From Australian Zen teacher Dr Andrew Tootell.
In this talk I am going to share some self-reflections on the metaphor of awakening from the self-centred dream. Self-reflection means I simply ask myself a question to investigate and reflect upon my own experience. I am not suggesting that the understanding that I develop is necessarily the same as what you would come up with. But if we all participate in self-reflection we can then engage in dialogue with each other and then dialogue becomes another method of inquiry.
This talk is about working with Right Effort in everyday life and noticing the tendency to want to control and force outcomes. Seeing how this strategy of our core beliefs to control life, is a form of clinging and creates resistance and suffering. We explore the possibility of moving towards flow states where we pause and check in with our inner wisdom and trust and not take everything so personally. Knowing the deep interconnectivity and impermanence of life, we can still perform at our best, but our work becomes part of something bigger, and we can reach out for help. We become lighter, calmer and more open to creative solutions.
On receiving transmission of the precepts in the denkai ceremony, it is customary in our tradition, that the recipient gives a dharma talk acknowledging their teachers and the teaching path they feel called towards.
On receiving transmission of the precepts in the denkai ceremony, it is customary in our tradition, that the recipient gives a dharma talk acknowledging their teachers and the teaching path they feel called towards.
This dharma talk explores how the Zen teaching of “not two, not one” offers a middle way for relationships by holding together intimacy and difference, love and fear, and oneness and individuality. It suggests that spiritual practice and honest relationship both invite us to become intimate with the protective patterns that arise from fear, while trusting that love, grounded in safety, awareness, and compassion, can soften those patterns. Drawing on attachment theory, psychotherapy, Martin Buber's distinction between I-It and I-Thou, and contemporary relational thinkers, the talk presents the Buddhist precepts as practical guides for meeting others with respect rather than objectification. In this way, our closest relationships become part of the path, teaching us that genuine oneness is not found by erasing difference, but by recognising and caring for it.
This dharma talk reflects on the meaning of denkai transmission as a deep commitment to receive, embody, and pass on the Zen precepts within sangha life. It explores transmission not simply as ceremonial authority, but as the living expression of compassion, responsibility, and relationship in everyday life, while honouring both continuity with tradition and the unique ways each practitioner expresses the dharma. Through the example of Louise and Jack, the talk also points to the importance of creating the conditions—personal, communal, and environmental—that allow practice to flourish and be carried forward into future generations.
This talk explores how Zen practice is supported by a felt sense of safety in three interconnected ways: having a secure home or practice environment, learning to feel safe within one's own body and mind, and co-creating a trustworthy relational community. Drawing on attachment theory and polyvagal theory, it suggests that spiritual practice is not separate from our human vulnerability, but depends on conditions of safety, co-regulation, and connection that help body and mind settle. Rather than treating agitation or calm as good or bad, the talk invites us to meet each changing moment with compassion and wisdom, while understanding refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as an embodied experience of belonging, care, and love. In this way, zazen becomes not an escape from dependence and relationship, but a rediscovery of home within ourselves and with one another.
This nondual wisdom is the realisation that this is it. To me this is the meaning of realisation, awakening and enlightenment. To be enlightened is to love what is unconditionally. To say yes to everything. It's all okay. But as human beings we struggle to say yes to everything. And this is it too!
I take refuge in Buddha. I take refuge in Dharma. I take refuge in Sangha. In this talk invite you all to contemplate what the three Buddhist refuges mean to you on a personal level. To do this, I present three different perspectives on how the refuges (and the other precepts) have been understood from the Zen Buddhist tradition I belong to: 1. The Literal Perspective. 2. The Relative or Relational Perspective; and 3. The Absolute or Nonseparation Perspective. Each different perspective is relevant to our practice and contributes to why we refer to the three refuges as the three treasures.
In this talk, we explore dependent arising: our deep interconnections in time and space with all existence. Deeply realising this, brings us to see the emptiness of self and to lose our fear of loss and even death. We look at engaged Buddhism and through poetic verse practice kinship and kindness in a novel way.
