transcend black-and-white (i.e., right vs wrong) thinking, embracing both our human vulnerability and spiritual potential simultaneously. She discusses how facing our own mortality can deepen our practice, encouraging us to "die on the cushion" while still fully embracing life. In these times of polycrisis and systemic collapse, she emphasizes the essential role of community in facing our deepest fears and challenges, reminding us that true Buddhism was never meant to be a hyper-individualistic pursuit of enlightenment.
Sensei Kanko gave this talk during the February 2025 Zen retreat (sesshin).
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
How can we cultivate fearlessness in these turbulent times? Can developing our ability to grieve, trust, and surrender help us access our inner vastness and fearlessness? Is our practice supporting communion between analytical and intuitive aspects of our mind?
In this talk, Sensei Kritee Kanko explores an incident from 20th century India about Dipa Ma, who held a frightened student's hand during an extreme airplane turbulence episode and whispered, "The daughters of the Buddha are fearless." Through this short story, Dr. Kritee examines how we can face fear in our increasingly chaotic world through grief work, trust, and devotion.
The talk challenges Western Buddhism's hyper-individualistic approach, suggesting we've lost something vital by removing elements of devotion and surrender present in Asian Buddhist lineages. What if instead of living modern lives solely focused on personal happiness or individual impact, we could surrender and devote ourselves to something larger than ourselves—as Indigenous peoples and Tribal Nations have done for millennia? Could this help us become grounded forces amidst the chaos of fascism and environmental destruction unfolding in our world?
Drawing on the Indigenous “Prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor," Sensei Kanko presents a vision of healing that integrates the mind-focused "Eagle path" with the heart-centered "Condor path" at this crucial transition period in humanity's journey.
Sensei Kanko gave this talk on the second day of the Winter 2025 Zen retreat (sesshin).
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
How can we respond with loving clarity and topple brothers like Trump or Musk who are stuck in toxic patterns of power and control?
In this profound Dharma talk, Sensei Kritee Kanko explores a koan about an eighth-century Chinese Zen master who stubbornly dies standing on his head—only to have his sister, a bearer of gentle, loving wisdom, topple his final display of ego. Through personal stories and reflections on leaders like brothers Trump and Musk, who inspire others to be “brave in their cruelty,” Kanko reveals two ways we all can get stuck: either in the pursuit of power and specialness or in a state of helpless victimhood.
Is it possible to live, love, and be in these times as our ancestors did—those who faced world wars, famines, and destruction alike? We may not control how every event unfolds in the future, but what can we do? What inner qualities can help us dismantle the need for power and specialness—both in ourselves and in the leaders driving chaos and destruction?
Drawing parallels between the nun’s gentle yet effective response to her brother and our current challenges, Kanko illustrates how the feminine qualities of loving care, community support, and persistent gentle action can transform seemingly immovable obstacles. This talk reminds us that in these difficult times, our path forward lies not in hatred or despair but in staying grounded in love while taking continuous action for change.
Sensei Kanko gave this talk during the February 2025 half-day meditation gathering (Zazenkai).
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
How can a soiled toilet paper which you have used to wipe your ass be Buddha? How can the things we “hate” about life be “sacred”? How can the worst kinds of physical and emotional pain experienced during meditation be a pathway to a deeper realization, equanimity and courage?
In this talk, Zen teacher Kanko talks about a classic Koan and discusses how we can best relate to pain during a meditation session. Everyone feels pain. Life consists of physical and mental suffering. That is the first fundamental truth in Buddhism. But during meditation sessions, should we always ignore pain and just focus on our breath or koan like many traditional Zen Buddhist teachers recommend? What is a modern trauma-informed way to deal with pain? How can we embrace both the feminine and the masculine aspects of spiritual life? Can we be both kind to our bodies, which will get physically tired from long periods of sitting and/or internal trauma, and also remain firm in the face of pain? Using personal stories as examples to make her point, Sensei Kanko makes this topic come alive. The talk also explains the basic steps of the meditation path and what it takes to work with koans like the one discussed in the talk.
Sensei Kanko gave this talk during the February 2023 Zen retreat (sesshin).
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
What is the mental state from which we can take action during these times of uncertainty, fear and grief? How can we access such a “prized” mental state?
