The path of the Bodhisattva is to embrace life. To fully embrace life is to embrace the totality of life just as it is. We don’t get to pick and choose. To fully embrace both the joys and sorrows of life. We can’t have on without the other. To fully embrace life is the taste of nirvana - a life free of emotional reactions – an awakened life.

Recorded 07/10/18.

If you found Andrew’s talks or meditations helpful, please consider donating to Ordinary Mind Zen Mid North Coast at https://www.ordinarymind.com.au/donate

This is a guided meditation on thoughts. Waking up from the dream is never ending. As delusions are inexhaustible, each moment is our opportunity to awake from them. So, don’t be disillusioned by the endless thoughts that arise. This is just the mind doing what minds do. Just let them come and go. And when you do become lost in a thought, notice that as well. And if you can, rest in the space in-between thoughts.

This is a guided meditation on thoughts. Waking up from the dream is never ending. As delusions are inexhaustible, each moment is our opportunity to awake from them. So, don’t be disillusioned by the endless thoughts that arise. This is just the mind doing what minds do. Just let them come and go. And when you do become lost in a thought, notice that as well. And if you can, rest in the space in-between thoughts.

Joko Beck, following the Dalia Lama, said that if she had only one word to summarise Zen practice, it would be kindness. As we relax deeply into this moment our hearts naturally open and we let go of our protective armouring. As we allow this process to unfold, we meet the inherent kindness of our true self. This kindness flows in both directions, inwards and outwards, towards our self and towards others, transforming the world.

If you found Andrew’s talks or meditations helpful, please consider donating to Ordinary Mind Zen Mid North Coast at https://www.ordinarymind.com.au/donate

This talk reflects on how I position myself (now) as a “Buddhist” and how the Ordinary Mind School fits into Buddhism. Joko never described herself as a secular Buddhist, but she did dispense with several religious aspects of practice such as disrobing. And, although Barry Magid doesn’t describe himself as a secular Buddhist, Barry has dropped non-scientific Buddhist beliefs such as reincarnation and has been instrumental in promoting lay practice. So, I think the lineage I belong to as several affinities with secular Buddhism, although I think it is important maybe to redefine what we mean by a religion in this secular age. What is secular Buddhism? According to Stephen Batchelor: Secular as distinct from religious: so, styles of dress and rituals are secularised. From the Latin, saeculum, which means this age, these times, this world. This world we live in is not the world of ancient India. We have more of a naturalistic bent and are accepting of the discipline of science – therefore metaphysical beliefs such as reincarnation and the law of karma are jettisoned. Finally, secular as the transfer of authority over certain domains from religion to the state.

When we sit together in a group, we all benefit from sharing in our mutual flow of loving energy. This creates a context for deep relaxation and letting go. We discover in our hearts, this here now is the only constant in our lives. This precious moment is who we truly are.

If you found Andrew’s talks or meditations helpful, please consider donating to Ordinary Mind Zen Mid North Coast at https://www.ordinarymind.com.au/donate

When we sit together in a group, we all benefit from sharing in our mutual flow of loving energy. This creates a context for deep relaxation and letting go. We discover in our hearts, this here now is the only constant in our lives. This precious moment is who we truly are.

If you found Andrew’s talks or meditations helpful, please consider donating to Ordinary Mind Zen Mid North Coast at https://www.ordinarymind.com.au/donate

Preface by Mumon from Aitken Roshi.

Two ways in which the word mind is used: the thinking mind and original mind or ordinary mind unconditioned awareness or just this (suchness). There is no barrier we are already here. The Zen knowing is not conceptual knowing or knowing how to fix something.

The great way has no gate

A thousand roads enter it

There is no path in the sense of getting somewhere.

What are the barriers which prevent from realising the way in each moment?The barriers of the “family treasures”, what we want to possess or hang onto. Or, the “could haves” or “should haves”. Endless decisions that we can make big problems out of.

Just let go of right and wrong – maybe there is no such thing as a mistake.

As a child we identify with the image in the mirror and the concept of identity, but we miss the mirror. After many years of conditioning we may become curious about this image and identity. Who are we really?

This investigation may make us uncomfortable to begin with, maybe even a little scary. Donald Winnicott came to the conclusion that we all experience two primordial fears: endlessly falling and non-being – disappearing into the black void. This me that we identify with is constructed around these core fears. This journey of freeing ourselves from this holding on inevitably means re-experiencing some of these fears.

This talk introduces the Aboriginal practice of Dadirri. Recognising an indigenous lineage and our indigenous ancestors:

“What I want to talk about is another special quality of my people. I believe it is the most important. It is our most unique gift. It is perhaps the greatest gift we can give to our fellow Australians. In our language this quality is called dadirri. It is inner, deep listening and quiet, still awareness.

Dadirri recognises the deep spring that is inside us. We call on it and it calls to us. This is the gift that Australia is thirsting for. It is something like what you call "contemplation".

When I experience dadirri, I am made whole again. I can sit on the riverbank or walk through the trees; even if someone close to me has passed away, I can find my peace in this silent awareness. There is no need of words. A big part of dadirri is listening. Through the years, we have listened to our stories. They are told and sung, over and over, as the seasons go by. Today we still gather around the campfires and together we hear the sacred stories.

As we grow older, we ourselves become the storytellers. We pass on to the young ones all they must know. The stories and songs sink quietly into our minds and we hold them deep inside. In the ceremonies we celebrate the awareness of our lives as sacred.

The contemplative way of dadirri spreads over our whole life. It renews us and brings us peace. It makes us feel whole again…”