Ordinary Mind Zen School

A clear look at Taoist metaphors for handling conflict, using water and mountain images. Short lessons on when to yield and when to stand firm. Guidance on sensing authentic bodily signals for boundaries. Practical links between sitting practice and staying steady amid disturbance. Exploration of yin and yang balance in responses.

Taoism's influence on Zen and how Chinese nature religion shaped practice. The meaning of wu-wei, framed as effortless action rather than passivity. Practical examples: zazen, koan study, swimming, prayer, and everyday tasks. Cultural contrast between striving and non-doing and how embodied practice brings ease and presence.

A discussion of how native Taoist ideas shaped Chan (Zen) in China. Exploration of wu-wei and the water metaphor alongside impermanence. Consideration of attachment, identity-centres, and abstract thinking. Guidance on meditation as returning to the body and leaving the self-centred dream. Reflections on the fleeting, insubstantial nature of moments and consciousness.

Explores how Chinese Zen grew from a blend of Taoist and Buddhist ideas, reshaping practice into everyday life. Discusses water imagery and wu-wei as models for non-forcing action. Covers yin-yang balance, seeing life like a flowing river, and using zazen to reveal the natural self. Talks about softening effort, balancing spontaneity with discipline, and steering authentic expression with ethical precepts.

A clear look at the ABC framework linking triggers, core beliefs and actions. A comparison between Western therapy models and Buddhist ideas of being hooked by reactions. Practical guidance on recognizing personal triggers and when they lose power. A counseling story about relationship patterns illustrates how spotting beliefs stops repetitive behavior.

A talk about how rigid judgments warp situations, illustrated by a neighborhood dispute over a childcare incident. The difference between cold facts and emotional stories is explored. Wisdom is presented as flexible and responsive rather than rule-bound. Practical advice includes when to accept, when to act, and seeking calm counsel to avoid group-driven escalation.

A thoughtful look at applying traditional Zen to modern relationships and lay life. Topics include oneness and no-self as a basis for equality, and balancing unity with individual differences. Discussion of harmful patterns like fusion and stonewalling. Practical tools covered: meditation for emotional regulation and precepts for honesty, fidelity, and care.

A talk about how disillusionment shows up in personal life and society, from climate anxiety to global conflict. It explores whether clear awareness must turn into gloom and how practice can intentionally reveal emptiness. Themes include dropping into contentment beyond craving, owning our role in harm, and balancing compassion with joy.

A talk about receiving criticism and shifting from aversion to curiosity. Practices for noticing emotional reactions and returning to bodily sensation are explored. The speaker discusses inner compassion alongside wise external boundaries and consequences. Ancient sutra stories and Hakuin’s teaching illustrate accepting praise and blame without attachment.

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.