The OzZen Podcast

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

Genjokoan, by Larry Kodo Hancock 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.