Audio Video

Rest the Heart

Gateway Talks
How do we stay in the state of mediation regardless of whether we feeling good or bad?

What do I really want?

The Gateway Talks
Martin explores what the heart really wants and how to discover it.

Shishi and the Knife

Gateway Talks
Shi Tou asks Shishi for a knife but instead receives illumination. We take a look at what this unusual exchange is all about.

Bai Jiyu and Jingzhao Discuss Opposites and the Illusory Power of Words.

Gateway Talks
Before thinking of good or bad, what is your true face?

The Buddha is a Privy Hole!

Gateway Talks
Why were the Zen masters so disrespectful to the Buddha?

The Tricky Relationship between Practice and Insight

The Gateway Talks
Master Rinzai tells us that if we want to act we should just act, but how can we do that when so much of Zen practice prevents me from doing just that?

The Great Way is not Difficult

The Gateway Talks
The 3rd patriarch of Zen says, ‘The Great Way is not difficult, it merely avoids picking and choosing.’ This week’s Gateway Talk unpacks what these lines mean and why it holds the essence of all Buddhist teachings within it.

Podcast: An Interview with Meido Moore

Gateway Interviews
An interview and discussion with Meido Moore Roshi, Abbot of Korinji Training Temple and author of Hidden Zen: Practices for Sudden Awakening and Embodied Realization.

Nothing Further To Seek is Attaining the Dharma

The Gateway Talks
WE take a look at the famous Zen Koan “What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West?"

Throwing Oneself Into Fire to Avoid Being Downed

The Gateway Talks
Because of our tendency to view opposites as being in conflict with each other, we can't see situations clearly. Martin reveals how we can use skillful means to let problems resolve themselves in harmony with natural rhythm of life.

Daito Kokushi's Admonition - A Dharma Talk

A Gateway Talk
Before his death he gave his admonition to his monk which gives the essence of his teaching and points to just that which is most important for the training of his monks.

Rinzai’s Neither Outside nor Inside

Gateway Talks
Is the truth within us or outside of us?

Just Be Your Ordinary Selves

Gateway Talks
The state of enlightenment points to something far more ordinary than we might assume.

The Knower, The God of Buddhism

The Gateway Talks
Who is the one who sees, hears and smells? Who is the doer? Who is the one who knows?

Bankei’s ‘Unborn’

The Gateway Talks
If the natural state of mind is the Buddha mind why don’t we recognise it?

Records of the Transmission of the Lamp Vol. 2: Da'an's exchange with...

Gateway Talks
There is a quiet a spaciousness that already exists within us, but how do we find it?

Whose Song Do You Sing?

Gateway Talks
Although the Buddha’s teachings appear to come from the outside the Heart-Mind is their original source.

The Seed Shop

Gateway Talks
How to let causes and conditions (or Karma) work in your favor.

The Ever Turning Wheel | Part II

Gateway Talks
The Buddha said that to understand the teaching of the '12 Linked Chain of Causation' was to understand the Dharma itself. In this talk we take a deep dive into the teaching.

Master Taian and the Old Gentleman

Gateway Talks
In this talk we take a look at the effect that culture has on our development and the difference between loneliness and being alone.

The Ever-Turning Wheel | Part 1

Gateway Talks
In this introduction to ‘The wheel of life’ we unpack the esoteric imagery contained within this universal piece of Buddhist iconography.

Zen Bites #17 Podcast: Gratitude

Zen Buddhism and Psychotherapy 
In this episode of Zen Bites, Jamie and Martin discuss the transformative effect that gratitude can have on our quality of life.

Zen Bites #20 Podcast: Mapping the Mind

Zen Buddhism and Psychotherapy
In this final episode Jamie & Martin discuss the mythological and psychological models that have been created by different cultures across the ages, from the Norse myths of the Nine worlds to the collective unconscious.

Dogen’s Falling Flowers

The Gateway Talks
What does liberation really mean for Buddhists? Master Dogen says, ‘The flower petals fall though we love them, the weeds grow though we hate them - that is just how it is.’ (Dogen).

Zen Bites #19: Living with Uncertainty

Zen Buddhism and Psychotherapy 
Martin and Jamie discuss the nature of uncertainty and how to change our relationship to it. 