In this talk Sensei Kritee Kanko (Ph.D.) shares, with examples and stories, a modern trauma-informed way to access equanimity and courage to take action for the benefit of all beings. In these times of polycrisis, it is ordinary to feel busy, distracted and stressed all the time. But were we born to be like this? Usually when humans have experienced trauma and stress themselves, they perpetuate trauma to others. Are we destined to just keep passing on trauma? Or does somewhere, beyond all of our challenges, and our fight, flight, freeze and fawn responses to these challenges, lie a natural, ordinary, relaxed, and trusting “infant” mind? What is our collective responsibility in these challenging times which are generated by accumulated trauma? In this talk given on the second day of the December 2019 Rohatsu sesshin, Sensei Kanko explains how we can access the “ordinary” loving mind and work towards personal and collective healing through meditation and by welcoming/embracing grief on the cushion.
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
What is inner spiritual liberation? What happens when outer social-political liberation is not possible in these times of polycrisis?
In this talk, Dr. Kritee explores the path of inner liberation in the midst of overwhelming planetary grief and oppression. It is important that we keep going with our actions for peace at political level, climate sanity, and social justice. But is it wise to cling to our physical wellbeing and derive meaning of life only based on the material and political results of our actions? In this talk, Dr. Kritee explains, with personal examples and stories from Zen Buddhism and other traditions, how we can access a sense of spaciousness that can help us toward inner peace and enable us to keep going despite the uncertainty we are facing in this world.
Sensei Kanko gave this talk during the July 2024 half-day sit (Zazenkai).
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to boundlessinmotion.org or kriteekanko.com
Can the deepest personal, societal and ecological challenges we face lead our way to the "great bliss"? If the most vulnerable species and innocent children are being killed every hour, is it okay for us to sit in this great bliss?
In this teisho (Zen talk), Dr. Kritee explores the deep challenge of staying sane in the difficult times using personal anecdotes and stories and myths from ancient China and India. The times we live in are heartbreaking and bewildering, and there is genuine and deep pain that we need to grieve in presence of a living community. We must do trauma healing work to allow us to keep doing actions for societal and ecological healing. But at the same time, Buddhist and other indigenous wisdom traditions hold knowledge that even in the midst of deepest pain and harshest mundane/boring repetitive work, there can be a freshness, aliveness and even a "great bliss".
Sensei Kanko gave this talk during the July 2024 half-day sit (Zazenkai).
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
Is a widespread climate chaos or collapse inevitable? Can we face this impending chaos through the frameworks promoted by late stage capitalism: the ones driven by quarterly or annual financial returns? Is it time to stop accepting that we are lonely, sinful, inadequate and isolated from our more-than-human kins? How can we create a “Beloved community” and move away from a sense of shame and inadequacy?
Dr. Kritee explores these questions in a talk given on the second last of a six day residential retreat for people of color in a way that is also gently accessible for those who identify as White.
Since the industrial revolution and widespread adoption of Western materialistic values, humans have caused massive decline in health of our global ecosystems. Our planet is currently undergoing loss of tens or hundreds of thousands of species as a part of the sixth mass extinction. Now it seems inevitable that because of our actions, not just other species, but humans across the planet will also directly face widespread climate chaos or even collapse.
Is there a way to stay grounded or even thrive in such times? What can we learn from indigenous cultures, and for example, from their ecological footprints, from their deep sense of belonging even to their enemies and from their concept of deep time? Can we remove away from the paradigm of needing to see change in our lifetimes and act from a place of planting seeds even if we will not be alive to see the fruits on the trees? What kind of loving and belonging to all other beings, both human and more-than-human, will take us to the place where we can be completely loving and peaceful as we plant these seeds?
This talk was given at a time when Dr. Kritee was suffering from intense burning pain of shingles, a nerve infection, on 22nd June 2024 at Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center.
Can there be grievous suffering even in the midst of an expansive, vast and clear “blue sky” mind?
In Buddhism, the practice of meditation helps us access what some teachers call “the blue sky mind”, a state that relieves a sense of insufficiency in our lives and brings clarity, spaciousness and joy. But is this the deepest level of intimacy with “reality-as-it-is” we can reach in our spiritual practice? In this talk, Sensei Kanko explores this question from a modern, polycrisis-informed perspective. Offering stories ranging from the patriarchy in China to campus peace activism by the students in the United States, she invites us to contemplate our own role in these times of multiple crises. She also invites us to consider the role of the “blue sky mind” and everyday kindness to ourselves and others on this path.
Sensei Kanko gave this talk on Zazenkai (a half-day meditation) in May 2024.
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
Is Mu enough?
