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May 2023

May 23, 2023

The Vigorous Nature of Zen Work

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

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...

November 2022

November 02, 2022

The “Soto Zen” of the PMSO: A New Religion Whose Time Has Passed

If you are a regular reader, you know that I use the phrase "Post Meiji...

September 2022

September 19, 2022

Soto and Rinai Zen: One School or Two?

Going Through the Mystery's One Hundred Questions My next book is cooking along and at...

June 2022

June 09, 2022

The Vital Importance of Studying Buddhadharma: Why and How

Introduction In this post, I will explore two questions: "Why study the buddhadharma" and "How...

April 2022

April 07, 2022

Praise for the Old Buddha Rújìng and His Dying Poem

Click here to support the teaching practice of Dōshō Rōshi at Patreon. One helluva teacher...

February 2022

February 14, 2022

Suzuki Rōshi on Kenshō, Householder Practice, and Rinzai Zen

What this post is about Recently, a friend shared a passage from the Shunryū Suzuki...

January 2022

January 12, 2022

Keizan’s “Answers to Ten Questions from the Emperor”

In this post I’ll offer some dharma gems from Keizan Jōkin Zenji (1268–1325), the fourth...

January 09, 2022

The Luminous Koun Ejō Zenji: Background, Awakening, Legacy

A preliminary note After focusing for the last five years on other translating and writing...

November 2021

November 01, 2021

An Ancient Soto Master’s Praise for the Record of Linji

Tetsugan Sensei and I are living now in what we call the Neyaashi Zen Hermitage,...

June 2021

June 25, 2021

Xutang’s Blurb for Dogen’s Best Seller

Introduction When I was translating The Record of Empty Hall and working on the commentary,...

January 2021

January 18, 2021

Flowers Blooming on a Withered Tree: Incredible!

Steven Heine's recent book (September, 2020), Flowers Blooming on a Withered Tree: Giun's Verse Comments...

May 2019

May 20, 2019

Rinzai and Sōtō Meet Face-to-Face

Was Hakuin Ekaku (1686 – 1768), the great Japanese revitalizer of Rinzai Zen and the...

April 2019

April 09, 2019

The Dharma for Taking Food: The Zen Art of Oryoki

Recently, we held a three-day retreat focussed on Dōgen's “The Dharma...

November 2017

November 20, 2017

“It Came From Beyond Zen” and What Dōgen Did Not Teach

In this look at Brad Warner's new...

November 13, 2017

Dōshō the Dōgen Hater (Not): A Preemptive Blog For My Dear Critics

I've been working on a review of Brad Warner's new...

October 2017

October 09, 2017

Luòpǔ With One Foot in the Grave

What about when you feel that you just can't do...

September 2017

September 11, 2017

What is the True Buddhadharma? Reflections on the Transmission to China

Katagiri Roshi, who spent most of his...

June 2017

June 11, 2017

The Mu Koan and How Some Zennists Just Wanna Have Fun

I'm going to roll back into the "mu koan" here. One thing I'm not going...

October 2015

October 29, 2015

Shaking Up the Buddhadharma With Online Practice

Quick question: what sparked the compassion revolution in Buddhism that we now call the Great...

February 2014

February 09, 2014

Watch Out for the Dog!

I stumbled on a Zen story a little while back...

January 2014

January 20, 2014

The Old Plum Tree Bursts into Bloom

This is the third installment in the "Plum Blossom" series. Katagiri Roshi gave these talks...

May 2013

May 08, 2013

What Good is Zen?

What good is Zen? What can we expect from our practice? Is Zen about transformation?...

March 2013

March 21, 2013

What is Refuge?

"Taking Refuge in Evil Buddhas?" What you say? In my last post, I discussed this...

March 08, 2013

Invitation to Vine of Obstacles: Online Support for Zen Training

“Practice intimately, working within, like a fool, like an idiot. If you can achieve...

October 2012

October 28, 2012

It’s Not So Easy: The Apprenticeship Model for Zen Training

During a sesshin dokusan in 1981, after practicing with Katagiri Roshi for three or four...

August 2012

August 18, 2012

If You’re Lucky, Your Heart Will Break: Sparklingly Refreshing

"Sparklingly refeshing," says one of the blurbs on the back cover. And also, "Ford's mature,...