Stoep Zen

When life looks difficult, it is. But that is not all; there is also this - to take the broom and sweep the yard with no hesitation. Make this your year for a Zen retreat!

When we come into ourselves, we are naturally awake and the world naturally meets us. So selfless, so simple.

Compassion in Buddhism is not cute; it is grounded in Emptiness, in Taoism it is grounded in Tao, ordinariness. And both of these are marked by a fundamental unfathomable interconnectedness.

Whether we are on formal retreat or out in the everyday world, our practice continues. We pay attention, whatever we are doing and whomever we are with. We honour our inherent relatedness. This is where our practice is tested, refined, enjoyed and deepened.

We come to Zen through the teachings of the tradition. The brilliance of the teachings is that they have a self-destruct button. We are asked to leave the house of explanation and go into the fresh air. There we can find the Way of Attention and Connection. Very clear. Complete faithfulness to Just This.

In a world awash with information, disinformation, misinformation, debates, opinions, what can we truly rely on? This question points us back to our Zen practice itself, towards our learning to return to the roots of our unassailable experience.

Our practice is not about achieving any particular experience or state of mind; it is about coming to our cushions with nothing beyond our willingness to turn up and sit down. In this way we honour the purity and humility of this Way.

Beyond heroism and psychodrama lies the fundamental reality of interconnection. We take this as the foundation and focus of our practice as Poplar Grove Zendo.

Zen practice reminds us how natural it is to move beyond the self of judgement into the selflessness of true connection.

When heatbreak appears, boundless compassion arises instantly.