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 […]
The Three Treasures, where are they?
The Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are the three treasures. How to take refuge.
Nurturing the Buddha Seed Within
How is our practice center different from a Buddhist Temple?
Clean Your Ears – The WAY Is Then Heard
Communication, it’s not what you think! Do you really know your mind?
Diversity
What is the thread that weaves through all of existence?
A Calm Mind
The secret to living the eight-fold path and ending suffering.
Quietude
Sitting silently at Quietude, each moment I hear a different tune. How marvelous! The brass wind chimes are animated by that which is invisible, ever-changing, always present. We, too, are animated this way. The winds of change move us to play a harmonious tune, Yet we resist, fearing what’s next. Out of tune, we know not the Tao. At Quietude, I finally realize what animates this bag of bones.
Only Go Straight
Why are there Buddhist Precepts?
The Seeking Mind and Uncertainty
Seeking is projecting, the rabbit hole of misinformation.
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. […]