Good Friends, I would like to remind you that we are a month away from our All Day Silent Retreat at Myakka River State Park. Come and join us for this wonderful experience. No previous experience with meditation is necessary and an intro on how to meditate will be available. We will start promptly at 10:00 a.m. Arrive one-half hour early for the intro. The retreat will be in silence. There will be several sitting and walking meditations during the day, […]
Category Archives: Events
Workshops, Retreats, Talks
News and updates – 10/1/23
Good Friends, Our ‘Silent Retreat in Nature‘ is getting closer and if you haven’t registered yet, I encourage you to do so! I want to especially congratulate those who have signed up for the precepts ceremony. The ceremony will be at the end of the retreat and I will be interviewing each participant during the day. When your time comes, someone will let you know. Nothing scary about the interview, just want to have a moment with each of the […]
OZS All-day Silent Retreat At Myakka River State Park,11-18-23
The next Retreat in Nature will be Saturday, November 18, 2023 Join us at Myakka River State Park for the Ordinary Zen Sangha all-day silent retreat! The natural setting surrounded by the beauty of nature will help us to relax, reflect, and renew ourselves. We will start promptly at 10:00 am (arrive early). There will be several sitting and walking meditations during the day, Dharma Talks, and a vegetarian/vegan potluck lunch. Tea will be served. The retreat will be over […]
Hui-neng leads us to water, but we must drink it.
Our study of the platform sutra only leads us to our own minds, nowhere else, no other Buddha. ‘Each of us must practice ourselves. No one else can do it for us. Nor can any text take our place‘ It isn’t that the teaching is direct or not, sudden or gradual. ‘The teaching is simply so. When we finally understand it, it appears direct because it is right in front of us. When we don’t understand it, it appears indirect […]
OZS News for Summer 2023
Schedule Changes Our practice session for Sunday, June 18, 2023 (Father’s Day) has been canceled. At OZS, once a month we encourage a Sangha member to give the Dharma talk. The Dharma talk for Wednesday, June 21, 2023, will be given by Sangha member, Serena Olsen. In July, a Dharma talk will be given by Nick Dow. The date TBD. (The Dharma talks may be podcast, if the presenter agrees to it.) This year, I plan to take time off […]
OZS – Retreat In Nature – photo gallery
January 7, 2023, Retreat in Nature
The Darkest Day of the Year
The winter solstice occurs when either of Earth’s poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere. In the Northern hemisphere, it is today. December Wednesday, December 21, 2022. This is called the Shortest Day; the Longest Night. Our original nature is the boundless light of wisdom that always shines, even on the darkest nights. I extend warm wishes to you on this Longest night. Darkness gives way to light and the […]
Happy Holidays!
Important schedule changes Please Note: There will be no Sunday Practice sessions for the rest of 2022! The Next Sunday Practice session will be on January 8, 2023. Wednesday Evening Practice sessions will continue through the rest of the year. We will meet every Wednesday, as scheduled. Our retreat is still scheduled for January 7th, 2023. However, that is also subject to change! Myakka River State Park sustained extensive wind and water damage from Hurricane Ian and will be closed […]
The gift of our Meditation practice
Transcript of the Podcast – I have no words I have no words, which is rather unusual for me. I’m sure I’ll think of something in a moment or two. Having no words reminds me to get to the root, relaxing into my nature without relying on the trappings of conceptualization or making something up. It sounds so simple, just being in the moment, as we say. However, there are so many distractions in our lives. When your mind is […]
January 2023 – All Day Retreat in Nature
Saturday, January 7, 2023! Bring in the New Year with Ordinary Zen Sangha All-day retreat at Myakka River State Park. The natural setting surrounded by the beauty of nature will help us to relax, reflect, and renew ourselves. We will start promptly at 9:00 am (arrive by 8:45 am). There will be several sitting and walking meditations during the day, Dharma Talks, and a vegetarian/vegan potluck lunch. The retreat will be over at 4:30 pm. RSVP is recommended. The retreat will […]