Ordinary Mind Zen Melbourne offers a Zen Buddhist approach to cultivating mindful awareness and presence in the activities of daily life.
It is open to beginners and experienced practitioners, and people of all traditions. The group is evolving a style of Zen Buddhism that is adapted to Western temperaments and ways of life, but maintains the rigour and discipline of its traditional roots.
Everyone is welcome to join us for our activities. We offer monthly meditation meetings, zazenkai (one-day sittings) three times a year, and sesshin (multi-day meditation intensives) once a year
The monthly meditation meetings are suitable for anyone with little or no meditation experience. If you are coming for the first time, please contact us to arrange an introduction for newcomers.
Upcoming Sesshin
| Upcoming Sesshin: Saturday 2 November – Tuesday 5 November 2019 Geoff Dawson, Zen teacher and psychologist, will be visiting Melbourne to lead a 4-day residential Sesshin. For further information and to register to attend, please click here |
News & Updates
| The Three A’s Contribution by Tom “Zen groups often begin their sutra service with the Purification verse […] As I say this short verse to myself while sitting on my cushion most mornings, I have begun to translate these ‘poisons’ into language I relate to more comfortably, using the mnemonic ‘The Three A’s’.” Click here to read the contribution from Tom  |
Giving Life to Life: Buddhist Perspectives on Climate Change Reflective Talk by Anja This reflection was the Part 2 of the Sakyadhita International Conference for Women in Buddhism and covered the themes that have emerged from the conference: status of women in Buddism and environmental challenges. She covered the concept of renunciation as presented during the conference and how to apply that principles for non-monastic individual. What does it means to renounce? Finally she shared with us a book on regenerative agriculture – Call of the Reed Warbler – and how Zen practices ask us to be more life centred and less self centred. Click here to access talk |
Dharma Talks by Geoff Dawson Emotions and Precepts: “Precepts are the ethical guidelines in Zen and Buddhism, … in traditional Buddhism the ethics is known as Sīla, and when you look at the meaning of the word sila it means to cool down to calm down. So, you can see the functions of the precepts are often when we do something that create harm or disharmony in the world, we are agitated or heated or reactive in some kind of way; and the antidote is to cool things down …” Practicing with Injustice: “Evening everyone, I wanted to talk about injustice, how we practice with injustice. There is saying from the Bodhidharma: to enter the practice there are 4 inclusive practices : suffering injustice, adapting to conditions, seeking nothing and practicing the dharma. But what does it means suffering injustice ? …” A Simple Piece of String : “I wanted to share a recent experience I had […] with choral music and […] how it is related to Zen practice. I did not have any preconceived ideas of what choral was like … “ |
Extraordinary Mind Contribution by Richard “Over the last month I’ve been experimenting with night photography and image processing, with a recent attempt in my backyard resulting in the photo below […] This is a photo of the galactic core. It is the centre of our Milky Way galaxy in which we live” Click here to read the contribution.  |
Practice & Vulnerability Reflective Talk by Anja Anja discussed the 16th Sakyadhita International Conference for Women in Buddhism she attended earlier this year in the blue mountain. The talk reflects on some aspects of the conference regarding issues & challenges that women face in Buddhism around the world. It also put some light on the deep relationship between the Zen practice and the act of sharing vulnerabilities. Click here to access talk |
Dropping Below the Surface Dharma talk by Geoff Dawson “We know what it is to wonder in every day life, thinking a lot, imagining things, thinking pleasure, avoiding pain, […] it is like the surface level of life. Taking 2 days out of ours life on a week end just to sit is actually quite a radical thing to do. It is not what human being normally do, they are just caught in their surface level life of their chattering mind” Click here to access the talk |
Alone on My Zafu Contribution by Adrien Adrien reflects on the experience of attending his first sesshin – including his own drawings! You can enjoy his contribution here.  |
No umbrella, getting soaked, I’ll just use the rain as my raincoat. Daito (1282-1334) |
No Way Contribution by Tom Tom shares with us a reflection on No Way. You can read it here  |
Practice is this life, and realisation is this life, and this life is revealed right here and now. Taizan Maezumi |
Beginning Mind- Taking Refuge in The Buddha Contribution by Tom Tom shares with us a reflection on Beginning Mind – Taking Refuge in the Buddha. You can read it here |
Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, and pay respect to them and to their Elders past, present and emerging. We give thanks for their wisdom and for their care of country since ancient times, and acknowledge their resilience, their continuing culture, and the ongoing contribution they make to the life of this region.
