WSP26 - Zen and the Middle of Everything - Mingpo Larry Matthews - January 3rd, 2026

Through humor, poetry, and lived examples, Ming Po reflects on non-duality, mindfulness, and the ordinary moments of daily life, inviting listeners to discover awakening not by escaping life, but by meeting it fully in the messy, vibrant middle of being human.

Our mission is to foster a diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to awakening through Buddhist teachings promoting personal and interpersonal healing with ethical compassionate action.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/

FPP25 - Why there are no victims - Kenshin Cian Whalley - November 15th, 2025

Kenshin Cian reflects on a lifetime of examining the difference between real victimization and the identity of victimhood, sharing how early childhood trauma shaped his unconscious patterns in relationships. Through Mondo Zen practice, shadow work, and metacognitive awareness, he realized that while harm is real, the ongoing story of being a victim is a choice shaped by conditioned parts of the self. He describes catching himself strategically allowing suffering to influence outcomes, seeing clearly that a deeper awareness was always present and choosing. Recognizing this “choice point” allowed him to step out of the victim–rescuer–persecutor cycle, reclaim his disowned power, and respond from presence rather than trauma-driven parts.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/fallpractice25

Our mission is to foster a diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to awakening through Buddhist teachings promoting personal and interpersonal healing with ethical compassionate action.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/

A brief profile of Zen priest and martial arts teacher Jozen Jonathon Fielder, tracing his path from yoga and diverse Buddhist traditions to Rinzai Zen, Hollow Bones ordination, and the integration of Zen practice with martial arts through his teaching and the emerging Iron Mountain Zendo.

Jozen Jonathon Fielder offers his teachings and his wisdom tireless through several sanghas. Having been ordained as a Hollow Bones Zen priest, he continues to lead a regular practice as part of the Virtual Zendo. As a martial arts teacher and dharma teacher, he is an associate clergy member of Shining Bright Lotus. Recently he has begun to develop his own dharma center Iron Mountain Zendo in the UK.

https://www.shiningbrightlotus.org/iron-mountain-zendo