Claude AnShin Thomas - Zen Buddhist monk, combat veteran, and author - responds to questions from veterans based on his decades of Zen practice and his life experiences to include war. He reminds the listener how to stay awake to life and understand more deeply the traps of a deluded mind.

This episode was recorded during a period of questions & responses during a 5-day veterans retreat in March of 2020 to address the consequences of military post-traumatic stress.

For more information: https://www.zaltho.org

If you want to ask Claude AnShin Thomas a question, please feel free to write to info@zaltho.org.

Book recommendations:

- AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003, also as audiobook)

- Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice (Oakwood Publishing 2021, also as audiobook)

- On the Edges of Sleep: Poems of War and Memory (Oakwood Publishing 2024)

https://www.zaltho.org/books/

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If you are interested in a specific question, this is the list of questions that Claude AnShin responded to and the time stamps for those questions so that you can go directly to the topic that is of most interest to you.

Questions and Time Stamps:

1:07 When I choose not to speak about certain things, is that avoidance or acceptance?

1:28 Is avoidance always something I should avoid?

16:57 Should I stay or leave the retreat?

18:10 Could you share more about what it means to surrender?

22:46 Is it possible to truly redeem oneself?

29:10 How can one find balance in life?

34:00 How do you relate to suffering?

52:06 Do you ever miss being a soldier?

11. Claude AnShin Thomas with Veterans on Acceptance, Surrender, Balance, and Indecisiveness