At the heart of the Zen practice is to observe. Observe things as they are. Observe the mind as it is. As we observe we also ask the some of the most fundamental questions. The Zen practice isn’t about shutting the mind off but to quiet the mind so we can observe and gain insight to truth as it is.
Sept 6, 2025: The Foundations of Mindfulness
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Aug 30, 2025: The Impermanence of the Self and Death
In life we avoid some very hard truths. One of the biggest being that we are going to die. An other is the fact that everything we define ourselves to be are temporary ever changing definitions. By avoiding truths we create anxiety about them or when things change unexpectedly can cause an existential crisis. The practice of Zen is to directly face all truths to relieve ourselves from the suffering caused by avoiding them.
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A Long Overdue Update
Without a doubt, for those that follow us, it may seem that our Sangha has gone dormant. This is far from the truth for our members. Many of them have been hard at work with many events that will be happen this year. So I thought I’d post an update of some of the things that are up and coming in this new year.
The Beginners Course
The Zen Beginners Course will be taught again this year starting on Jan 31, 2026. Yep, it’s pretty much around the corner. This course is designed for people that are new to Zen and want an understanding of the practice. But is also a good reminder of the foundations of the practice for seasoned practitioners.
There is a small fee to attend the course to cover the costs of advertising and the work put into it. Updates for this will be posted on the website when they becomes available.
The Weekly Podcast
This has not fizzled out. This is something I do in my spare time which I’ve had very little of this year. I do have the audio for all talks that were given by Lotus Vu. It does takes me anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to edit and publish each one. So I’m hoping in the near future I will have the time to start tackling these again. I do plan to publish all the talks that Lotus has give to the Sangha each Saturday. Stay tuned…
Retreats
For our senior members that are able to attend there are two retreat intensives that are planned for this year. The winter one will be hosted in Saskatchewan and the summer one in Ontario. Lotus Vu will be the teacher for both of these.
Since our Sangha is made completely of lay practitioners these retreats allow them to leaving the hustle and bustle of life for a short period of time and solely focus on the Zen practice. These are called an intensive for a reason but are an incredible way for re-enforcing and deepening the Zen practice.
The Up and Coming Year
The challenges facing us are going to be hard for many to say the least. We hope that we can some light, how ever little that may be, to everyone that we can. We hope that all sentient being may be able to find peace and contentment within whatever they may be facing.
Aug 23, 2025: What Compassion Looks Like
I heard a statement once that wisdom is giving someone what they need and not necessary
what they want. Compassion doesn’t always look the way we except. Practice gives
us the clarity of the current situation on how to act in the best interest for
all involved. With out this clarity, no matter how it looks, our actions are more
often than not, not for the best.
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Three Gem Vow Ceremony
At the end of our Saturday sitting today we got some wonderful news that one of our regular practitioners, Anna, will be taking the Three Gem Vows and joining our senior members. The Sangha welcomes you openly and looks forward to attending your vows on September 20.
The Zen Master Jingqing asked one of his disciples:
What's that sound outside?
Disciple:
That's the sound of rain.
Jingqing:
All beings are upside-down; They lose themselves in the pursuit of things.
Disciple:
How should I feel?
Jingqing:
I am the sound of the rain!
Aug 9, 2025: Nirvana is Possible
The Buddha’s teachings of enlightenment wasn’t just for a select few. It was for rich and poor alike. Men and women. For everyone that listened and put those teachings to practice. And 2500 years later this still holds true.
Unfortunately in this day and age, the majority of people don’t believe enlightenment is possible. People listen to the dharma to feel good or do charitable things to gain merits. But when it comes to meditation and practice people turn away and miss the mark leaving nirvana out of reach. Practice and diligence is the key to nirvana for everyone.
I want to include a poem from Hui-neng, The Sixth Patriarch of Zen, found in the Platform Sutra:
Deluded a buddha is a being
enlightened a being is a buddha
a foolish buddha is a being
a wise being is a buddha
a biased buddha is a being
an unbiased being is a buddha
as long as your mind is biased
the buddha dwells in a being
the moment you wake up unbiased
a being becomes a buddha
your mind contains a buddha
your buddha is the real one
if you didn't have the buddha-mind
where would you go to find a buddha?
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July 12, 2025: Finding Peace Amidst Conflict
Reflecting on the current state of the world, marked by conflict, instability, and suffering Lotus Vu emphasized the importance of finding peace within oneself to become a beacon of light in the face of darkness.
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July 5, 2025: The Three Trainings
Lotus Vu gives the Sangha a great reminder of the Zen practice to be brought both on and off the cushion. As she explains the The Three Trainings aren’t three separate practices but rather three sides of the practice. Without even one of these the end to suffering cannot happen.
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A Ritual to Read to Each Other
During our Saturday sitting on July 12, 2025, Lotus shared a poem with the Sangha by William E. Stafford called A Ritual to Read to Each Other.
If you don't know the kind of person I am
and I don't know the kind of person you are
a pattern that others made may prevail in the world
and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.
For there is many a small betrayal in the mind,
a shrug that lets the fragile sequence break
sending with shouts the horrible errors of childhood
storming out to play through the broken dike.
And as elephants parade holding each elephant's tail,
but if one wanders the circus won't find the park,
I call it cruel and maybe the root of all cruelty
to know what occurs but not recognize the fact.
And so I appeal to a voice, to something shadowy,
a remote important region in all who talk:
though we could fool each other, we should consider—
lest the parade of our mutual life get lost in the dark.
For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
the signals we give — yes or no, or maybe —
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.
May 31, 2025: The Way of being a part of the World but not of it
The life of Zen is about quieting and doing nothing internally while living a full life externally. The way of being a part of the world but not of it.
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