Crooked River Zen Dharma Talks

Sensei Dean Williams dharma talk working with the opening lines of Shitou's Sandokai, the merging of difference and unity. Dean discusses  his interpretation of Full Moon Ceremony Teachings as well as manifesting the "noble body", distinctions between inside (self) and outside (other) dissolves, manifesting the "dharma body" (with a lowercase 'd'), and that there is no fundamental distinction between self and things outside. This continues the exploration of Shohaku Okumura's Living by Vow - Chapter 7.  Dean also will also be drawing from a companion book, Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai by Shunryu Suzuki. Shared at a Crooked River Zen regular sitting in Cleveland, Ohio.

Dean opens today at the beginning, the dawn, of Sandokai, discussing Non-Duality and Sandokai Dean draws from Shunryu Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind and Dogen Zenji's teachings, exploring the resolution of opposites—such as light and dark, or midnight and dawn. Suzuki emphasizes that opposites (e.g., nighttime and daytime) are essentially one co-present reality rather than being necessarily isolated states. This is discussing the section "Zen & Excitement', beginning on pg 118 (depending on edition) of Shunryu Suzuki's classic Zen Text Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen meditation & Practice Shared at the Crooked River Zen regular sitting in Cleveland, Ohio.

Sensei Dean Williams dharma talk working with the opening lines of Shitou's Sandokai, the merging of difference and unity. Dean discusses the origins conveyed in the Sandokai, the text Treatise on the Awakening of Mahayana Faith (also known simply as The Awakening of Faith). Origins of The Awakening of Faith is predominantly Chinese in nature and considered a Chinese text. An important part of Dean's discussion today is Dogen's Critique of "Mind" and "Ordinary Mind", and Dogen's warning about misconceptions around Mind. This continues the exploration of Shohaku Okumura's Living by Vow - Chapter 7.  Dean also will also be drawing from a companion book, Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai by Shunryu Suzuki. Shared at a Crooked River Zen regular sitting in Cleveland, Ohio.

Sensei Dean Williams dharma talk on the term "no mind", which in Zen teachings is used as a skillful means to convey the boundlessness and non-duality of all things rather than a separate metaphysical entity.  Shared at the Crooked River Zen regular sitting in Cleveland, Ohio.

Sensei Dean Williams dharma talk introduces Shitou's Sandokai, the merging of difference and unity. This is the first lecture in a series of talks that will continue looking at Sandokai in depth, which is going to take the next several weeks to completely cover this subject. This continues the exploration of Shohaku Okumura's Living by Vow - Chapter 7.  Dean also will also be drawing from a companion book, Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai by Shunryu Suzuki. Shared at a Crooked River Zen regular sitting in Cleveland, Ohio.

Sensei Dean Williams hosts the regular Open Q&A for the group. Sangha members raised questions for Dean on the parallels between the Buddhist concept of emptiness and pantheism. He notes that while Buddhism does not hold a monotheistic belief, both perspectives share a view of an indescribable, universal life force that permeates all things. Shared at the Crooked River Zen regular sitting in Cleveland, Ohio on 10/3/26.

Sensei Dean Williams dharma talk on the Heart Sutra explains that prajna (wisdom) is the direct, unmediated insight into the impermanence and interdependence of all things. This perspective includes the teaching itself, which is also impermanent and interdependent. This continues the exploration of the central Zen text of the Heart Sutra. The source text the group is working with is Shohaku Okumura's Living by Vow Chapter 6 in the section "Great bright Mantra". Shared at a Crooked River Zen regular sitting in Cleveland, Ohio.

Sensei Dean Williams dharma talk on the Heart Sutra lines "with nothing to attain, the mind has no hindrance." Dean talks about Emptiness and Interdependence explaining that because all things are empty of self-existence and defined by impermanence and interdependence, we can rely on "nothing." This means not clinging to fixed views or specific outcomes, which allows the mind to function without becoming a hindrance. This continues the exploration of the central Zen text of the Heart Sutra. The source text the group is working with is Shohaku Okumura's Living by Vow Chapter 6 in the section "No Hindrance". Shared at a Crooked River Zen regular sitting in Cleveland, Ohio.

Sangha member John Wilhelm shares a talk on meditation in Zen. Zazen (meditation) and solitude, what is considered the "prerequisite" to Zen meditation? Begin with recognizing the three poisons, seeing the absolute and the relative aspects in your thoughts and actions.

Sensei Dean Williams dharma talk on 'Zen & Excitement'. Dean discusses being fully engaged with our usual environment through focused awareness and mindfulness. Drawing from Suzuki Roshi's Book, we see that whether just sitting, doing chores, drinking tea, etc., we can always be fully engaged with our environment through focused awareness and mindfulness.. This is discussing the section "Zen & Excitement', beginning on pg 57 or 42 (depending on edition) of Shunryu Suzuki's classic Zen Text Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen meditation & Practice Shared at the Crooked River Zen regular sitting in Cleveland, Ohio.