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Dharma Centre

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

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The Foundations of dissatisfaction and suffering.

The Four Noble Truths
The Buddha said that the cause of suffering is attachment but why does attachment arise in the first place?

The Blind Men and the Elephant

How Forms Shape Perspectives
Why is it that we don’t see things clearly? 

Jumping at one’s own shadow!

Stories Retold
When the imagination becomes gripped by powerful emotions, we can find ourselves lost in fears and worries that may not be well founded.

Death’s Three Messengers

Gateway Talks
A young man on his wedding day finds himself standing in front of Yama, Lord and Judge of the Dead.

Life on Dry Land: A dialogue with Master Torie

Blog
When training for something it's sensible to keep track of our progression. When it comes to Zen training however, this doesn't quite seem to work, in fact it can become quite a serious obstacle.

Latest Articles

Audio Talks

Death’s Three Messengers

Transcending Mindfulness: 3 | The Power of Now

Rinzai 35: Do not follow the 10,000 things

Practice

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.

Enter Sandman

Exercises in Mindfulness
What can we do about sleepiness during mediation?

Magazine

Life on Dry Land: A dialogue with Master Torie

Blog
When training for something it's sensible to keep track of our progression. When it comes to Zen training however, this doesn't quite seem to work, in fact it can become quite a serious obstacle.

Extract | The Four Noble Truths by Ajahn Sumedho | Part III

Book Extract
Ajahn Sumedho explains how to let go when suffering arises through the contemplation of the Four Noble Truths.

Mumonkan: The Gateless Gate by Mumon Ekai with commentary by Soko

Book Review
Even before opening this book, I knew that this review would be whole-heartedly endorsing it and recommending it to our readership.

The Zen of Poetry

Poet's Corner
How to use poetry in Zen training.

Nothing Gold Can Stay, by Robert Frost.

Poet's Corner
Robert frost captures the Buddha's teachings on The Three Signs of Being in this short stanza.

Buddhism

The Foundations of dissatisfaction and suffering.

The Four Noble Truths
The Buddha said that the cause of suffering is attachment but why does attachment arise in the first place?

The Cause of Dissatisfaction and Suffering

The Four Noble Truths
If we know the cause of our suffering it becomes far easier to let go of. Dr. Alan Sidi does a deep dive into the theory behind the Second Noble Truth.

Verses from the Dhammapada 154

Having become enlightened the Buddha said, “Now I have found you O Builder and never again shall you build this house. Your rafters are broken and the ridge pole is shattered. My mind has reached Nirvana and the end of craving.”

Dissatisfaction and Suffering are a Part of Life

The Four Noble Truths
Dr. Alan Sidi dives into The Four Noble Truths, a simple formulation which explains why we suffer and the way out of suffering. 

Verses from the Dhammapada 27

It's not surprising that many abandon meditation. It's not a means to achieving our desires or goals. Meditation is only truly discovered when ‘I’ am out of the way.

This week in the Dharma Centre...

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

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