Living Zen

Teàrlach Eshū Kilgour
  • 4.8 (123)
  • BUDDHISM
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Spontaneous Zen talks given in the Rinzai tradition by Ven. Eshu Martin, abbot of the Victoria Zen Centre in Victoria, BC, Canada. www.zenwest.ca If you enjoy this podcast, rate it,review it, and share it with your friends on Twitter, Facebook and face to face. www.zenwest.ca Check out the Living Zen Podcast app on the iTunes app store!

  1. 3D AGO

    Animacy in Zen — January 13, 2026 — Dharma Talk

    Animacy in Zen   In this episode of Living Zen, I reflect on Zen form — not as something merely procedural or symbolic, but as something alive.   This talk explores how breath, movement, sound, chanting, bells, incense, and shared attention all participate in the life of practice. Rather than treating form as a set of rules to perform correctly, the talk invites listeners to notice how the practice itself is already active, relational, and responsive.   Drawing directly from lived experience in the Zendo, this reflection looks at Zen ritual as something animated and participatory — a field we step into together — long before we "get to" sitting. It's a grounded, embodied inquiry into what is actually happening while we practice.   Living Zen is a podcast about Zen practice as it's lived — sincere, embodied, and woven into real human lives.   Links & Resources:   Zenwest — the Zen practice community where these talks arise https://www.zenwest.ca   The Red Mountain Way (Patreon) — ongoing teachings, reflections, and recordings https://www.patreon.com/redmountainway   Monarch Trancework — one-to-one guidance, mentorship, and practice support https://www.monarchtrancework.com   If you find Living Zen meaningful, one of the simplest ways to support the podcast is by liking, subscribing, or sharing it. These small, cost-free actions help the podcast grow and reach people who may not yet know about it.   Wherever you're listening from, thank you for your time, your attention, and your practice.

    19 min

  2. JAN 17

    Play and the Great Matter - January 6, 2026 - Dharma Talk

    This talk was recorded during our first sit of 2026 at the University of Victoria's Multifaith Centre. It's a reflection on Zen practice, play, and seriousness—and how we meet the great matter of life and death without becoming rigid or grim. Beginning again, again and again, is at the heart of practice. Living Zen is a podcast about Zen as it's lived: sincere, embodied, and woven into real human lives. Learn more about the Zenwest sangha, teachings, and practice community: https://www.zenwest.ca  Support the podcast and ongoing teachings on Patreon — The Red Mountain Way: https://www.patreon.com/redmountainway  Explore individual, one-to-one guidance and support at Monarch Trancework: https://www.monarchtrancework.com  If you find Living Zen meaningful, liking, subscribing, or sharing the podcast is a simple way to help it grow and reach others who may be looking for this kind of practice.

    18 min

  3. 12/20/2025

    "Kōzen Daitō Kokushi Yuikai" - December 2, 2025 - Dharma Talk

    In this episode, I explore one of the most treasured teachings in the Rinzai Zen tradition: Kōzen Daitō Kokushi Yuikai, the "Final Instruction" of National Teacher Daitō, founder of Daitoku-ji. This chant has accompanied my practice since 1995, and over the years its meaning has deepened in ways that continue to surprise me. Together we look at the stories surrounding Daitō's life, the clarity and fierceness of his teaching, and the very human habits that distract us from the heart of practice — chasing benefits, clinging to forms, or imagining that poverty or ornamentation have anything to do with awakening. Again and again, the Yuikai returns us to this simple truth: nothing is missing, and diligence is the willingness to return to the Way in every moment. To learn more about our community and practice opportunities, visit www.zenwest.ca. If you'd like to support the teachings and access additional content, you can join me on Patreon at www.patreon.com/redmountainway.

    22 min
  4. Tuning Practice - November 25, 2025 - Dharma Talk

    12/13/2025

    Tuning Practice - November 25, 2025 - Dharma Talk

    In this talk, we explore one of the Buddha's most enduring teachings — the musician Sona and the image of practice as a stringed instrument. Too tight, the strings snap. Too loose, there's no sound. Somewhere between effort and ease, discipline and kindness, we find the middle way. Drawing on this metaphor, we look at how our lives constantly shift the tuning of our practice: relationships, work, fatigue, weather, emotions. Form helps, but it isn't the music itself. The music is the living activity of the cosmos flowing through the instrument of your life — and learning to hear it requires honesty, compassion, and continuous adjustment. If you'd like to learn more about Zen training or the community behind these teachings, you can visit www.zenwest.ca. To support the teaching stream or access additional reflections, early releases, and behind-the-scenes practice notes, you're welcome to join me at www.patreon.com/redmountainway.

    18 min
  5. Zen Shout — November 18, 2025 — Dharma Talk

    12/06/2025

    Zen Shout — November 18, 2025 — Dharma Talk

    WARNING - Sudden loud sounds in this podcast. In this episode, we explore the heart of embodied practice — how a single moment of presence can cut through all the noise and return us to the immediacy of our own lives. Zen form, the shout, the bow, the subtle choreography of entering the Zendo… each of these is a doorway back into awakening as a lived, physical reality. If you'd like to dive more deeply into practice, teachings, and community, you're warmly invited to visit www.zenwest.ca, where you'll find information about training, membership, and ways to participate. And if you'd like to support this teaching stream or receive early access to new reflections and talks, you can join me on Patreon at www.patreon.com/redmountainway.

    17 min

  6. 11/11/2025

    Form and Responsibility - November 4, 2025 - Dharma Talk

    Living Zen

    18 min

  7. 11/08/2025

    Decolonize the Mind - October 21, 2025 - Dharma Talk

    Living Zen

    17 min
  8. Remember the People You Came From — July 20, 2025 — Dharma Talk

    07/27/2025

    Remember the People You Came From — July 20, 2025 — Dharma Talk

    In this episode of Living Zen, Eshū reflects on two guiding phrases: the Zen teaching "To study the self is to forget the self…" and the Gàidhlig seanfhacal "Cuimhnich air na daoine às an tàinig thu" — remember the people you came from. As he returns to regular practice at Zenwest, Eshū speaks candidly about the pitfalls of spiritual bypassing, the power of ritual technologies like zazen and chanting, and the importance of community as a container for awakening. He explores how our practice is rooted not in escaping the past, but in embracing it — recognizing that our lives, our questions, and even our suffering arise from deep interwoven relationships, both ancestral and present. This talk invites us to turn toward our conditioning with compassion, to see practice as relational, and to remember those who brought us here — not just in blood, but in all the "selves" that shaped us along the way.   Resources mentioned in this episode: Free Orientation to Zen course: zenwest.ca Support Eshū's work and access more teachings: patreon.com/redmountainway Personalized mentorship and Zen training: monarchtrancework.com

    25 min
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4.8
out of 5
123 Ratings

About

Spontaneous Zen talks given in the Rinzai tradition by Ven. Eshu Martin, abbot of the Victoria Zen Centre in Victoria, BC, Canada. www.zenwest.ca If you enjoy this podcast, rate it,review it, and share it with your friends on Twitter, Facebook and face to face. www.zenwest.ca Check out the Living Zen Podcast app on the iTunes app store!

Information

  • Creator
    Teàrlach Eshū Kilgour
  • Years Active
    2009 - 2026
  • Episodes
    453
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Teàrlach Eshū Kilgour - Monarch Trancework
  • Show Website
    Living Zen