Explore every episode of the podcast Ordinary Zen Sangha - Dharma Talks

Inquiry into “What is this?”

Exploring Nature is exploring our nature.
Benevolence is fearlessness.

Will gives an intro to Koans (Kongans) in this Dharma Talk.

What are we letting go? Are we falling into the same hole over and over?

Getting to know ourselves.

How do I know my mirror is reflecting clearly?

This first Podcast of July 2024 summates my June 2024 trip to Europe.

Leap directly to the Tathagata’s realm. Chew without chewing anything, walk without walking anywhere.

Exploring an exchange between two Zen Masters.  From 208 Kongans – compiled by Chong An Sunim, Original Light Zen Temple.

Conceptualization perpetuates suffering.

 Accepting causality and letting go of the discriminating mind. 

Realizing emptiness allows us the freedom to put down what burdens us.

 Coming off an all-day meditation workshop... 

Not Two!

enlightenment, how far away is it?

The perfection of wisdom and suchness

‘Don’t know mind’ is being authentic.
Includes an audio clip from an Audiobook "101 Zen Stories" by Paul Beck on Audible.

Breath, coming and going, life.

Buddha’s prescriptions or remedies, also called expedient means, as they apply to Zendo etiquette.

The path of enlightenment…

In today’s Dharma Talk, we ask the question “What is it we are doing?”

It neither is nor isn't. Already you see, you hear...

The Perfection of Patience and our Karmic makeup, the phenomenal experience, the vibrational music of our lives.

 The past is gone, everything changes, and nothing is permanent except One. 

Letting go is walking in the footsteps of Buddha. Let it be what it is, letting go is letting go of a diluted view.

What’s real and what isn’t?
Just this One Mind, This Mind, which is without beginning, is unborn and indestructible. – Huang PO

 Zen is the secret right in front of you, letting your Light shine. 

Zen Meditation - Sitting like a hen on her eggs. Awakening to our Buddha Nature.

As expressed by the three jewels and the Bodhisattva path.

Our personality traits are just grist for the mill.

What is it that we are unable or unwilling to see?

The vehicle of Buddhas

Are you thirsting for a mirage? 

There is no giver or receiver with true compassion.

The 360 degrees of the Zen Circle. Hold your perceptions gently like a newborn baby, with wonder…

The Diamond Sutra teaches us about right understanding, right action, and the perfection of patience.

Beyond duality, living compassionately, the open Heart-Mind.

The Old Lady’s Tea House…

Sitting still and meditating can change the trajectory of your life.

Will begins the Dharma Talk with a story from 101 Zen Stories on Audible.

The fashionable appropriation of Non-Duality and Mindfulness is just the froth and not the soup!

OZS Practice Session, good to be back after a month off! Dharma Talk for 9-3-2023

The audio clip from “The Sutra of Hui Neng”  in this Dharma Talk was taken from “The Diamond Sutra, The Heart Sutra, The Sutra of Hui Neng:  Three Key Prajna Paramita Texts from the Zen Tradition”, available as an Audiobook on Audible. It is also available in Print on Amazon.

The Six Paramitas (Generosity, Morality, Patience, Diligence, Meditation, and Wisdom) are the actualization of Right Action.

Can you have different emotional states and be calm at the same time?
Dharma Talk by Sangha member, Serena Olsen.

What are the aspects of our practice that deal with difficulty? They are: Don’t Know, Don’t Make, and How can I help?

 This Dharma Talk gets down to the basics of our practice, sitting on the cushion. 

Anywhere is everywhere.

Cognitive Resonance and Right Action…

The great seat of Prajna Paramita has three legs.  “Don’t Know”, “What is this?”, and “Insight'”.