This is where we invite you, the Sangha members, to contribute your short articles on your experiences, ideas or readings that you feel will interest others. Send these direct to the webmaster, Andy Scott, or via the contact page. Posts will be linked and publicised in general mailings, Facebook and Twitter. Comments may be made on the StoneWater Zen Facebook page or via Sarah Thwaites if you don't use social media.

Tears of Attachment: A reflection on spring sesshin 2023 – Richard Harris

It had been 10 years since my last sesshin at Fell End. In the intervening years I had continued my practice ploughing a lone furrow but with regular contact with Suigen Sensei, my teacher. Like many Sangha members, I experienced immense support through sitting via Zoom from pandemic times onward. My world had changed during […]

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Photo of Ryokan Sensei

Jeremy Ryokan Sensei

Jeremy Ryokan Sensei was given dharma  transmission by Fr Patrick Eastman Kundo Roshi, founder of the Wild Goose Sangha in 2016. In April 2023 Ryokan received Shukke Tokudo from Keizan Roshi and joined Stonewater Zen Sangha. The inner life and the mystery of life fascinated and spoke to Jeremy from his teenage years. It emerged […]

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Alasdair Taisen Gordon-Finlayson – Shariputra and the Thicket of Views

(Statue of Shariputra from Mahamevnawa Amawatura Monastery in Kandy, Sri Lanka) Just some reflections on a Saturday morning… I was watching a video about Shariputra – a fascinating video that explores what we know about the man himself, who he studied with before meeting the Buddha, his role in the Buddhist sangha, his enlightenment… and […]

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Image of book cover

Guro Shoshin Huby – Reading about Zen: Reflections on China Root, Taoism,Cha’n and Original Zen by David Hinton. Shambala 2020.

Why and how do we read about Zen, Buddhism and Buddhist practice? Indeed, is reading a good thing, or will this detract from the focus on an experience-based practice? Francis Dojun Cook in How to Raise an Ox makes the point that reading and talking about texts is not necessarily a different activity from washing […]

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History and teaching tradition of StoneWater Zen

Stonewater Zen Sangha and Keizan Scott Roshi Stonewater Zen Sangha is led by David Keizan Scott Roshi, a Dharma successor within the lineage of the founder of the Zen Center of Los Angeles, the Venerable Taizan Maezumi Roshi  (1931-1995). Keizan Sensei is the UK and European representative to the White Plum Sangha, the international network […]

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