HeyJaredTalks by Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee
This is a series of newly digitized talks by spiritual teacher, Lola McDowell Lee, spanning two decades—from the early Seventies through the Nineties.Lola was a Zen Roshi whose Rinzai lineage included Doctor Henry Platov and renowned Zen master, Shigetsu Sasaki.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 8
- Latest publication
- Sep 12, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 4, 2026
Latest episodes
The importance of mastering attention. Delivered Nov 2, 1986 (opens the original)
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Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, discusses the importance of mastering attention—to uncover the silent inner ground of being. Lola recounts a tale about Master Shoju, who calmly sat in a graveyard amidst howling wolves without fear. He had an unshakeable state of mind, invulnerable to the external turmoil of life and death. Most people operate through the thinking mind, engaged in chores, conversations, with their attention scattered across "ten thousand things." People also talk to themselves endl
The Wisdom of Ikkyu. Delivered Sep 28, 1986 (opens the original)
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Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, reflects on the universal reality of death and the transition of consciousness, illustrated by the historical encounter between the legendary Zen master Ikkyu and his dying disciple Ninagawa. When Ninagawa attempts to take comfort in traditional phrases about coming and going alone, Ikkyu challenges him, pointing to the path of no coming and no going. Lola explains that at death, the physical senses and brain cortex are left behind, halting new sensory input into th
The positive and the negative paths to enlightenment. Delivered Sep 21, 1986 (opens the original)
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Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, contrasts the "positive" and "negative" paths to enlightenment. Drawing upon ancient Chinese Taoist, Li Tzu, she begins by questioning the value of emptiness. Because emptiness cannot be quantified, traded, or manufactured—unlike the walls of a house or the clay of a cup—it possesses an absolute value that transcends human commerce. To abide in this emptiness one must embrace stillness and let go of the transactional nature of human existence. She characterizes the
The Silent Night, the Holy Night Within. Delivered December, 1986 (opens the original)
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Zen Roshi and Christian minister, Lola McDowell Lee, illustrates the many harmonies between Eastern spiritual practices and Western mystical traditions. Lola looks at the traditional nativity story and Christian parables and urges us to look beyond literal interpretations to uncover deeply transformative inner meanings within scripture. She introduces the concept of the "subsistence of existence," the invisible ground or foundation of all being. While humans live outwardly, navigating the world
The Tao of Ordinary Being. Delivered August 24, 1986 (opens the original)
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The Taoist approach to existence is much different from our usual rigid, goal-oriented conditioning. Lin-Li, a man nearly a hundred years old, lives in profound simplicity. To many, his life seems marked by poverty, loneliness, and the absence of family, a life of failure. Yet to others’ surprise, Lin-Li maintains an inexplicable happiness. He sings while laboring for meager grains in the fields. Lin-Li highlights a critical divide between the Confucian quest for status, behavioral perfection, a
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