What is the subject of your dharma talk with Tricycle? I’ll be drawing on my experience in the mindfulness, vipassana, and Zen traditions to offer teachings and practices of self-study that bring about transformation and liberation from selfish views and suffering.

Approaches focused on mindfulness invite a wonderful attention to the body, here and now, but often miss directing attention toward our dependent, selfless nature. Without this insight, we miss how the processes of craving and suffering are bound up with self-view.

I want to explore how we can practice presence with the compulsive and addictive tendencies we all have, in a way that brings insight into, and freedom from, self-clinging. In doing so, we can undermine the roots of our habitual patterns of mind and the limitations that they bring.

What drew you to Buddhist practice? Some of my earliest memories were being terrified of death, although not for any particular reason. I remember a profound fear knowing that I would die one day. Unsurprisingly, this led to a search for meaning and understanding, an interest in philosophy, spirituality, and religion. Looking for a guide, I met a Zen teacher who seemed to have found a way to live in the world with grace, humor, and freedom. I knew I wanted to be like that, and from then on committed to follow their path.

Can you tell us about the work you do? For the past eighteen years I’ve worked as a Buddhist prison chaplain, taking teachings of presence, kindness, and peace to places where these things can be in short supply. It warms my heart to know that there’s a community of people inside the prison system practicing dharma, and bringing light and warmth into some of the coldest and darkest places. Training and teaching mindfulness to professionals and clients in addiction services allows me to support people who experience deep suffering. Some are not remotely interested in Buddhism. What takes up most of my time is running the Gaia House retreat center in the UK. There, I’m working to widen our community and expand access, bridging cultures, and trying to remove money as a barrier to deep dharma practice opportunities.

How do you deal with feelings of doubt or uncertainty in your practice? One fruit of practice is a certain equanimity that develops in the face of doubt. I’ve grown a great confidence in practicing presence, patience, and generosity toward doubt if it arises.

What is your favorite non-Buddhist book? A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. It’s a wonderful novel. I found it unputdownable, but it’s written by a Zen practitioner, so . . . OK, it’s a bit Buddhist!

Can you describe something important that you have learned from your practice? Though I take part in extended retreats when I can, as a primarily lay practitioner raising a family, I’ve been blessed with a genuine insight into the kind of liberation ordinary people can realize. Embracing this limited human being and living this life fully is the only way. I don’t think it is different for monks; awakening is fully embracing our ordinary life.

What is the most common question you hear from new students? Because most of my practice life has been in the Soto Zen and insight meditation traditions, and since these both strongly emphasize meditation practice and retreats, I’m always hearing people ask something like, “How do I bring this into my ‘real,’ or daily, life?”

It took me some time to get over attachment to the peace and care that can be experienced while meditating or on retreat, when faced with the kind of situations that family life brings. But the longer I’ve been practicing meditation in daily life and the more I go on retreats, the less difference there is. Now, I can welcome a busy or frustrated heart and mind when on retreat, and I often find myself present, absorbed, and happy with whatever I’m doing in “daily life.”

In June 2025, watch Anshin Devin Ashwood’s Dharma Talk at tricycle.org/dharmatalks.

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