There is a point in training where we feel like we are living in two separate worlds – the conventional reality or culture and our world of practice. In the beginning, we establish our meditation practice routine and strive for continuity. As we mature in practice we realize we need to take that calm and centered experience off the cushion and into daily life.Read the Journal while listening
It takes a while to begin to feel comfortable with “nothing to hang onto” as some refer to the subtleties of practice. Practice is bursting with paradox, and Zen masters seem to have mastered the art of communicating the Way in a manner that often does serve to stop the mind.Read the Journal while listening
As abstruse as some of these pieces sound, there are always concrete points of practice that shine through. That doesn't mean it doesn't take some real contemplation to find the hidden kernel that is just the point to spur on our practice.Read the Journal while listening
The question-and-answer format between a teacher and student is a timeless and startling tradition. The role of any true teacher is to help the student break through their illusions and awaken in the present moment to their attachments; their means of achieving this are often misunderstood.Read the Journal while listening
Simplicity and clarity. The above guidelines are touchstones that help us to steer through practice. To take it all a step further is finding a way to return to zazen while walking, lying down, and standing.Read the Journal while listening.
With all the journals there are always one or two sentences that jump out at us. They seem to be what the piece turns on for us here and now. This is a very ancient work, and it is interesting how much is conveyed in this excerpt.Read the Journal while listening.
At times it seems like a deluded mind dominates us as past tendencies recur to test us. At some point, these become almost entertaining as they burn themselves out vying for our attention.Read the Journal while listening
Whether we think of ourselves as average, superior, or inferior students, we all share zazen as a practice, and probably for most of us we don't think of our “level” as students at all.Read the Journal while listening
Each teacher of the Way has their own style to help students break through stubborn attachments and confusion. Each master exemplifies approaches that sometimes are easy to digest and other times pull the rug out from under us. Ajahn Chah has a more gentle and matter-of-fact style using ordinary language and examples that are easy to relate to.Read the Journal while listening
We can learn something from every teacher we meet through the journals. Some may be difficult to understand because their style seems archaic or the translator’s choice of words may lead to some confusion, but there are kernels of wisdom in every piece.Read the Journal while listening
For those of us who entered the doorway of Zen through “just sitting,” koan practice has always seemed a bit mysterious. Not that there isn’t a technique involved in sitting meditation but concentrating on a certain phrase or word is not part of that approach. Read the Journal while listening
Many of us have longed at one time or another to retreat to a hermitage in the mountain wilds, to follow the way of the sages, thus shedding our distractions and focusing on a life of practice. Read the Journal while listening
Once again, the classic student and teacher dialogue we have all heard at one time or another. True teachers can be and should be, difficult to pin down an “answer” to questions that in reality wind up limiting us. What else, and how else could Huang Po answer? Read the Journal while listening
The essence of Taoism and Zen emanates from the same source, and many qualities of Taoist sages sound like what you could hear from a Zen master in China. At times the dividing lines seem quite blurry. Read the Journal while listening
One of the core teachings in Buddhism is that of “co-dependent origination,” that nothing exists independently; rather, everything exists on the condition that its existence relies on all other entities. Read the Journal while listening
Here is a refreshing and direct expression of something many of us make into a very complicated and abstruse issue. Bankei brought Zen to ordinary, everyday people along with the monks and nuns that he taught. Read the Journal while listening
Ah, the patience of a good teacher resounds throughout this piece. The characters and their parts are timeless...we have all known challenging students who seem to push inappropriately, but like a highly skilled kendo master, Muso deftly answers questions that seem at times to cross the barrier of common courtesy. Read the Journal while listening
Zen teaching is filled with enlightenment stories and koans that sound like mental gymnastics to the beginner. At times one wonders the purpose of them, other than to illustrate how futile all our striving really is. Read while listening to the Journal
There are many principles of Buddhism easily understood. For instance, any one of the Six Perfections sounds like reasonable aspirations. However, as in all spiritual traditions, there is the understanding of the householder versus the spiritual aspirant who hears another meaning. Read while you listen to the Journal
Over the years we have shared many teaching dialogues, most often in the format of an unknown student questioning a very well know Zen Master. This is one of the most unique dialogues we have, taken from Dogen’s own journal covering his years of study in China with Master Rujing. Read the Journal