Most of our members have a personal background in Druidry and in one or more Buddhist traditions. Bringing it together for them is straight forward and they might only need some inspiration how to combine both paths, such as given in the available books on Zen Druidry. However, some of us need a basic training in either Druidry or Buddhism or both. And finally, many if not all of us have not achieved the final goal of wholeness and enlightenment after all. Training needs are identified by each member or non-member themselves and it is even not required to accomplish the Celtic Zen training if you want to become an initiated Zen Druid, if you have already gained your experience in any other Buddhist or Druid tradition. Nevertheless we want to give you some guidance on the training course in order to fill the gaps and to fully comprehend the Buddha Yoga represented by Celtic Zen and to make use of the spiritual techniques outlined in the Celtic Zen Map. In the curriculum we provide a reading list, which should be accompanied by practical introductions, personal practice and retreats.
Having a daily meditation practice and going on retreats are a good things, but please don't feel obliged to do it. We all go through phases where we practise more intensely than others. This does not make us better or worse people. Feeling like we have to do something may take us away from the real goal, which is liberation, and take the fun out of it. If you are already stressed and exhausted, you should be aware that additional mindfulness can even lead to a burnout. You better also check the circumstances in your life and reduce stress, before you use mindfulness as a stress relief. Meditation shall not be done if you are in a psychotic phase. The meditations which can be done are meditations in motion like the tree meditation described below.
The Celtic Zen meditation and spiritual practices have grouped grouped and mapped according to the Ogham symbols on Fionn´s Shield, The Celtic Zen Map. The four main feda (feathers) of the shield are associated with the solstices and equinoxes, the other four Ogham symbols with the fire festivals. In this way you can use the Celtic Zen Map as a training schedule in order to learn all meditation techniques in one year. After that you can continue to reconnect and focus on these groups of meditation in order to deepen the experience over time in a structured manner.
One of the main inventions outlined in Joanna's books on Zen Druidry is the cyclic view on the Noble Eightfold Path. The eight steps have been associated with eight Celtic festivals through the year. In this way each festival can be a reminder to connect and reconnect to one aspect of the eightfold path in particular. The books also provide a brief introduction to Zen Druidry and Celtic Zen.
If you don't have any meditation experience, we recommend that you find a local group, where you can learn it. The following books are recommended to go deeper into the matter.
The Anapanasati Sutta is not just a breathing meditation, in fact it describes a way to establish mindfulness and to gain enlightenment. In 16 steps that are all included on the Celtic Zen Map it leads step by step to this final achievement. Even though the Anapanasati path is taught by different traditions, it is actually the main path in Theravada and the Vipassana movement. A traditional way to go deep into this path is to do a 10-days vipassana retreat with the focus on the Anapanasati. We recommend the following books:
Emptiness is a core concept on the nature of reality and taught by all traditions. The list of recommended books could be endless, but why not starting with the following:
The Brahma Vihara are a very important foundation for developing a calm personality, which is the basis to gain deeper insight into the truth and reality of all things. Metta Meditation (Loving Kindness) helps to develop and achieve the Druidic goal of Love. Equanimity corresponds with Peace in Druidry. So, Brahma Vihara, the divine dwellings, can be very useful in Druidry.
Zen is a form of Buddhism and meditation which is not so easily grasped as mindfulness meditation. The basis concepts of Soto Zen and Rinzai Zen can be found in Wikipedia, but it is generally recommended to learn Zazen from an experienced practitioner.
Tibetan Buddhism is build on Mahayana and Vajrayana. The number of meditation techniques is vast, starting from just sitting (Shine), compassion, emptiness, deity yoga and the completion stages in Mahamudra and Dzogchen. The Tibetan forms of meditation can be integrated into Celtic Zen, especially the white non-monastic lineages of Dzogchen and Bon. Padmasambhava is considered to be the teacher (guru) who brought Tantric Buddhism to Tibet. The Nyingma-Pa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism is based on him. He is regarded as the Lotus-Born and is thus a similarly mythical figure to the Cauldron-Born Taliesin of Druidry. Padmasambhava practice is a visualisation practice of guru yoga and maha yoga. A poetic form of this practice is also used in Celtic Zen.
Less known but important for the Celtic Zen tradition are the healing and divination methods which have developed in the Buddhist world.
Druidry is ideally studied with Druid orders which offer study programs and the community to actually practice it. Well know and recommended programs of study are offered by the following orders:
There are also several smaller Druid orders and groups and practitioners who want to practice on their own, called Hedge Druids. The typical Druid meditations on peace, trees, Body of Light, Sacred Grove, Druid shamanism are covered by the Druid training programs of the Druid orders. We do also practice and teach them within the Celtic Zen tradition, but we do not offer a full Druid training program.
The recommended reading list on Druidry is focussed on meditation and inner work, but it should not be mistaken as the Druidic path, which is much more outdoor and nature oriented. There are actually books available on Druidic outdoor activities, but we rather recommend to join a Druid Order and start a systematic course of study.
Hedge Druidry is an expression for solitary practitioners.
The are not so many specialized Druidic meditation books around, but meditations are generally covered by books on special topics in Druidry. Some meditations are not openly taught as they belong to a mystery path which is revealed step by step to practitioners. Even the Body of Light meditation starts simple, but enfolds over time into deeper regions. One general book on Druidic meditation has been published by Nimue Brown:
Druidry intensively works with the wisdom hidden in the Celtic mythology. The main story in the Bardic training is the story of Gwion Bach, who later becomes Taliessin, and Ceridwen. On the European main land the Celtic Goddess of the Sacred Groves plays an important role. The following list does only include a small selection of many available books. Members of Celtic Zen and Druidry feel drawn to different Gods and Goddesses and it is not up to Celtic Zen to tell who are right or wrong.
DruidCraft is the symbiosis of Druidry and Wicca. Wicca is the pagan version of Vajrayana (Tantra) and works with different kinds of energies in order to reach spiritual and worldly goals. Red Druidry is a name we synonymously use for DruidCraft as an addition to the traditional schools of Druidry (blue for Bards, green for Ovates, and white for Druids).
In Mahayoga we work with deities and one example would be the Nemetona Practice. Vajrayana and Wicca also use the Sacred Marriage metaphorically in order to describe the union of opposites which are assigned to genders. An example from Dzogchen Buddhism would be the union of emptiness (the Great Mother) and pure awareness (the All-Good Buddha).
Ogham, Tarot, the Starts, Triades and Nature are used for Divination by Druids. Healing is a large topic during the education of a Druid and it cannot be handled here in its completion. The following list of books is a very small selection of a multitude of fine books available on the market.
In the same way as there are Druidic Zen practitioners there are als Christian Zen practitioners. It is absolutely fine that Celtic and other Christians do practice Celtic Zen. If you belong to this group you might inspiration of one of the following books.