I have become more aware of the presence of anxiety in my life over the past six months. Perhaps triggered by my health (heart); my precarious financial situation; anxiety about my performance as a psychotherapist or zen teacher; my anxiety about old age; and the world situation (wars; climate change; cost of living). I have also noticed how my practice has been helping me manage my anxiety. So today in the first half of the paper, I will give a very selective introduction to psychological theories anxiety and then in the second half of the talk I will discuss a Buddhist understanding of the arising of anxiety and how to practice with anxiety.
In this dharma talk Sono explores the question, what does practice mean to you? He begins by discussing his own understanding of what practice is and is not. Sono then asks the question, is it possible to evaluate our progress in zen practice. He concludes that key indicators of progress from the perspective of Ordinary Mind Zen are not special mystical experience but rather a gradual , subtle shift in character, for example, becoming less selfish, angry and reactive.
In exploring the Koan : Zen master Jui Yen talks to himself, we came to see the mundane and the supramundane in our lives and the importance of right view. Who are the others we need to not be deceived by? Questions and answers lead us into deep insights. ‘Know yourself, notice your feelings' speaks to our need to recognise, allow and investigate our feelings as a means to nurturing oneself. Then we can be more available to others. Deeply observing Joy we cultivate generosity, kindness, resilience and commitment to challenges. We recharge our battery.
“Each moment, as it is, is complete and full in itself. Seeing this no matter what arises in each moment, we can let it be.” – Joko Beck. In this guided meditation, Sono invites us to trust our body and our breath to allow each moment to be exactly as it is.
When Joko Beck broke away from the White Plum Asanga to form her own sangha which she named the Ordinary Mind Zen School, she also stopped wearing a robe and also dropped the Koan curriculum and the Jukai ceremony. Barry Magid reintroduced the Jukai ceremony (minus the Buddhist names) and also reintroduced the study of koans. Barry reintroduced the study of koans in the spirit of Soto Zen – using the koans as teaching stories to illuminate different aspects of Zen practice and not as a form of meditation practice aimed at inducing a special spiritual experience. However, more than that, I think one of Barry's major innovations to contemporary Zen has been to interpret the old koan stories from the perspective of western psychotherapy, thereby instigating a unique sub-genre of utilising koans. In this talk I am going to apply Barry's style of koan interpretation to Case 94, from the collection of Koans known as The Book of Serenity.
A hospice nurse discusses some Zen practices and perspectives around death and asks – Can we get used to the idea of dying?
Zen practice is premised on the identity of the Absolute and the Relative. They are both the same and different. Which is why in Zen we say, “not one, not two”! The Absolute is expressed in our Practice Principles as being just this moment – and the identity of the Absolute with the Relative is expressed as Compassion's Way. If we see that our home is just this moment, then there is nothing else we need to depend on – no matter what happens in our life we will always be at one with our home. If only it was so easy! For most of us, we need to attend to some intermediary practices, in order to cultivate our capacity to feel at home in this moment, just as it is. Every time we practice zazen, we are cultivating our capacity to be at home in this moment. However, we need to do more than that. We need to express our understanding and share our response to just this moment, especially when this moment is a shared relationship with others – an intersubjective moment. How do we practice our insight into nonseparation in our relationships with others? In other words, what is the optimal response to the situation we find ourselves in, both to ourselves and others? After realising our true nature, how do we bring all beings into mutual harmony? This is the practice of the Three Treasures: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
Meditation: I – Here – Now, by Elisabeth Barrett by
'Enlightenment,' says Joko Beck 'is the ability to give totally in every moment. In this guided meditation we explore what it is to give and what it feels like to give and to receive. We also investigate gratitude, forgiveness and what we may be avoiding right now, what we are not giving attention to. As we give, our hearts open, and we begin to see that giving feels good and can be a path, a way of living.
