The OzZen Podcast

OzZen

From the OzZen Australian Ordinary Mind Zen school founded by Dr Andrew Tootell.

  1. This is it! By Andrew Sono Tootell

    May 10

    This is it! By Andrew Sono Tootell

    This nondual wisdom is the realisation that this is it. To me this is the meaning of realisation, awakening and enlightenment. To be enlightened is to love what is unconditionally. To say yes to everything. It’s all okay. But as human beings we struggle to say yes to everything. And this is it too!

    28 min
  2. Taking Refuge, by Andrew Sono Tootell

    Apr 12

    Taking Refuge, by Andrew Sono Tootell

    I take refuge in Buddha. I take refuge in Dharma. I take refuge in Sangha. In this talk invite you all to contemplate what the three Buddhist refuges mean to you on a personal level. To do this, I present three different perspectives on how the refuges (and the other precepts) have been understood from the Zen Buddhist tradition I belong to: 1. The Literal Perspective. 2. The Relative or Relational Perspective; and 3. The Absolute or Nonseparation Perspective. Each different perspective is relevant to our practice and contributes to why we refer to the three refuges as the three treasures.

    27 min
  3. Interbeing, by Louise Shinsho Cranny

    Mar 29

    Interbeing, by Louise Shinsho Cranny

    In this talk, we explore dependent arising: our deep interconnections in time and space with all existence. Deeply realising this, brings us to see the emptiness of self and to lose our fear of loss and even death. We look at engaged Buddhism and through poetic verse practice kinship and kindness in a novel way.

    21 min
  4. Practicing with Anxiety, by Andrew Sono Tootell

    Mar 15

    Practicing with Anxiety, by Andrew Sono Tootell

    I have become more aware of the presence of anxiety in my life over the past six months. Perhaps triggered by my health (heart); my precarious financial situation; anxiety about my performance as a psychotherapist or zen teacher; my anxiety about old age; and the world situation (wars; climate change; cost of living). I have also noticed how my practice has been helping me manage my anxiety. So today in the first half of the paper, I will give a very selective introduction to psychological theories anxiety and then in the second half of the talk I will discuss a Buddhist understanding of the arising of anxiety and how to practice with anxiety.

    34 min
  5. Why Practice?, by Andrew Sono Tootell

    Mar 15

    Why Practice?, by Andrew Sono Tootell

    In this dharma talk Sono explores the question, what does practice mean to you? He begins by discussing his own understanding of what practice is and is not. Sono then asks the question, is it possible to evaluate our progress in zen practice. He concludes that key indicators of progress from the perspective of Ordinary Mind Zen are not special mystical experience but rather a gradual , subtle shift in character, for example, becoming less selfish, angry and reactive.

    25 min
  6. Meditation: The Dharma Gate of Not Two, by Louise Shinso Cranny

    Mar 3

    Meditation: The Dharma Gate of Not Two, by Louise Shinso Cranny

    In exploring the Koan : Zen master Jui Yen talks to himself, we came to see the mundane and the supramundane in our lives and the importance of right view. Who are the others we need to not be deceived by? Questions and answers lead us into deep insights. ‘Know yourself, notice your feelings’ speaks to our need to recognise, allow and investigate our feelings as a means to nurturing oneself. Then we can be more available to others. Deeply observing Joy we cultivate generosity, kindness, resilience and commitment to challenges. We recharge our battery.

    33 min
  7. Meditation: Being Just This Moment, by Andrew Sono Tootell

    Feb 3

    Meditation: Being Just This Moment, by Andrew Sono Tootell

    “Each moment, as it is, is complete and full in itself. Seeing this no matter what arises in each moment, we can let it be.” – Joko Beck. In this guided meditation, Sono invites us to trust our body and our breath to allow each moment to be exactly as it is.

    20 min
  8. Case 94, Book of Serenity, by Andrew Sono Tootell

    Feb 2

    Case 94, Book of Serenity, by Andrew Sono Tootell

    When Joko Beck broke away from the White Plum Asanga to form her own sangha which she named the Ordinary Mind Zen School, she also stopped wearing a robe and also dropped the Koan curriculum and the Jukai ceremony. Barry Magid reintroduced the Jukai ceremony (minus the Buddhist names) and also reintroduced the study of koans. Barry reintroduced the study of koans in the spirit of Soto Zen – using the koans as teaching stories to illuminate different aspects of Zen practice and not as a form of meditation practice aimed at inducing a special spiritual experience. However, more than that, I think one of Barry’s major innovations to contemporary Zen has been to interpret the old koan stories from the perspective of western psychotherapy, thereby instigating a unique sub-genre of utilising koans. In this talk I am going to apply Barry’s style of koan interpretation to Case 94, from the collection of Koans known as The Book of Serenity.

    31 min
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Ratings & Reviews

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out of 5
2 Ratings

About

From the OzZen Australian Ordinary Mind Zen school founded by Dr Andrew Tootell.

Information

  • Creator
    OzZen
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    331
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    The OzZen Podcast

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