New Online Orientation to Zen!

The full Online Orientation to Zen program is available on our website.


One of my primary motivators in developing the Victoria Zen Centre has been an effort to make Zen Practice accessible to as many people as possible.

For several years, I've been using technology to help with this. This blog, the Living Zen podcast, our eZendo,and I've connected with online communities around the world, through many websites and resources, I've even given talks at Kannonji, a virtual temple in Second Life.

Last year, we launched the Non-Residential Training Period, which gives practitioners all around the world an opportunity to engage with a formalized matrix of training components, and for those who are not connected with a Sangha formally, it is an opportunity to make relationship through forums, through Adobe connect and skype with others who are sharing the training period.

That said, there was still a huge hole as far as accessibility.

Many people who are exploring Buddhism and Zen find plenty of books and podcasts, and this often brings them to ask, "How do I get started?", or, "What do I do next?".

There are plenty of grainy "how to do Zen" videos, often with crummy sound quality, and also often with (usually asian) teachers who begin explaining the posture (starting with full lotus) and technique of Zen meditation.

Of course, this doesn't really help all that much, mostly because for many of the people that I have met over the years in North America (Zen Monks included), full-lotus isn't immediately possible, and it certainly isn't the place to start.

More than this though, it isn't the basic form of sitting that presents the challenge. It is the lack of guidance, not knowing how much to do, how often, and what kinds of challenges come up as a person develops a stable home Zen practice.

For the past 10 years or so here in Victoria, we've been running the Orientation to Zen Buddhist Practice course. The idea was that it would provide a bridge for people who were just starting out in Zen practice. It provides the information and background for the primary aspects of form that we use here at the Victoria Zen Centre, and it allows participants to gradually develop a strong and stable Zen practice. More than this, it provides an environment for participants to ask questions about their budding Zen practice.

It's easy to forget that at the beginning it's tough for a person to sit still and straight for even five minutes. Far too often I have seen newcomers tossed into a regular practice session at a Zen Centre, which often features multiple 30+ minute periods of zazen, without anything more than a quick "sit down and do your best". What a shame!

Based on our Orientation to Zen, I was inspired by the work and philosophy of Salman Khan of the Khan Academy to create resources, and use technologies that we already employ here at the Victoria Zen Centre to make it possible for anyone to access the information, resources, and support that is required to establish a thriving Zen practice, no matter where they are.

I hope that you will enjoy the Online Orientation to Zen Program and resources, and experience the powerful impact that a lifelong Zen practice can have in your life and relationships.

The Rebirth of the Blog...

Victoria Zen Centre circa 2003-4

It's been quite a while since I last posted. I've been reflecting a lot on what this blog should be all about.

At first I just posted transcripts of talks that were being recorded. As time passed, the quality of recordings improved so much that I started the Living Zen Podcast. A year and a half later, the podcast has surpassed 200,000 downloads...more than I could have imagined.

Over the years, the Victoria Zen Centre has developed from being a very basic sitting group into a very robust and healthy community. We have done this as a Sangha by combining the wisdom of the Dharma with the best of business practices, empowered by modern technology. It has proven to be a very potent combination.

Being involved in the development of a community which has as it's mission "To make Zen come alive", has been a very exciting and challenging experience. When people ask about how we have created and sustain this Centre and community, I often start explaining with great gusto. Often the person I am speaking to also gets excited, and suggests that I ought to write a book about it.

I figure that it would be more useful if I just wrote a blog about it. So that's what I'll do.

What will follow will be a combination of history, some talk about the business that is involved in running a stable and healthy Zen Centre, and I'll likely toss in a healthy mix of current events to keep things lively.

Some of you may be upset or offended by our approach, some of you may think it's fantastic. I invite comments from everyone, but I would ask that you keep them clean and aimed at respectful dialogue.

To start us off, I'll include a picture from circa 2003-4. I had been a monk for nearly five years. After working full-time in a receiving home for teenage boys in the care of the then "Ministry for Children and Families" for several years, the Provincial government changed, funding was cut, and I was out of a job. My pregnant wife Niki, my young son Kigen and I went from a 2.5 bedroom upper in which the main living/dining room was the Victoria Zen Centre's Zendo to a 2 bedroom basement suite. I picked up some work with the Vancouver Island Health Authority Mental Health and Addictions Services. It was mostly on-call, so the financial picture was dodgy for both myself, and the Zen Centre, because at the time I was the major financial resource and human resource at the Victoria Zen Centre.

Minutes from the AGM in 2003 indicate that exactly 3 people attended. Thus becoming the board.

The picture on this post is of the outside tent Zendo in the back yard of the basement suite. Several members and I did a major clean up job of the yard, leveled and laid a concrete slab patio. I built tans out of pressure treated lumber. We stored the cushions and accoutrements in rubbermaid containers outside as there was no room inside (pregnant lady, small child 100lb dog, and 6'4 me in a 2br basement). Until we figured out an anchor system, there were times when the tent actually lifted off and we had to catch it before it flew over the fence like some kind of monstrous white box tent. I got a call one day at work when it actually did. Fortunately it blew the right way, sheering off the awning over our door, and obstructing the entrance so that I had to come home to extract my family.

From May to about September, many people came to sit in the tent Zendo. Participation shrank in the winter. Most often I sat alone, just like in the picture. Some mornings I came back into the house for a cup of coffee and had to shake the snow and frozen rain off that had encrusted my entire right side (people who live in Victoria will be familiar with the snow and rain that falls sideways due to the wind.)

Ah...the good old days. I think that's enough of a sentimental walk down memory lane for now, and a great place to start...stay tuned.