We often view life as a problem to be solved – we are either living a successful life, a good life, or we feel we are a failure at living. We might try one self-improvement project after another, and they can work for a certain period of time. But in the end, we cannot escape the inevitable – impermanence and interdependence. Impermanence and interdependence are experienced often as suffering – and when we resist impermanence and interdependence, we add another layer of suffering from our attempt to separate out from the fact that we are embedded in life and relationships with other human beings that ultimately, we cannot control. The alternative to viewing life as a problem is to view life as a koan to be lived to the full.
In this guided meditation we explore the distinction between awareness and mindfulness – with awareness being described as effortless presence and mindfulness being described as remembering to be aware of a particular object or to be aware of awareness itself (objectless meditation).
In this dharma talk OzZEN Facilitator Phil Genkai explores consciousness through the lens of the Buddhist teaching of the five aggregates of no-self and through the lens of contemporary scientific theories. The talk concludes with a discussion about the practical implications of these teachings.
In this guided meditation Sono recites Torei Zenji's Bodhisattvas' Vow to open the heart to practice loving kindness towards those who have hurt us or done us harm.
Make room for space. Todays guided meditation is about making space in our life for life. We all know what a cluttered house feels like. Stressful, busy. noisy. Everything seems to be calling for our attention. Have you too much stuff in your inner world? Is your life too busy? It's not about what you feel cluttered by, it's about what you value deeply and what serves a useful purpose. What brings you joy?
In this guided meditation by OzZEN Facilitator Phil Genkai, we are introduced to the metaphor of “cooking” to describe the process of just sitting in zazen. The meditation is based upon the text by Master Dogen, translated as How to Cook your Life, with a commentary by Kosho Uchiyama. Genkai invites us into this process of cooking our lives with minimal instructions, leaving plenty of silence to cook and transform the ingredients we bring to our sitting practice.
The Place of Sangha in Post-Monastic Zen Practice by Andrew Tootell
In this dharma talk Kodo gives a very accessible summary of Zen Master Dogen's "Bendowa" ("On the Endeavor of the Way"). The Bendowa is a seminal essay that articulates the heart of Soto Zen practice as brought from China to Japan in the early 13th century. In this work, Dogen emphasizes the supreme importance of zazen, or seated meditation, asserting it as the very embodiment of enlightenment rather than a means to an end. Through a question-and-answer format, Dogen addresses doubts and misconceptions about the practice, clarifying that all beings inherently possess Buddha-nature and that enlightenment is not something to be attained in the future, but realized here and now through wholehearted practice. He challenges the view that meditation is only for the elite or monks, insisting that the genuine endeavor of the Way is accessible to everyone, regardless of status or learning. Dogen also discusses the direct transmission of the Dharma from Shakyamuni Buddha through the generations, affirming that authentic practice and realization are inseparable. Ultimately, "Bendowa" urges the practitioner to let go of dualistic thinking and to trust in the subtle, transformative power of simply sitting, as this is the gateway to true understanding and liberation.
In this talk I discuss the principle of the middle way. In particular, the middle way between self and no-self and the middle way through the absolute and the relative. After establishing that our self, just as it is, is already Buddha nature, I discuss how difficult it can be to recognise this. The talk reflects on the preciousness of our impermanent and interdependent, self which arises in relation to other selves. It focuses on the importance of cultivating a healthy self and healthy relationships, on the basis of safety, trust, recognition, reliability and the willingness to mend that which can be mended. See part one here: https://soundcloud.com/ordinary-mind-zen/our-core-practices-part-one-by-sono
In this guided meditation Shinsho takes us through the various steps of labelling thoughts and emotions and mental states with kindness, patience and curiosity leading to an great sense of freedom from reactive states of mind.
In this talk I will show how our practice principles can be translated into our core practices that I have inherited from Joko Beck, and in particular, from my teacher Barry Magid. The core practices to be covered in this talk are: 1. Just-Sitting. 2. Becoming aware of our curative fantasies and core beliefs and at the same time, cultivating an increasing capacity for self-acceptance.
In this Guided Meditation I invite you to contemplate the following five remembrances: I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old. I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health. I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change There is no way to escape being separated from them. My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.
