Kōzan

was talking to a recent newcomer to the zen centre. he visited one day i was not there. he said to me "i wanted to learn about zen so i came along, and i was taught nothing"
"perfect" i replied.

YouTube video by Zen Meditation & Chanting Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo 延命十句觀音經 | Zen buddhist Sutra for Kanzeon Bodhisattva | Speed up version 7x

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CZT...

words don't describe the honour i had of receiving dharma transmission from my teacher Myozan. Deep bows to my teacher and my sangha for helping me. I just try my best to help maintain a space for people to practice the Zen way. Nothing more, nothing less.

To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening. Those who have great realization of delusion are buddhas; those who are greatly deluded about realization are sentient beings. Further, there are those who continue realizing beyond realization, who are in delusion throughout delusion.' When buddhas are truly buddhas they do not necessarily notice that they are buddhas. However, they are actualized buddhas, who go on actualizing buddhas.

Muho has a great take on answering the old question that bugged Dōgen “But if I’m already a Buddha why do I need to practice?” It’s like saying “But I’m a chef - why do i need to cook?” 🎯

€3000 was raised. Thank you all so much.

some sights and sounds from yesterday's chanting and bake sale for the children of gaza at dublin zen centre. thank to all who came through and supported.

Today from 2pm in Dublin Zen Centre. Chanting and cakes for the children of Gaza. Pop in any time 2pm - 5pm.

Full Moon Ceremony after Zazen tonight at Dublin Zen Centre

chanting and bakesale for the children of gaza. june 22nd at dublin zen centre. donate: www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/d...

RTÉ today at 17.30 - short film about Dublin Zen Centre

trying to keep the precepts is a koan

Wonderful day of practice at our May zazenkai, finishing with Jukai for two new Bodhisattvas, Muji and Kanku. Deep bows to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha

I want to end by throwing a spotlight on a region of the world that might be called the epicenter of the contest between the forces of moral nihilism and our obligation to protect human dignity. I refer to the Gaza Strip, where, right now, a terrible genocide is underway, a brutal campaign of extermination visible to us in real time on our TVs and computer screens. This is the convergence point where our commitment to human dignity should be engaged in a relentless struggle against the forces of moral nihilism, which wage their campaign of devastation with smooth diplomacy and arsenals stocked with the most lethal weapons. Israel’s response to the horrific Hamas attack of 2023 has broken all ethical boundaries, threatening to shred the global rules-based order rooted in international law and human rights. In just eighteen months, Israel has killed over 60,000 people in Gaza, almost 70 percent of them

women and children. Its bombs have reduced homes, hospitals, relief centers, and universities to dust; its forces have executed teachers, doctors, journalists, and relief workers in cold blood. For the past two months, Israel has imposed a complete blockade on Gaza. A complete blockade means, literally: no food, no clean drinking water, no electricity, no medical equipment. Vietnamese of an older generation know what it’s like to face daily bombardments, when you don’t know whether you or your loved ones will be alive tomorrow. The people of Gaza now face a similar ordeal. In Gaza, you might see twenty members of your family wiped out by a single rocket strike. Your children may have lost their arms and legs. You have no access to medical care, and your whole family is being deliberately starved. How can we tolerate this?

Please bear in mind that I am not looking at this crisis primarily as a political issue. I am looking at it as an issue of humanitarian ethics. We are facing a campaign of annihilation that has opened the doors to moral chaos and shattered the very idea of human dignity. The genocide in Gaza should burn our conscience and move us to act—to stand in defense of a people whose humanity is being degraded and violently crushed. I know these are strong words, but I speak as a person of Jewish origins, born and raised in a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York.

I’ve noticed that Buddhist leaders speak endlessly of compassion, peace, justice, and human dignity, but when it comes to criticizing Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians, they seem to lose their voices. I don’t know whether this is due to fear or indifference, but we need to be courageous. As Buddhist leaders we shouldn’t stand silently on the sidelines. We have to seize the demands of the moment, find our voices, and use them to call for peace and justice. We must insist that Israel ends its violence against the people of Gaza, and we must support the aspiration of the Palestinian people for an autonomous sovereign state of their own, with full representation at the United Nations. We should remember that an attack on the human dignity of one community is an attack on the dignity of all. By standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, we demonstrate our compassion, our courage, and our commitment to humanity. Thank you very much for your attention. Let me conclude by wishing everyone a joyful Vesak celebration. May the blessings of the Holy Triple Gem be with you all.

part of Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi's keynote speech at the UN International Day of Vesak 2025, Held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. May 6th 2025

YouTube video by Zen and Zazen with Muho If zazen is good for nothing, why do it anyway?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEJ3...

a reminder of our upcoming day of zen meditation @ dublin zen centre. DM for details

one ocean, many waves. waves need the ocean, ocean needs the waves.

It isn't about what we think or believe Buddhism is Vow

Buddhism is something we DO seigaku.substack.com/p/it-isnt-ab...

"Therefore, Mahamati, those who would attain the personal realization of buddha knowledge should abandon all views and projections concerning the sameness or difference or both or neither, or concerning the existence or nonexistence or neither existence nor nonexistence, or concerning the permanence or impermanence of origination, duration, and cessation."

Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra - (trans. Red Pine)

the next zazenkai at dublin zen centre.
DM me for details/to book a place.

Today is Buddha's Birthday. We celebrated Hana Matsuri at the Dublin Zen Centre last night.

sometimes i see comments that Western Zen practitioners are "cosplaying" etc. with regards robes and rituals and titles
but everyone is cosplaying. the business person, the police officer, the monk, the westerner, the easterner.
might be a good idea to try on another costume, even just for a change.

Taking A Break: 23rd March 2025 Taking A Break: 23rd March 2025. A Teisho offered by DZC Shuso, Rev. Kozan Kokai, given as part of the Zazenkai at Dublin Zen Centre, on 23rd March, 2025. See www.zenbuddhism.ie for more information.

Also available on Soundcloud soundcloud.com/zenbuddhismi...

Taking A Break: 23rd March 2025 Zen Buddhism Ireland Podcast · Episode

A talk i gave at the weekend on zazen as "a break" open.spotify.com/episode/1raA...

another great day of practice at Dublin Zen Centre with our March Zazenkai. Thank you to everyone who sat with us.

A poster for the upcoming Zazenkai in Dublin Zen Centre. It features 3 people practicing zazen. The text reads: ZAZENKAI (day od Meditation in the Sōtō Zen tradition) March 23rd / 10am - 5pm / Dublin Zen Centre/ €30 To book: email kozankokai@gmail.com 11 Anglesea St, Temple Bar, Dublin, D02 NY01 zenbuddhism.ie

Our next monthly Zazenkai of 2025 is on March 23rd at Dublin Zen Centre, led by myself. Email or DM me to book or for further details. Looking forward to practicing with you.

when you sit zazen, sit zazen.
when you do your shopping do your shopping.
zazen is zazen.
your day to day life is your day to day life.
but zazen is also your day to day life, and your day to day life is also zazen.

Wonderful evening at the launch of my teacher Myozan’s book “Do Not Try to Become A Buddha”. Lovely introduction by Tommy Tiernan too - a really touching talk on Zen. Can’t wait to read it.

"Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal."

- Gautama Buddha