Friends, For the last few years, I have been taking the month of August off for some personal time. This year, it will be September. I will be in North Carolina from August 25, 2025, through September 28th, 2025. There will be no OZS Practice sessions during this time. Our in-person and Zoom practice sessions will continue in October. I will also be scheduling our yearly fall Silent Retreat at Myakka River State Park on a Saturday in November. I […]
Dharma Talk Videos
Dharma Talk videos on YouTube are from our practice sessions.
I have no words, a walk down the road of habit
I have no words. There’s nothing I can give you that you don’t already have. There’s nothing I can add to what you already are. So we use words because we’ve forgotten who we are in our ignorance. We walk down the road of habit energy, it drags us along like a chain, and we struggle. As we go down the path of getting to know ourselves, we discover that there are options for us that we didn’t think we […]
Habit Energy and Bearing Witness
Why do we act like everything remains the same even as everything is always changing?
OZS Schedule Changes for March and April 2026
Dear friends, Please note that Wednesday, March 11th, will be the last in-person Wednesday practice session at our Zendo until April 15th, and Sunday, March 15th, will be the last in-person Sunday practice session at our Zendo until April 19th, 2026. I will be in Asheville, North Carolina, through April 12th, 2026, and you can join me on Wednesdays and Sundays on Zoom. I look forward to continuing our practice from Asheville on Zoom. Please check the calendar for any changes. […]
Zen Practice from 9:00 am to 12 pm, Saturday, March 7, 2026
A morning of Zen meditation practice from 9:00 am to 12 pm, Saturday, March 7, 2026. Join us in person at our Zendo or on Zoom for several sitting and walking meditations, with a break every hour. Tea will be served. Bring your own cushion or use ours. Chairs are also provided. Please RSVP; space is limited to 12 participants at the Zendo (unlimited attendance on Zoom). Please consider joining us at Siesta Beach at 6:30 am for our half-hour […]
Ten Square Miles Surrounded By Reality
The relative and the absolute, are they different or the same? Where are you now?
Wisdom Through The Ages
Being authentic, genuine, and reflecting true wisdom.
Surrendering to Original Nature
Bearing witness instead of turning your back on life.
Lost in the Weeds, Where is your Zen Compass
Dropping off body, mind.
Sitting like your hair is on fire
I have often said that our meditation practice is “sitting like our hair is on fire”. What does this mean? Baring witness in your Zazen, you continually add the fuel of deluded views and thinking to the fire of “Don’t Know.” Then the Lotus blooms in the fire of “Don’t Know”.
Awakening, What Is It?
Smile as the mockingbird sings.
Alles Ist Gut
When distinctions drop away, “alles ist gut”