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--Year-- 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 --Month-- December November October September August July June May April March February January

August 2023

August 07, 2023

Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha: The Life and Zen Teaching of Tangen Harada Roshi

I'll get right to the point here - if you buy one Zen book this...

July 2023

July 29, 2023

New Vine Ghost Site for Dosho’s Creative Endeavors (and other things)

This is a heads-up for you that we now have a new Vine of Obstacles...

July 19, 2023

Gnawing Through Qiánfēng’s Three Illnesses and Two Lights

Dogen Zenji famously said that to study the buddha way is to study the...

June 2023

June 29, 2023

“Why, Oh Why, Is My Practice Not Progressing?”

Progress is empty, but that doesn't mean that progress in Zen practice is unimportant....

May 2023

May 31, 2023

Messing With Yasutani Roshi Again and Again: Don’t Sit Down in the World of Awakening

In this post, I'm concluding the series of re-edits of Hakuun Yasutani Roshi's...

May 23, 2023

The Vigorous Nature of Zen Work

Zen students sometimes seem to think that Zen is a passive process. One just sits...

May 09, 2023

Yunmen’s Sound and Color

The issue of sound and color is one that comes up a lot in the...

April 2023

April 24, 2023

What is the Heart of Zen? Reflections on the Transmission of Luminosity

The Record of the Transmission of Illumination (J. Denkoroku) by Keizan Jokin Zenji (1264-1325) is...

April 10, 2023

A Black Lacquer Person Runs Through the Night: The Sudden Awakening of Keizan Jokin

Sudden, great awakening is the life blood of the Zen school, both Soto and Rinzai....

April 06, 2023

Intimate Friendship: “When You Sing, I Respond; When I Sing, You Clap Hands”

Intimate friendship is such an important aspect of the Zen Way. In the dharma context,...

April 01, 2023

April Thank You!

April '23 Thank You! Here's my less-than-four-minute video about what's been happening at Dosho...

March 2023

March 30, 2023

Not Looking Toward The Peace Of The Innermost Mind

In sunshine, the solitary peak is green; under the gaze of the moon, the valley...

March 27, 2023

Intimate Knowing: How To Work With Thinking In Zazen

"Intimately know, intimately loosen thoughts, and for now cut them off, sit, and look!"

March 20, 2023

Plucking a Blade of Grass: The Wondrous Dharma of Miàodào

Below you will find a dharma talk by an incredible (and largely unknown) Zen master,...

March 19, 2023

The Awakening of Yaeko Iwasaki: No Place Not Known

In this post, you'll find a selection from Going Through the Mystery's One Hundred Questions....

March 14, 2023

Establish Yourself In The Ground Of Truth

This week in our Vine of Obstacle Zen practice period, we are studying the 46th...

February 2023

February 27, 2023

Learn Zen From This Old Woman: Iron Grindstone’s Old Cow From The Record of Going Easy

We're deep into winter here at the Neyaashi Zen Hermitage. Intense cold and clarity follow...

February 23, 2023

The Diamond Trap and the Fortune Teller: Going Through the Mystery 40

In this dharma talk from February 19, 2023, I discuss Question 40 from Going...

February 20, 2023

Dōgen’s Instruction for Householder Zen Training

Introduction Because this Dōgen dharma discourse (hōgo) in Eihei kōroku V8.14 was written for householders, includes...

February 07, 2023

The Zen Center Model is Broken: Excerpt from “Further Zen Conversations”

In the fall, I met with Rick McDaniel for an interview for his new book,...

February 02, 2023

Wandering Destitute into a Demon Pit

In this post, I will continue my recent Dōgen translations with short comments. This is...

January 2023

January 31, 2023

The Central Importance of Inquiring of a Teacher

I've previously posted my translations of excerpts from a revealing Dōgen dharma discourse (J. hogō),...

January 23, 2023

Round and Smooth Like a Pearl

The short passage that I'm sharing today comes from Dōgen’s Extensive Record (Eihei koroku), V8.14,...

January 17, 2023

Dogen: Find a Good Teacher, Ask For a Koan, Break Through

Context This post is a follow-up to Cultivating Verification: A New Shushogi for Now. Near...

January 11, 2023

Blue Cliff Record, Case 86: Yúnmén’s Radiant Light

"Radiant light" (J. komyō) was one of the central themes for the in-person sesshin we...

December 2022

December 21, 2022

Cultivating Verification in One School Zen: A New Shushōgi for Now

I recently wrote a piece titled, The "Soto Zen" of the PMSO: A New Religion Whose...

December 16, 2022

The Pivotal Linji Master Xutang and his Profuse Praise for Sōtō Master Dōgen

Introduction Note: This is an updated version of an essay from June of '21. I...

December 05, 2022

On the Adverse Effects of Meditation

Meditation can have adverse effects.* Just look at the above image of Bodhidharma - does...

November 2022

November 29, 2022

“Going Through the Mystery’s One Hundred Questions” Book Launch

Going Through the Mystery's One Hundred Questions, my third book, is now available through Sumeru....

November 14, 2022

Bargaining for Salvation

"What is the minimum amount of asceticism required?" That's the question a young practitioner put...

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