Ordinary Mind Zen School Sesshin Day 1: Zen and the Art of Living
25 snips
Apr 15, 2026 A guided orientation to intensive practice and why disciplined sitting reveals habitual mind. A cultural history of Zen and how Taoist practicality mixed with Buddhist meditation. Stories and metaphors about living moment-to-moment and the mystery of time, space, and consciousness. A call to embrace not-knowing and to notice how fear and anger shape the sense of self.
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1960s Zen Boom Framed As Practical Art
- Geoff Dawson recounts the 1960s Western "Zen boom" and the proliferation of books titled "Zen and the Art of...".
- He uses that era to illustrate how Zen became framed as a practical art of living rather than abstract theology.
Zen As Taoist Practical Skill Integrated With Buddhism
- Geoff Dawson explains Zen as an integration of Chinese Taoism with Buddhism, stressing Taoism's practical, skill-based orientation.
- He highlights Taoism's empirical, down-to-earth valuation of skills like a fisherman's net or natural, unhindered walking.
No Mind Versus Analytical Thinking
- Dawson contrasts "no mind" (mu shin) with analytical theorising, urging a return to the unfettered flowing mind.
- He cites a koan about a ball in a swift river to show life is moment-to-moment flow, not conceptual analysis.
