In our OzZen sangha, when receiving the precepts, recipients also give a Jukai talk, reflecting on their experience of studying the precepts in the monthly study group over the past year.  Recipients are encouraged to personalise their experiences.

Jukai talk, by Louise Cranny

Awakened awareness is not about special experiences – it is about recognising the simplest form of conscious experience that is available to everyone.  Joko called it “Simple Mind”, Shunryu Suzuki called it “Beginners Mind” or we could simply call it awareness of awareness or “Pure Awareness”.
We could say that the purpose of meditation, both silent and guided, is the process of dis-identifying from the suffering that is generated by identifying as a personal separate self with the flow of impermanent, interdependent phenomena and recognising and returning to our home base of Simple Mind.
By Sono.

Meditation: Simple Mind

Opening To Love, by Jack Wicks

This talk explores the benefits of these often tricky challenges and what Buddhism and relational science offer us in dealing with them. Idealised or romantic love is dualistic and relates to the other, Harmonic love relates with the other. Rather than being in love, we become love.

Opening the heart in close and intimate relationships, by Shinsho

The divine abodes are loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. These are both fruits of a practice of meditation and can be doorways to the deepening of that practice. In this guided meditation we explore the connection between romantic love and loving kindness. Romantic love hints at the universal love we can experience and embody whether or not we are in love romantically with someone or not.   

Both in love songs and romantic poetry we can get a taste of something that is beyond our individual selves, beyond existence in a certain place and time, beyond the usual way we experience life.  Universal love can flavour our lives and be flavoured by the qualities of romantic love. 



Meditation: Romantic and Universal Love, by Jack Wicks

This session focuses on the meaning of Emptiness in the Pali Buddhist sutras and the Abhidharma philosophy school.

3: The empty self part two

From the Buddhist perspective, the understanding and realisation of emptiness is the key to liberation from suffering – because the roots of suffering stem from primordial confusion as to the nature of reality – to be free from suffering we need to eliminate ignorance – to eliminate ignorance is to understand emptiness – hence the realisation of emptiness is the ultimate medicine.
In this lecture series we are exploring some of the different ways of understanding emptiness found in Buddhism – today we will go into what is called the Madhymaka School or The Middle Way School which interprets the prajnaparamita sutras – such as the Heart Sutra and The Diamond Sutra. Prajnaparamita meaning the perfection of wisdom – where wisdom realises emptiness.  Nagarjuna is the founder of the Madhymaka school and he is the first and most influential Buddhist philosopher - later in the series we will move to exploring the Yogacara view on emptiness and explore the question as to whether or not the Madhyamaka and Yogacara Schools are allies or rivals.

4: Everything is Empty of Inherent Existence

In this meditation we contemplate the question: Why do you sit?
Like a Koan there is no right answer.  Are we “Performing our vows”?
“Renewing our commitment”? “Embodying the practice principles?” 
What kind of engagement with life is Zazen? The practice of nonseparation?
The practice of leaving everything alone? Nonthinking is a kind of letting be – letting
thinking be, letting everything be. Forget yourself. No gain.   Just this is it.

Meditation: Why do you sit?

In this talk I discuss socially engaged Buddhism and how the paths of personal and social transformation are interdependent.
As David Loy states: ‘Engagement in the world is how our individual awakening blossoms, and how contemplative practices such as meditation ground our activism, transforming it into a spiritual path”.


Socially Engaged Buddhism

How does our practice help with this work?
When we come from love rather than anger and fear, without creating enemies, we avoid anxiety and burnout. We can rely on our zazen practice to step back and see clearly with a compassionate lens.  Together with the fundamental truths of Buddhism, this allows us then to step up and into wise action as is required in any given moment.

What does it mean to be a social activist?, by Louise Shinsho Cranny

Zen Buddhism can be understood as a form of performance art.
In this recording, Sono performs the song by the 17th century monk Hakuin, called “Song of Zazen”.

Meditation: Song of Zazen

From Australian Zen teacher Dr Andrew Tootell.

Jukai talk, by Louise Cranny

OzZen

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