Oakville Zen Meditation

Welcome ...

Zen Master & Dharma teacher G.Arnaud Painvin MD and Late Catherine Painvin MD are pleased to welcome you. We are providing mindfulness meditation classes 3 times per week which includes silent sitting meditation followed by teaching called Dharma talk and finally Q&A and discussion.

You have access to all Dharma Talks since November 2014. We are open to everyone and our classes are free. For more detailed information about our meditation classes you can find out more About Us.  If you are interested in joining our mailing list please Subscribe to our newsletter below.

Short quote from late little dog called Shih Tzu who was one of my best Zen Master:

“ I am not special, not dogmatic, do not walk on water, don’t take myself too seriously, make mistakes all the times and enjoy wonderful questions and challenges from students so I can learn from them. My job and joy is to try to help others with their struggles the best I can through the practice of meditation and the teaching of Zen Buddhism philosophy”.

As you may know Zen Buddhism is not based on faith per-se, doctrines, dogmas or scriptures but rather on strong spiritual practice based on daily mindfulness meditation, understanding down to earth existential philosophy and practice, both of them designed specifically to alleviate our suffering and its 3 main sources ( desire/I want, hatred / I don't want and delusion/illusion), and, finally, based on pure common sense. We do not preach a so-called divine truth but just factual realities of life and their subsequent wisdoms. Finally, we are against any proselytism, that is to say, to convert people's beliefs such as religious, political or others.

Everyone is welcome ...

Dharma Lecture

549 Awareness: the essence of meditation 18 May 2025
There are 2 types of awareness: One is the mundane one that is knowing this and that from memory. The other one is more subtle and fundamental regarding Zen philosophy and practice. Awareness is to pay attention, mindfully, to the present moment, and its content, whatever it is. Awareness is the ess...
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548 Koan: what is it , and what is its purpose ? May 10 2025
A koan is a short story, a sentence, a parable, an image, a few words, a dialogue, a riddle that, at first glance, does not make any sense, being perceived as absurd, illogical, crazy, aberrant, or meaningless.  Example: "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" Koans were created in the 13th centu...
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547 Proper action by Miranda May 3th 25
  Proper Action  by Miranda Proper action, the fourth step of the Noble Eightfold Path, falls under the category of ethical conduct. It guides us toward living morally, peacefully, and honourably by refraining from harmful behaviour. Skilful action emphasises abstaining from killing, ...
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546 Seeking all the time is source of suffering Sat 26th 25
Japanese Zen Master Dogen  (13th century ) used to teach that seeking something, someone, somewhere, all the time, is feeding suffering. We are always seeking whatever in the same way we are always thinking, always breathing.   1 Seeking to get what we don’t have:    ...
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