Living Zen

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

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. 6D AGO

    "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
  2. Tuning Practice - November 25, 2025 - Dharma Talk

    DEC 13

    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
  3. Zen Shout — November 18, 2025 — Dharma Talk

    DEC 6

    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

  4. NOV 11

    Form and Responsibility - November 4, 2025 - Dharma Talk

    Living Zen

    18 min

  5. NOV 8

    Decolonize the Mind - October 21, 2025 - Dharma Talk

    Living Zen

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

    JUL 27

    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
  7. On the De-Animation and Re-Animation of Zen — July 13, 2025

    JUL 20

    On the De-Animation and Re-Animation of Zen — July 13, 2025

    This week there's no Dharma talk from the Zendo — UVic was cleaning the carpets on Sunday, so our usual sit was cancelled. But I didn't want to leave the Sangha hungry. Instead, I'm sharing this reflection on how Zen was "de-animated" when it came west — and how we might begin to re-animate it, in relationship with land, ancestors, and the many seen and unseen beings who share our world. It's not doctrine; it's just some thoughts I found worth writing down. May they serve you in some way. If this resonates (or even troubles you), I'd love to hear how. Zen has always been about companionship on the Way. Zenwest Buddhist Society: www.zenwest.ca — a living Zen community on Vancouver Island Monarch Trancework: monarchtrancework.com — for Zen orientation, mentorship, and integration work Support this work on Patreon: patreon.com/redmountainway

    12 min
  8. The Buddha's Buffet - July 6, 2025 — Dharma Talk

    JUL 13

    The Buddha's Buffet - July 6, 2025 — Dharma Talk

    In this episode, we explore the long arc of practice — how insight and awakening might come suddenly, but true transformation takes slow, organic time. Like digestion or composting, it can't be rushed. We reflect on moments of birth and death, on coming back to practice after seasons away, and on learning to pace ourselves at the endless feast of awakening. Whether you're tasting your first bites or returning after time away, the Buddha's buffet is always open. It's good to be here together. I'm Eshū, Abbot of Zenwest Buddhist Society, where we make Zen come alive in contemporary community. At Zenwest we offer a fully online Free Orientation to Zen program here https://app.kit.com/landing_pages/77458?v=7  If you'd like support building a foundation for practice, I offer one-on-one Orientation to Zen Support here: https://monarchtrancework.com/orientation-to-zen-support For deeper mentoring and one-on-one guidance, you'll find my Zen Mentorship & Training program here: https://monarchtrancework.com/zen-mentorship-training You can also join me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/redmountainway, where I share reflections, Zen resources, and more to support your path. If this talk nourishes you, please help others find it by rating, reviewing, or sharing. It makes a real difference — especially for those practicing far from a Zen centre.

    21 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 - 2025
  • Episodes
    451
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Teàrlach Eshū Kilgour - Monarch Trancework
  • Show Website
    Living Zen

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