Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Buddhist

2026-10-01T11:23:38-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Zen and the Sayings of Jesus

Last updated on: October 1, 2026 at 11:23 am By James Ford

0 Comments

(This reflection on the Zen koan to be found in Luke 17:20-21 first appeared in my Substack newsletter Unanswered Question. I felt maybe it could be of interest beyond that platform and cross post it here.) And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is... Read more

New Visions

History and Religion

Uncategorized

Christian Zen

Luke 17:20-21

Sayings of Jesus as Zen koans

2026-09-24T07:25:46-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Which Is the True Qian? A Koan About Our Undivided Nature

Last updated on: September 24, 2026 at 7:25 am By James Ford

0 Comments

Finding the True Qian: Unpacking a traditional Zen koan (A dharma talk by Roshi Edward Sanshin Oberholtzer, guiding teacher of the Empty Moon Zen Sangha.) There There is much to be said for succinctness. Dad jokes aside, that archetypical Dad, Polonius, he of so much unsolicited advice to his son in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, (and look where it got him}, anyway, Polonius hit the nail on its proverbial head when he said, “Since brevity is the soul of wit, / And... Read more

New Visions

Home and Religion

History and Religion

Uncategorized

Who is the true Qian?

zen koan

2026-09-10T13:36:17-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Zen in the Christian Desert

Last updated on: September 10, 2026 at 1:36 pm By James Ford

0 Comments

Me, I’m endlessly fascinated by the monks and nuns we now call the Desert Fathers and Mothers. They represent a movement that began in the third century in what we think of today as Israel and Palestine, Syria, Arabia, and most of all in the Egyptian desert. They first captured my imagination through Thomas Merton’s carefully curated collection, the Wisdom of the Desert. And this interest has continued on since. Part of the fascination was how in Fr Merton’s curation the sayings... Read more

New Visions

Education and Religion

History and Religion

Uncategorized

Desert Wisdom

Zen in the Christian desert

2026-08-25T14:38:03-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Jesuit Zen Roshis, a Roster

Last updated on: August 25, 2026 at 2:38 pm By James Ford

0 Comments

My old friend Ken Ireland recently shared the following and I thought it deserved a bit broader presentation. So I asked his permission to reprint it here. Always gracious, he agreed. Several questions about Jesuits authorized to teach Zen meditation led me to put together this roster: Zen and the Birds of Appetite was my first exposure to Zen when I was in the Jesuits. Even though it seemed very esoteric to my very doctrinaire way of thinking, it made... Read more

New Visions

History and Religion

Uncategorized

Jesuit Zen Masters

2026-08-17T19:08:03-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Keizan Jokin: The Zen Master Ancestor You Don’t Know

Last updated on: August 17, 2026 at 7:08 pm By James Ford

0 Comments

Zen Master Keizan Jokin In Japan, the 15th of August is marked as a time to celebrate the life of the second founder of Soto Zen in that country, Keizan Jokin. He’s a fascinating figure, one I wish was a bit better known among Zen students in the West. He is, among other things, the author of the best of the ancient Zen meditation manuals. Keizan was born on the 13th of November, 1264 and died on the 22nd of... Read more

New Visions

History and Religion

Uncategorized

Keizan Jokin

Zen

2026-08-11T17:57:47-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What Zen Practice Actually Does With Anger

Last updated on: August 11, 2026 at 5:57 pm By James Ford

0 Comments

Hot Anger: Meeting Anger in Zen Practice Continuing talks from Empty Moon Zen teachers. Here Dharma Holder Mo Myokan Weinhart explores the 9th of Japanese Zen’s ten grave precepts. In her work life Mo is a consultant specializing in strategic operations and leadership. *** As many in our community prepare to take the precepts in December, where they will publicly vow or commit to living an ethical life, I’ve been invited into a number of deep and meaningful conversations about... Read more

New Visions

Home and Religion

Sports and Religion

2026-07-22T10:46:05-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Zen teacher writes a novel describing the Spiritual life

Last updated on: July 22, 2026 at 10:46 am By James Ford

0 Comments

It has been said that if all Zen monastics and priests and dharma successors were killed, and the whole of Zen’s spiritual literature were burned, by the next day or at the most, two days, people would be waking up. The terms they would use to describe all this would be different, and the practices would be a little different. But the same intimate way would be reborn. Please forgive the shameless self-promotion. My publisher has just posted a pre-publication... Read more

History and Religion

Uncategorized

Zen novel

2026-07-08T15:53:38-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Nanquan Cuts the Cat: A Jesuit commentary on a Zen koan

Last updated on: July 8, 2026 at 3:53 pm By James Ford

0 Comments

(This article is by my friend Ken Ireland. Ken is an old Zen hand. A few years back one of his teachers suggested he begin formally training for authorization as a teacher, but declined the offer. Ken was educated at Dartmouth College, with advanced studies at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Woodstock College, and the Jesuit School of Theology. His MDiv studies focused on sacred scriptures, theology, and spiritual direction. Also, he was a member of the Society of Jesus... Read more

New Visions

History and Religion

Uncategorized

koan

Zen

2026-07-04T09:27:32-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The 250th Fourth of July