In this talk, Sensei Kanko dives into some details of the Rinzai Zen path, discussing the all-encompassing nature of the Mu Koan and its relationship to breathing from the hara (lower belly) and accessing concentrated awareness. She invites listeners to balance the masculine Zen approach with emotional healing. Acknowledging Zen's limitations with respect to dealing with societal inequalities, she also advocates for devotional approaches as part of spiritual practice. The talk offers an insightful and heartening exploration of Zen's role in addressing contemporary challenges.
Sensei Kanko gave this talk on the 4th day of the retreat, on October 4, 2020.
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com.
Kisagotami's Mustard Seed - Hidden Lamp 49 Will Western Buddhism lead us to selfish acts and an egoistic pursuit of enlightenment if we do not reintroduce the original communal aspects of Buddhism as they were present at the time of the Buddha? In this Zen Talk, Sensei Kanko delves into the profound intersection of Buddhism and the universal experience of grief. She shares her journey from India to the United States, weaving in the poignant story of Kisagotami, Buddha, and the mustard seed to highlight the contrast between Eastern traditions of communal support and the Western approach to Buddhism that often overlooks these essential aspects. With vivid recollections of her initial retreats, Sensei Kritee critiques the ego-driven attitudes that were prevalent in her early practice in the United States, as well as in Western Buddhism in general, advocating for a practice that is not about escaping the world but about finding freedom within it. Drawing from grief practices, the koan tradition, and Zen breathing techniques, she suggests that facing life's harsh realities can lead to profound spiritual openings. At the same time, she questions whether just the solitary pursuit of enlightenment without the communal and ethical dimensions of original Asian Buddhism can address the challenges of today. Can Zen practices offer psychedelic-like insights? Are we, in essence, nurses for each other? Sensei Kanko gave this talk during the May 2023 Zen retreat (sesshin). Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com.
How to access your spiritual power amidst overwhelming grief and shame?
How can a sword made of paper help you when you are being attacked? How can we fight oppression when we feel powerless? How can we begin to see why the universe brought us alive as a human in this exact time and place?
In this talk given on the last day of Feb 2024 Zen retreat, Sensei Kanko powerfully shows us a clear path to access our spiritual power against all the odds and make a difference. How is it possible that almost none of the Buddhist teachers want to speak out and demand the stopping of mass killings? How is it possible that regardless of how much we sit, we can still feel shamed and powerless to act outside of the cushion? Is the traditional way of practicing Buddhist meditation enough? Kanko discusses how our sitting practice and healing from our childhood trauma and shamed inner parts can give us access to spiritual power. We who consider ourselves to be "small" or "weak" can become a person who can overcome an assaulter, a group of white supremacists, and our personal difficulties with a paper sword. With stories from US Navy seals, the Palestinian crisis, and Asia to the ones illustrating the need for personal safety and wellbeing, Kanko dives into questions of primal importance. We are living in very difficult times but even when we feel we are powerless and completely at a loss there are ways to continue walking the path the universe has laid out ahead of us and make a difference.
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
How can we bridge the gap between serene meditation experiences and our world’s ongoing climate and social crisis?
In this thought-provoking talk given on the last day of a Zen retreat, Sensei Kanko (Dr. Kritee) invites us to consider life beyond the retreat. She emphasizes the necessity of grounded compassion and encourages a broader understanding of Zen beyond the usual Western interpretations. She illustrates the importance of carrying the fruits of our meditation practice into our day-to-day lives. By comparing our modern materialistic lifestyles with the simple rural community oriented traditional Buddhist and indigenous lifestyles, Kanko highlights what we can learn much from the traditional/indigenous approaches. She articulates her vision of a more inclusive, community-focused Buddhism/Spirituality that actively addresses pressing societal matters such as climate crisis, social injustices, and animal suffering. She probes the intricate balance between meditation practice and the real challenge - applying these teachings in the exterior world to confront our polycrisis. Without this active engagement, she asserts, there can be no genuine Buddhism or spiritual practice.
Sensei Kanko gave this talk on the final day of Zen retreat in May 2023.
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
How is giving birth or merging with a lover a Buddhist act?
Familiar encounters in novel ways. In this radical talk, Sensei Kanko explores the contours of a Zen life and experience in a warm and novel way. She encourages listeners to think beyond standard masculine ways of understanding Zen with metaphors and stories that have a taste of impermeable sweetness. How can the experience of Mu be like giving birth or merging with a lover? How to see through obsessive spirituality, clinging, and spiritual materialism and consider those things on the path that truly matter?
Sensei Kanko gave this talk on the 2nd day of a Zen retreat in October 2020
Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to www.boundlessinmotion.org or www.kriteekanko.com