Denial is the biggest threat to our survival. We need to acknowledge and build our resources of love, gratitude and connection so we can recognise and accept our emotions and move into action. Survival is dependent not on competition but on nurturing and cooperating. Peace and Joy are still possible in a chaotic world, when we live in awareness.
This meditation is about allowing whatever arises in awareness. Through this practice you are encouraged to observe your breathing, thinking, feeling, and sensations with non-judgmental, non-reactive and curious awareness. That is, not pushing away, or not clinging to specific experiences, you are encouraged to observe "whatever is known", as it arises and passes into your direct experience of the present moment. Being open and allowing whatever is here, you are reminded that you are already exactly where you need to be.
This talk is an example of the ongoing project, initiated by my teacher, Barry Magid, of integrating a Relational Self Psychology approach into Zen practice – in this case – integrating Heinz Kohut's concept of the “selfobject experience” with Buddhism's Three Refuges. I will first make a crucial distinction between “dialogue-narrative” and “experience” before introducing what Kohut meant by “selfobject experiences”. The concept of a selfobject was a familiar kind of language in the psychoanalytic world of Kohut's time, but I have decided to rename selfobject experiences as self-affirming experiences – I think this makes it more user friendly for non-psychoanalysts. The purpose of the talk is to show how we can give an interpretation of taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha from a Relational Self Psychology perspective – therefore continuing to highlight how our approach in Ordinary Mind Zen is a psychologically-minded approach.
In this student talk Ryan Eno gives a spiritual autobiography of his journey towards finding his spiritual home in Zen Buddhism. He begins with his parents and then explores his young adulthood and his marriage to Bec, the love of his life. This includes both reflections on his experience of being both a practicing Catholic as a child and as a young man, Evangelical Christianity, before finding his home in Zen Buddhism. Ryan also talks about finding his vocation as a music teacher and finally as a school counsellor and psychotherapist in private practice.
In this final talk on the theme of spiritual autobiography, Sono discusses the theme of home and homelessness by sharing some more stories from his own life and also discusses the memoir The Salt Path (2018) written by Raynor Winn and released as a movie in May, 2025.
In this dharma talk Sono focuses on Lou Norstrom's Memoirs of an American Zen Pioneer published in 2023. This memoir is a courageous exploration of how zen practice can at times collude with forms of “self-alienation” and “self-abandonment” caused by early attachment trauma.
In this dharma talk Sono introduces the important place of spiritual autobiographies in Zen Practice, inspired by Lou Norstrom's Memoirs of an American Zen Pioneer published in 2023. Since Saint Augustine (354-430) famous Confessions, spiritual autobiographies often have a “confessional” theme. This is also the case in the spiritual autobiography Wild Ivory, written by the Zen Rinzai Master, Hakuin (1685-1768). In today's language we would talk about self-disclosure and how self-disclosure can have therapeutic benefits.Sono begins to tell the story of his “Shakyamuni” moment – based upon two traumatic events which occurred in bis life when he was 19 years old.
This is a dharma talk on. It's one of the eight noble truths, usually translated as concentration. I will to talk about the different approaches/interpretations of Samadhi you'll find in Rinzai practice and Soto practice. I will then discuss how we might talk about Samadhi from an Ordinary Mind Zen point of view, based on the teachings of Joko Beck and Barry Magid. We emphasise no-gain and you can't get it right or wrong right. Just sitting expresses the unity of practice/enlightenment – let go of all gaining ideas – just sit – this is it.
When an unusual gift is bestowed on a dying monastery, it begins to flourish and thrive. Perhaps this gift which we can also give each other, will make us thrive and flourish too.
In this talk Larry Kodo gives his first of a series of three talks on the founder of Japanese Soto Zen Eihei Dogen (1200-1253). In this talk, Kodo presents his life story in the wider context of 13th century Japan and China, the motivations for his life decisions and a simple look at some of his core teachings and why he is still relevant to our practice today.
