Author Archives: Sarah Kokai Thwaites

Honouring our female ancestors – Sarah Kokai Thwaites

At Jukai, people who are receiving the precepts are given a lineage chart (kechimyaku) which shows their new dharma name at a long end of a blood line going back to the historical Buddha. Look closer and the line is actually a loop with no end and no beginning. One of the children attending our […]

Andy Lloyd’s favourite Zen books – ‘Everyday Zen’ and ‘Nothing Special’ by Charlotte Joko Beck

I often think of Zen books as something like the fourth treasure, combining with the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha treasures in a handy, go anywhere package. As a newbie to Zen practice, I’ve only scratched the surface of the countless titles available, but feel my practice has benefited immensely from what little I have read. […]

Aspects of Buddhist practice I find problematic – Sarah Kokai Thwaites

This for me is rebirth. I find it impossible to believe in reincarnation, literal interpretations of rebirth and versions of karma associated with these. I wrote this some months ago and found spending some time reflecting on the implications of this for my life and practice valuable, kickstarting another strand of practice. I’ll come […]

The interplay of practice and daily life – Sarah Kokai Thwaites

I’ve found it quite difficult to think of a response to this question; how life and practice interplay isn’t something I spend time thinking about. It wasn’t until I sat down to write this that I realised that I don’t see daily life and practice life as clearly defined. In previous years I would have […]

Zoom sitting – Sarah Kokai Thwaites

Six months before the pandemic, I attended a conference of the European Buddhist Union. It included a workshop about online dharma led by an American who worked with the youth network of Thich Nhat Hahn’s Plum Village sangha. I think he despaired at the lack of tech experience of our mostly middle-aged/older gathering of well-meaning […]

Sarah Kokai Thwaites – Jukai, Shukke Tokudo and Shoken

I’m not sure I can explain well in words why I chose to receive jukai or tokudo because I don’t think I knew why I was doing it. I just felt that I would. There was a pull to do both that I didn’t understand but which felt important to honour. There was a jukai […]

Zazen without the sitting – Sarah Kokai Thwaites

As a fairly extreme addict of zazen and of shikantaza (“just sitting”) in particular, spending most of 2020 unable to sit up for more than a few minutes due to Long Covid meant that the mechanics of my practice needed to change. One option might have been to stop sitting but that somehow never occurred […]

Sesshins: Exhaling and Inhaling – Sarah Kokai Thwaites

When I thought about the subject of sesshins past I was a little surprised that the memories of sesshin that came up weren’t of any particular sesshin or of the the long hours in the zendo, much as I honestly love the sitting. Instead what popped up were other accompanying moments. Wandering leisurely through the […]

Buddha, Dharma, Sangha – Sarah Kokai Thwaites

When I first pondered this question, the only word that appeared in my head was ‘life’. I tend to take a rather wide and inclusive approach to practice so before I jump to that conclusion it is perhaps more helpful to start with a more focused definition: Buddha as the historical figure whose example still […]

‘Practising in a pandemic – there is space for it all’ by Sarah Kokai Thwaites

The phrase “there is space for it all” came into my head while sitting this morning and it seems to describe for me (so far) practising during the pandemic. My main practice at any time seems to be sitting with whatever feels the least comfortable. It’s not a practice I deliberately choose but on reflection […]