Last updated on: July 4, 2026 at 9:27 am By James Ford

0 Comments

Today is the Fourth of July. The 250th anniversary of the founding of what would become the American Republic. The good and the ill of who we are are woven so fine. From the beginning there was an astonishing amount of high idealism, and along with it some serious sharp dealing. Those founders dreamed a republic that proclaimed our common humanity, while keeping slaves and denying women the rights afforded to men. From the beginning we were a mixed thing.... Read more

New Visions

Uncategorized

fourth of july dreams

2026-06-30T15:55:48-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Selling of Zen at the End of Religions

Last updated on: June 30, 2026 at 3:55 pm By James Ford

0 Comments

I received a note today from a book marketer. It’s the second of its sort I’ve seen directed at me. I really liked what it offered as a summation of Zen at the End of Religion. *** Among the most intellectually generous and spiritually honest books to come out of the contemporary Zen and post-religious spirituality space is Zen at the End of Religion. What you have crafted here draws on your decades as a prominent Zen teacher and Unitarian... Read more

New Visions

Uncategorized

Zen at the End of Religion

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What tribe is Paul from?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Asher Simeon Benjamin Reuben

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Christmas Carol Abolitionist African-American Ahmadiyya Alan Watts Aldous Huxley Allen Ginsberg Amedkar Jayanti American politics American Zen Anaheim Zen Sangha Anglican Annie Besant April Fool Armageddon Art and Religion artificial intellegence Atheist Awakening B R Ambedkar Barlaam & Josaphat Beatnik Between Bhagavad Gita Bible biography birthday bodhisattva Bodhisattva Precepts Book burning Book of Common Prayer Book of Mormon Brahmo Samaj Buddha Buddhism Buddhist Buddhist Lord's Prayer Butterflies Calendars cartoons cat ChatGPT Chicken Tortilla Soup choices Christian atheism Christian mysticism Christian origins Christian Science Christian Zen Christianity Christianity and Buddhism christmas Christmas Truce Christopher Isherwood Church of Later Day Saints Cinco de Mayo circus covenant critical thinking culture D. T. Suzuki Dalit Buddhism Daniel Defoe Desert Fathers and Mothers dharma talk Dogen Donald Trump Dongshan's Five Ranks Dorothy Day dream Duty Easter ecology Edwin Arnold emptiness Empty Moon Zen Network Episcopal Church Eternal Now Ethics evolution existentialism Faith fantasy Fathers Day film film review fire Five Ranks Folk music food Form and emptiness Four Seals Francis of Assisi Francis Xavier Free thinker friendship George MacDonald Gerald Heard Glenn Taylor Webb God Good Friday Gospel of Gospel of Mark Gospel of Thomas grace Graduate Theological Unioin Graduate Theological Union Guanyin H R Blyth Hakuin Ekaku Hanamatsuri Hanukkah Harada Yasutani Zen Heart Sutra Henry David Thoreau Hermann Hesse Hinduism History and Religion history of religion Holy Spirit home Hospitality Icon Ides of March Isaac Newton Islam Islamic mysticism Jack Kerouac James Luther Adams Jiddu Krishnamurti Joan of Arc Johannes Gutenberg John Donne joke Judaism justice karma kensho King James Bible koan Koun Yamada Kyoto School Lewis Carrol Liberal Christianity Liberal Religion Life Plan Community Liminal literature Literature and Religion Liturgy Lord's Prayer Love Mahatma Gandhi Mahayana Martin Luther King Jr Mary Baker Eddy Mary Magdelene Mary Oliver Mayflower Compact Meditation memories memory metaphor money money and religioin Mormons Mother's Day movie review mysticism mythic Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church New Thought Nichiren Buddhism Nonduality not knowing Omar Khayyam Pacific School of Religion pagan Palm Sunday Passover peace Pentecost perennialism Phantastes Philip Kapleau philosophy Pilgrimage poetry Poetry and Religion politics Prayer Precepts Printing Press prophecy prophetic spirituality psychology Pure Land Queer religion queering religion Quietism Ram Mohan Roy rebirth recipe Relationships and religion religion religion and history Religious syncretism Resistance Retirement Retreat review Rissho Kosei Kai Ritual Robert Aitken Roshi Robert Ingersoll Rohatsu Romani religion Rosie the Riveter saints samadhi SanboZen Sangha Satyagraha science science and reigion science and religion science fiction seminary sermon Sesshin Sex and Religion Shinran Sikh Sikh tradition silence Social Justice Socially Engaged Buddhism Society and religion Soto Zen soul spiritual community spiritual practice Spirituality Sufism Suicide superstition Taoism Television Teresa of Avila Thanksgiving theological schools Theosophy Thomas Merton Time Transcendentalism Transcendentalist Trinitarian Trinity Uncategorized unitarian Unitarian Christianity Unitarian Universalist Universalism Vajrayana Vedanta Walking war Willa Cather William Ellery Channing wisdom women and religion women in religion World Teacher Writing zazen Zen Zen Center Zen inspired retriement zen meditation Zen Precepts Zen women

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Buddhist