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Dharma Centre

Our online community to complement The Zen Gateway online resource and magazine.

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Troubleshooting Zen Study & Practice

Do you have a question about the study and practice of Buddhism, Zen, the teachings, meditation, mindfulness, the concepts or philosophy in Buddhism?

The Fundamentals of Zen

Instructional videos on the basics of Zen practice. Meditation, bowing, the form and much will be covered as this page gets updated.

Chanting

Exercises in Mindfulness
The benefits of chanting are many! Find out how to get started in this introduction to a key component of Buddhist practice.

The Sword that Slays 10,000 Thoughts

Exercises in Mindfulness
If not one thought arises, you will at once climb up the Bodhi tree

Transcending Mindfulness: 6 | Deeper Shadow

Why does it seem as if we are not in control of our mind? Jamie and Martin discuss 'the shadow' in Zen practice and Psychology.

Latest Articles

Audio Talks

Getting Beyond Light and Shade

How to sit Zazen | Zen meditation

Transcending Mindfulness: 6 | Deeper Shadow

Practice

The Sword that Slays 10,000 Thoughts

Exercises in Mindfulness
If not one thought arises, you will at once climb up the Bodhi tree
Series

The Five Hindrances | Martin Goodson

These are the factors that hinder progress in meditation and daily life practice.

“Is there someone else I can ask?”

Exercises in Mindfulness
Why can life be so upsetting? Cut through the mental noise in this simple exercise. 

Chanting

Exercises in Mindfulness
The benefits of chanting are many! Find out how to get started in this introduction to a key component of Buddhist practice.

What is Samadhi Power?

Exercise in Mindfulness
Daily life practice gives us the key to freeing the mind.

Magazine

Towards Wholeness by Venerable Myokyo Daiyu Zenji

Book Review
The title Towards Wholeness is telling. What is wholeness? In this context it is the full expression and life of each one of us and therefore a connectedness with all that is.

Extract Audio: The Zen Way

Life in a Japanese Zen Monastery by Irmgard Schloegl
This is an extract from The Zen Way by Irmgard Schloegl who spent 12 years training in Zen Buddhism at Daitokuji. In this extract Martin Goodson reads an extract from the book detailing the daily routine of the monks plus the ordeal of entrance begging undergone by all monks to gain entry to the monastery. 

Quality not Quantity

Blog
Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp continually reminds us that the amount of time we have been practicing means nothing; it is the quality of that practice which counts.

The Zen Garden: A Path towards 'Right Mind'

Sophie Walker takes us on a guided tour around the Zen Garden, an experience which can bring the heart to a state of rest

Hanshan's Poem | with commentary by Michael Haggiag

Poet's Corner 
Can there ever be beauty in pain and loss? The master poet Hansen captures the bittersweet nature of impermanence in this poem.

Buddhism

The Heart that Doesn’t Settle Anywhere

A Celebration of the Buddha’s Birthday
In the more northern climes of the Buddhist world, spring is a natural time of year to celebrate a birth/re-birth as the world comes alive after the dark, cold winter months.

Verses from the Dhammapada 160

Who is the Master of Self?
The Buddha taught that the 'self' is a delusion. Who then is the Master of Self?

Verses from the Dhammapada 177

In order for intuition to function freely in all situations we must be prepared to give away something very precious to us.

Verses from the Dhammapada 114

Why are we so easily carried away by the tides of the heart-mind and what awaits us on the other side?

Taking the Medicine: The Noble Eightfold Path

The Four Noble Truths
The fourth and final Noble Truth (the way out of suffering) is not a theory or philosophy, it is a call to practice.

This week in the Dharma Centre...

Our online community to complement The Zen Gateway online resource and magazine.

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