Castlemaine Zen Podcast

When Yamada Roshi was asked what Zen practice is for, he said, “The perfection of character.” In this talk we track the evolution of the teacher Deshan, from young firebrand to mellow custodian of the Way, to explore the importance of character in a ... more

Laotzu taught that “knowing enough’s enough is enough to know". How do we practice this “knowing enough”? And what might we learn from our own meal ceremony and liturgy to help us live a simpler and more embodied life?

On the third night of sesshin we meet Daowu and his student Jianyuan, who are off to conduct a funeral in the nearby village. Things take an unexpected turn when the student Jianyuan raps on the coffin and demands, “Living or dead?” Daowu takes his s... more

On the second night of sesshin we encounter an old woman who says, “Go straight ahead!” What does she mean? How do we go straight ahead? And how does this practice fit hand in glove with the crooked path of genuine awakening?

On the first night of sesshin we take up three encounters from Shitou Xiqian (700-790) to see how they illuminate “Mu”, the great syllable of emptiness. We also spend a bit of time with dogs, who never fail to shake off the very human temptation to “... more

In a world being torn apart by war, it’s impossible not to think of the brokenness of our time, and how we might respond to this brokenness. Zen Master Yanguan offered his own unlikely response when he said, after discovering that his precious rhinoc... more

In this talk, we meet Yanguan Qi’an, one of Mazu’s primary dharma heirs. Yanguan lived right up until the Huichang Persecution of 840-845, where 4,600 Buddhist temples were destroyed and 260,000 monks and nuns were displaced. Not only did his teachin... more

This talk was offered into a round of silent meditation during Zen Open Circle’s Taking Part in the Gathering. It explores the Chinese characters for “ordinary mind” and opens them up for contemplation. This talk preceded a much longer talk on Yangua... more