Why do we Bow?

Fundamentals of Zen
Martin Goodson explains why ‘the bow’ is such important part of Zen practice.

Zen Bites #18: The Shadow, Repression and Acceptance

Podcast 
In this episode Jamie and Martin discuss the unconditional acceptance of the shadow self, those unfavourable parts of "I', the ego, that are often repressed and not allowed in. 

How to Bow

Fundimentals of Zen 
The bow is an essential part of Zen training the teaches us how to surrender through the intelligence of the body, a crucial ingredient for Zen training and a necessary skill to experience awakening.

Ceasing of Notions

The Gateway Talks
What is the difference between knowing in the head and wisdom in the body and how does this work in practice?

Zen Bites #16: Body Wisdom

Buddhism & Psychotherapy
In this episode Jamie & Martin discuss the role of the body as a source of insight and wisdom, relinquishing the cognitive agenda and exploring a realm of pure sensation.

Moving Around the Zen-do

Fundamentals of Zen
An instructional video on how to practice ‘the form’ in and around the Zen-do.

How to Sit Zazen (meditation)

Fundamentals of Zen
An instructional video on how to achieve the correct posture and perform the correct mudras for Rinzai Zen meditation, finishing with instructions on how to count the breath.

Rohatsu Week Talk 2021

The Gateway Talks
Martin Goodson takes us through the inspiring journey of the Buddha's life and enlightenment, a journey that in some sense we must all take when walking the way.

Zen Bites #15: Bereavement, Loss & Dying

Zen Buddhism & Psychotherapy
In this episode Jamie & Martin discuss the difficult topic of bereavement, loss and dying.

Zen Bites #14: Transcendence

Zen Buddhism & Psychotherapy
In this episode Jamie & Martin discuss the spiritual potential of transcending the individual ego and the limited confines of our cognitive prisons.

Form Practice in Zen Training

The Gateway Talks
This podcast talk explores the importance of posture, deportment and energy training in the wholehearted application of daily life practice.

Zen Bites #13: Sounds, Chanting and Mantras

Zen Buddhism & Psychotherapy
How does sound affect consciousness and why has chanting always been integral in religious practice? 

Zen Bites #12: Mindfulness & Relationships

Zen Buddhism & Psychotherapy
In this talk Jamie and Martin discuss the spiritual and psychotherapeutic transformations can happen when we apply mindfulness to the relationships we have in our lives.

Practice Makes Perfect

The Zen Gateway Talks
In this talk Martin takes a deep dive into the Buddha’s formula known as The Triple Wisdom. 

Zen Bites #11: Sitting Meditation

Zen Buddhism & Psychotherapy
Zen and Psychology join forces to discuss Zazen meditation: with tips on how to meditate effectively, it’s history, and why it is such a central practice in both secular and religious mindfulness practices.

Master Sessan’s Three Tips for Zen Training

The Gateway Talks
“Master Sessan said: ‘In our daily life we should remember three things: joining the palms as in prayer; bowing as in worship; and charity.

Zen Bites #10: Body and breath

Zen Buddhism & Psychotherapy
In this episode Jamie Shavdia & Martin Goodson discuss the importance of the body in the practice of mindfulness and Buddhist practice, as well as the pivotal role of following the breath.

Zen Bites #9: Mindfulness of eating and drinking

Zen Buddhism & Psychotherapy
In this podcast Jamie and Martin discuss the mindfulness of eating and drinking, and how a meditational way of being in this inevitable act, helps us to connect with the present moment.

Zen Bites #8: Working with the Emotional Household

Zen Buddhism & Psychotherapy
In this podcast Jamie & Martin discuss the necessity of working with the emotions, as a key to the transformation of the heart and laying down the delusion of 'I'. 

The Four Foundations of Mindful Awareness: Mindfulness of Dharmas

Dharma Talks 
In this talk we look at the five hindrances and how they relate to the final foundation of mind, awareness of mind objects.

The Four Foundations of Mindful Awareness: Mind

Dharma Talks
From the buddhist perspective mind includes more than just thinking. It is the place where all experience can be experienced.

