I’ve been a lay practitioner at the Columbia, South Carolina Zen Priory for eight months now. Recently, Reverend Master Rokuzan invited the sangha to write an article for the OBC Journal. I have benefitted greatly from the Journal’s articles … Continue reading →
This is an edited transcript of a Dharma talk given at Shasta Abbey in June 2022 to commemorate Memorial Day. Last Sunday, we concluded our Jukai Retreat. It’s always inspiring for me to see new people coming and taking … Continue reading →
This is an edited transcript of a talk given at Shasta Abbey in June 2023. I would like to start with a story about an animal that I grew up with in the Midwest, the buffalo. Actually what I … Continue reading →
In honour of the memory of Rev. Master Jishō, and with gratitude for his life of teaching, we offer this article which is an edited transcript of a talk given at Shasta Abbey in 2007. I do have … Continue reading →
In remembrance of Rev. Master Alexander who died in November 2021 we are publishing a transcript of a Dharma talk he gave whilst he was Prior at the temple in Telford. With gratitude to Chris Hughes for transcribing it. … Continue reading →
There is something that calls us to meditation and this call persists as we go on. There is something deep within us that we know to be true, and know to be good, but we can feel as if we … Continue reading →
The Precepts point to and express a fundamental shift in our point of view. Training seems to me to involve choosing a certain way of living or relating to the world—a choice that is repeated daily, almost endlessly. There is … Continue reading →
Almost always when we talk about how our meditation practice can really not be separated from working with the Precepts, someone will lament how hard that is. And we all agree, it is hard if you wish to label it … Continue reading →
What is it in the psychological aspect of being a human that tends to lead us towards the belief in a substantial self, separate from other beings, which in turn leads us to break the Precepts? How do we balance … Continue reading →
The Precepts are actually how we live when we learn to let go of greed, hate and delusion—they are enlightened action, they are the life blood, the working, of the Buddha Mind. They are the guide to a place which … Continue reading →