The Placeless Abode : Talks and Writings on the Nature of Existence

Awaken to an awareness that’s already inside you

The Placeless Abode weaves together five dharma talks delivered by Yoshin David Radin at the Rinzai-ji Zen Center of Los Angeles—his teacher Joshu Sasaki Roshi’s home temple. Structured like the sesshin, or Zen retreat, from which the material arose, each day’s talk is followed by other writings that reflect and deepen the themes addressed.

The book invites readers to question the fundamental delusion of selfhood, explore the nature of death, and examine the mind’s tendency to misidentify itself as form. Radin writes and speaks with a rare combination of piercing insight and compassionate humor, reflecting his deep training and decades of teaching experience. The central message—awakening to the awareness that is already present—is rendered with striking simplicity, allowing readers from diverse backgrounds to resonate with its truth and meaning.

The tone is warm, poetic, and direct, offering a rare accessibility to the often paradoxical teachings of Zen.