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness Awareness: Sensation

A Dharma Talk
Mindfulness of 'feeling' is key to habit formation. How do we undo unskilful habits and create more skilful behaviours in our lives? This podcast continues our series of talks on The Four Foundations of Mindful Awareness.

The Four Foundations of Mindful Awareness: Body

Gateway Talks
A teaching that provides the foundation for Buddhist practice, as taught by the historical Buddha Gautuma.

Introduction to The Four Foundations of Mindfulness Scripture

Gateway Talks
In this talk we examine the fundamentals of mindfulness 

Podcast: An Extract from The Lotus Sutra

The Sutra of Innumerable Means
'Skilful Means' is a central plank of a bodhisattva's training. In this extract the Buddha makes this skill central to realisation and enlightenment.

Zen Bites #7: Walking Meditation

How do we take the 'quiet spaciousness' off the meditation seat and into activity? Walking meditation is one gateway method to do this. Jamie and Martin also discuss the pilgrimage and its symbolic resonance as 'spiritual journey'. 

The Three Temptations of Māra

A Rohatsu Week Talk
The three temptations take place as the ascetic Gautama sits under the Bodhi Tree in his final attempt to see into the nature of reality and become free from suffering. Not to be confused with the notion of the 'devil', Māra is a deity from the Hindu pantheon who plays a dual role as tempter and tester for...

Zen Bites #6 Daily Life Practice

Zen Buddhism & Psychotherapy
In this discussion Jamie & Martin discuss the mechanics of daily life practice, the practice of meditation in the midst of our life activities. How does this tie into the more 'visible' practice of zazen (sitting meditation)?

Zen Bites #5 The Compassionate Heart

Therapeutic Mindfulness now includes specific practices around compassion. Jamie and Martin discuss the importance of this 'Divine Abode' as it is called in Buddhism as being intrinsic to the awakened heart. 

Podcast: Section from the Diamond Sutra

The 32 Marks of Buddha
The 32 mark were used as living symbols of Buddha and aligned to the creation of the 'practice body' of adherents to deliver beings out of delusion. The power of the Buddha made manifest through teachings, meditation, words and ritual practices.

Zen Bites #4:Meditational Retreats

Why do them and what are they for?
Jamie and Martin discuss the importance of this element of spiritual training, along with a few things to consider if you want to go on one. 

Zen Bites #3 What is Mindfulness for?

A dialogue between Zen & Psychotherapy
This episode looks at the question of whether mindfulness is a religious practice or a therapeutic practice.

Podcast: A Passage from the Diamond Sutra (1)

The Diamond Sutra is part of the Great Heart of Wisdom cycle of scriptures. In this talk: karma, self and no-self; the bodhisattva path and nested selves.

Zen Bites #2: What is Mindfulness Really?

From the Archive
In this episode Jamie Shavdia & Martin Goodson discuss whether Mindfulness is a technique or a way of life? What defines the mindful awareness state? How is it attained?

Zen Bites #1: Who am I?

From the archive
Zen Bites' is the first in a series of podcasts featuring CBT & Mindfulness Psychotherapist Jamie Shavdia and Martin Goodson co-founder of the website The Zen Gateway. In Zen Bites #1 (entitled Who am I?) discussion ranges from the nature of consciousness to the realisation of mortality, compassion...
Series

Zen Bites

Zen Buddhism & Psychotherapy 
Zen Bites is a free audio podcast series featuring Mindfulness-based psychotherapist Jamie Shavdia and Zen Buddhist teacher Martin Goodson, with discussion focusing on Zen, Buddhism and Mindfulness, to more generalised themes of Psychology and Spirituality.

Unpacking Desire

A talk about desire and what the Buddha means in the Second Noble Truth.
What is wrong with desire anyway? Why did the Buddha link it to suffering? This talk investigates what the Buddha was talking about when he refers to it in the Four Noble Truths.
Series

Gateway Talks

The Zen Gateway's own Dharma talks on teachings and practice with an...
Here you will find podcast to download on all aspects of Buddhist teachings and training for study and practice.

At Home with The Zen Gateway

A series of live-streamed Dharma talks given on Facebook and posted up on YouTube during the COVID-19 lockdown. The talks were based on stories from The Wisdom of the Zen Masters by Irmgard Schloegl.

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