Daizan talks about his early Zen practice and some of the challenges of meditation. He talks about how layers of frozen emotion and tightness that had accumulated over the years were gradually seen and released, resulting in a freeing up and opening of his body. This "lightening of our load" frees up energy to be positively used elsewhere. www.zenways.org

We can think about our lives in two contrasting ways: in terms of ‘being’ and in terms of ‘doing’. In our lineage of Zen there are two great Zen masters each emphasising one of these two approaches: Hakuin (1686-1768) who taught a journey from point A through the process of practice to point B, and Bankei (1622-1693) who much more taught the ‘being’ aspect of practice. Some people find one perspective more helpful than the other. In this talk, Daizan Roshi shares some of his insights into Zen master Bankei’s ‘unborn’, ‘just being’ approach.

In this talk, Daizan discusses how people have been finding Zen practice useful in their lives. He relates the story of Kim, who suffered from periodic bouts of black moods, and how she used Zen practice to work through this. Not only has the practice dissipated these dark moods, but it has also opened up for her some deep insights into the nature of herself and the Universe.