The more grateful we feel, the happier we become. This is because gratitude helps us realize we are all connected. Nobody feels like an island when feeling grateful. Gratitude awakens us to the truth of our interdependent nature. Sunim, Haemin. “The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down” (p. 38). Penguin Publishing Group.
COVID-19 response update for OZS practice sessions
All OZS sessions at our Sarasota Zendo on Fruitville Road are canceled till May 1, 2020. With COVID-19 active on our continent and locally, as a precaution, I have canceled Wednesday evening and Sunday morning meditation sessions at our Zendo, effective immediately for the rest of March. As we navigate through this health concern, the most important thing is for everyone to take care of each other. If we work together as a community to slow the transmission, our health […]
COVID-19 response at OZS
“When the crowded Vietnamese refugee boats met with storms or pirates, if everyone panicked, all would be lost. But if even one person on the boat remained calm and centered, it was enough. It showed the way for everyone to survive.” –Thich Nhat Hanh OZS is monitoring the COVID-19 situation as it unfolds and currently remains open for practice on Wednesday evening and Sunday morning. We are promoting handwashing and sanitation, as well as bowing as greeting in lieu of […]
Monk In The House
In this episode, Will talks about our upcoming retreat with Chong An Sunim and Kongan practice.
Nail Down Your Meditation Practice
Tilopa was a mahasiddha, a great adept, who likely lived in the region of present-day West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh around the turn of the th century. Little is known about his life, but traditional biographies tell us that he was a cowherd and showed a natural inclination for meditation and mystical experiences. Over the course of his life he became a very experienced meditator with a profound understanding of the mind. Like many of the other famed mahasiddhas from […]
Paying Attention
Getting to know ourselves through our meditation practice. Sunday 2/09/2020.
Making Clouds Disappear
When I was a child, I used to play a game with friends called “making the clouds disappear.” Days that clouds were scattered and puffy were ideal. We would each pick a cloud and focus all our energy on making it disappear, and sure enough, with patience, they would disappear! What was wonderful about the game was the experience of oneness, of sky, mind, space. It was the magic of active imagination! As adults, we intellectually might grasp that this […]
The Middle Way and Intimacy
Sunday 2/2/2020 Dharma Talk at OZS.
Vimalakirti Sutra – with talks by Norman Fischer
From http://everydayzen.org/ – these Podcasts by Norman Fischer are excellent commentaries on the Vimalakirti Sutra. The sutra explains the meaning of nonduality directly with the words of the Buddha. An important aspect of this scripture is that it contains a report of a teaching addressed to both arhats and bodhisattvas by the layman Vimalakīrti, who expounds the doctrine of Śūnyatā, or emptiness, to them. You may download the Sutra here: https://holybooks-lichtenbergpress.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/Vimalakirti-Nirdesa-Sutra.pdf Vimalakirti Sutra – Talk 1 – Dharma Seminar – […]