Why do we need refuge? In Zen Buddhism the Three Refuges are like a life-raft on the sea of life. We face many storms of different conditions and circumstances. We face natural disasters, floods and fires; the storms of relationships, loss and disappointment; we face wars and financial anxiety. We can summarise these as: Fear Uncertainty Vulnerability Greed, hatred and ignorance People may take refuge in gods or an intervention God. They make seek refuge in authoritarian leaders. The Buddha taught us to find refuge within this world, within ourselves and our relationships.
In this dharma talk I share my latest understanding of the Practice Principles, originally formulated by Joko Beck and as interpreted by my teacher Barry Magid. The practice principles give us a condensed way of understanding ordinary mind zen practice. However, they do miss out some important aspects of practice, such as the importance of supportive relationships and mutual recognition. This talk covers how they are a re-working of the four noble truths and the four great vows. The two couplets represent the Two Truths, the absolute or ultimate truth and the relative or conventional truth. The first two lines focus on how suffering arises in our everyday lives of problems and relationships. They also give us a clue to the ending of suffering. The final two lines emphasise the koan aspect of zen embodied in our zazen practice of just-sitting. Paradoxically, the end of suffering is the end of the resistance to suffering.
These days I like to think that “life as it is” is the ultimate teacher, but not of course, the only teacher. There are many teachers: relationships with nature; works of art and of course, relationships with significant people in our lives. Zen is a relational practice. Even when you are sitting alone, you are sitting with a long line of ancestors going all the way back to Shakymuni Buddha. During this guided meditation, we are going to integrate our zazen practice, our experience of life as it is, with an exploration of our relational selves, embedded as they are in a matrix of significant relationships that have shaped our sense of self and well-being over the history of our life. You will be invited to explore how you experience yourself in different relational contexts.
Coping with the loss of a loved one is always difficult. In this Dharma Talk Lousie Shinsho explores how different people cope in different ways. The Buddha's teachings of impermanence are tempered by teachings of our deep interconnectedness. This can help in developing an ongoing relationship with our loved ones who are not really lost to us.
This guided meditation is based on Case 1 from the collection of Koans called The Gateless Gate. The case: "A monk asked Joshu in all earnestness, does a dog have Buddha nature or not? Joshu said “Mu!". The koan question is "What is Mu?" Ryan Eno has been working with Mu since May last year and will explore oceanic or open awareness of Mu. That is, Mu as direct experience of life as it is. It is a gentle and easy approach to Mu, that encourages you to allow whatever arises as you bring your focus back to Mu throughout the sitting.
This guided meditation uses the imagery of sitting at railway stations and waiting for trains to explore how thoughts arrive during zazen. It takes the meditator on a journey from a busy mind (the subway) to a calm mind (no station, no trains). It poses a key question throughout - is your mind busy or is your mind calm - from moment to moment? Please sit and enjoy. Note: Phil chose to prioritise long periods of silence in this guided meditation, to enhance the meditation as a whole.
Talk from OzZEN Zazenkai in Sawtell 2nd March 2025. Intimacy in Zen is discussed in terms of the two aspects of 1. presence with all of life, and 2. emotional availability and vulnerability. A complete offering of ourselves, unmasked. This brings forth the character of the Bodhisattva as: simple, joyful, and open to life's possibilities. We mention “Intimacy and Commitment” from Ordinary Mind Zen teacher Elihu Genmyo Smith's book “Everything is the way”. We mention three koans: The Hands and Eyes of the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion (Blue Cliff Record Case 89), The National Teacher's Monument (Blue Cliff Record Case 18), and Dizang's “Not knowing is most intimate” (Book of Serenity Case 20).
This dharma talk focuses on exploring the concept of the self-centered dream and suffering, with discussions on practice principles and their potential modifications. Participants shared personal experiences and insights related to self-centeredness, dreams, and the nature of reality. The conversation also touched on the importance of shifting from a self-centered to a life-centered perspective, drawing from various philosophical and literary sources to illustrate key points.
We seem to be caught in the habit of running from one thing to another. When we do this, the next moment will not provide freedom from this urgency. Here we practice together, breathing in “coming home”, breathing out “arriving”. Learning to resist the urge to react, we can become settled in restful attention. We also notice what happens when we stop running and slow down.
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