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February 2024

February 01, 2024

Where Are We Going?

Where are we going? “If we want to understand ourselves and help all beings get...

January 2024

January 15, 2024

Me and Master Seung Sahn

I'm about to do a series of writings about Compass of Zen and I thought...

January 01, 2024

The Compass of Zen Teaching

“Experience your true self and help this world.” -Zen Master Seung Sahn Compass of Zen...

November 2020

November 30, 2020

Introduction to Zen Mind

This was a talk I gave at a store called Aquarius in the fall of...

June 2020

June 03, 2020

The Barrier That Has No Gate

“The Great Way is gateless, Approached in a thousand ways. Once past this checkpoint You...

August 2019

August 28, 2019

Bodhidharma, Age 7

I heard this story from Bodhidharma's childhood recently and I wanted to share it. As...

March 2019

March 12, 2019

Face What Appears Before You

“Separate yourself from disturbance and face whatever appears before you.” -Hongzhi Sometimes our being...

March 08, 2019

Sitting Quietly, Doing Nothing

“The practice of true reality is simply to sit serenely in silent introspection.” “Here you...

November 2018

November 07, 2018

The Great Way is Gateless….

“The Great Way is gateless, Approached in a thousand ways. Once past this checkpoint You...

October 2018

October 19, 2018

Bodhidharma’s Adventure

It was the 5th century. About 1000 years after the Buddha’s death. And Buddhism was...

October 05, 2018

The Goal is Ordinary

"What is basically present is here and now. It does not depend on cultivating the...

September 2018

September 21, 2018

The Story of Hongzhi

Hongzhi (1091-1157) was a well known Zen Master in the Tsaotung lineage. It was in...

September 13, 2018

The Things I Do

I don’t have my own temple or center or anything. There are several Buddhist centers...

April 2018

April 20, 2018

A Dream and a Zen Story

I had a very vivid dream recently. In the dream I was leading a retreat. I...

March 2018

March 13, 2018

Preaching to the Dead

These are passages from a teaching by Master Han Shan (Silly Mountain) called "The Maxims."...

March 05, 2018

Silly Mountain: Han Shan Deqing

Han Shan Deqing (1546-1623) is an important figure from the history of Ch'an Buddhism who...

March 01, 2018

Sometimes I Think About Old Ikkyu

Sometimes I think about old Ikkyu. A lifetime spent as a Zen renegade. A teacher certified...

January 2018

January 29, 2018

Practicing Enlightenment

We practice Enlightenment when we sit on the cushion. Every time we sit and do...

October 2017

October 04, 2017

Formless Practice: Just Sitting

I'm writing about a formless meditation practice. This is a practice that doesn't involve reciting...

September 2017

September 21, 2017

Chanting: What Is It Good For?

Chanting is a practice that exists in most of the Buddhist world. It's often used...

June 2017

June 08, 2017

The Only Zen You Can Find….

"The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you...

April 2017

April 04, 2017

Zen: The Mystic Flower

Zen is a culture of awakening. It doesn't really match any of the categories we...

December 2016

December 21, 2016

Ikkyu Burned His Enlightenment Certificate

photo by Hartwig, Flickr cc Ikkyu is a big inspiration to me. He didn't settle...

June 2016

June 14, 2016

Loss and the Spiritual Path

The First Noble Truth is that Life is Suffering. I think a lot of us...

May 2016

May 23, 2016

Zen and the Five Hindrances

Zen is said to be a method for overcoming the five hindrances: Sensation desire, hatred,...

May 02, 2016

Why Did You Become A Buddhist?

I tell two different stories about how I discovered Buddhism. One of them is that...

April 2016

April 11, 2016

Kensho

Zen Master Dogen called it, “The dropping away of body and mind.” It's an experience...

March 2016

March 14, 2016

All Training Is On The Job

I’ve learned something important since I started leading the Zen group at the Rime...

March 01, 2016

Thus Should One Regard One’s Self

Ikkyu said, "Like a vanishing dew, a passing apparition or sudden flash of lightning -...