Ordinary Mind Zen School Zazen is an act of sincerity
Jan 5, 2026
A talk about transforming character through Zen practice, focusing on virtues like wisdom, patience, generosity and ethics. It contrasts Zen with religion and warns against promising meditation as a cure for mental illness. The six perfections are presented as practical measures of change. Zazen is framed as sincere presence that steadily cultivates those virtues.
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Zen As Transformation Of Character
- Zen is best framed as the transformation of character rather than clever definitions or labels.
- Geoff Dawson contrasts witty answers with a sincere definition to clarify the practice's real aim.
Conversation About Zen And Religion
- Geoff recounts a conversation with a Diamond Sangha teacher who called Zen a religion distinct from psychotherapy.
- He rejected the word religion for its belief connotations but kept the idea of a distinct transformation-focused practice.
Six Perfections As Practical Categories
- The six perfections give concrete categories (wisdom, meditation, generosity, patience, joyful effort, ethics) that point to character change.
- Dawson notes early Buddhism's fondness for lists and compares them to modern AI-generated category summaries.