The moon reflected in water is a common theme in Zen. The first time I learned about this was in Pune, India in 1976. Rajneesh had giving some dharma talks on Zen stories and published a book called No Water, No Moon. I bought the book and read it with great interest. I also acquired […]
What We Should Teach Our Children
Alan Watts was and amazingly gifted philosopher, lecturer and writer. He is famous bringing the philosophies of Eastern religions to Western Audiences. He was especially fond of Shunyru Suzuki Roshi and Zen practice. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, he lived in a houseboat in Sausalito and in a cabin on Mount Tamalpais, both near my […]
Beginner’s Mind
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi was the founding teacher of the San Francisco Zen Center. His simple teachings have inspired many new dharma teachers such as Myogen Steve Stucky, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, Wendy Johnson, and many others. My first experience at the San Francisco Zen Center was in 1972. I did a seven day sesshin there with […]
The Leonard Koan
These words of wisdom from Leonard Cohen form what is called the Leonard Koan! Not much has to be said about the amazing singer musician Leonard Cohen. He is pretty famous in all circles. He is now turning 80 on September 21, 2014. Many people don’t know the other side of Leonard Cohen. He was […]
Ethics from the Heart
These words of wisdom from Lin Jensen talk about the precepts of Buddhism. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, known as Thay by his followers, likes to call these Mindfulness Trainings. In either case, they teach us to practice ethics from the heart. The Zen attitude about the precepts corresponds quite nicely with Thay’s teachings. In […]
Spiritual Practice is Useless
Norman Fischer was the first Zen priest that I had dokusan with. Dokusan is a private interview with a Zen priest or Zen master. This was around 1985 or 1986. I remember the room and my sitting position, but I have forgotten the conversation. All I know is that I have admired him since even […]
Nothing But the Present
When you go into a courtroom, the judge will ask you if your are telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. When you sit down to meditate, your internal judge will ask you if you are in the present and nothing but the present moment. In truth, the internal judge will […]
Add Mindfulness to Everything You Do
It’s time for a contest! The first person who offers a comment with the correct answer to who wrote these words of wisdom will win a valuable prize that is surely gong to help you add mindfulness to everything you do. They come from a trusted source. I’ve highlighted a couple of phrases that have […]
The Way Of Transformation
I came across these wonderful words of wisdom from Karlfried Graf von Dürckheim through an old friend of mine who has undergone many recent transformations. I think he shared this quote from The Way of Transformation with me about a year ago, and it read it again today. The things that struck me about this quote […]
What Is Meditation? What is Zen?
Myōgen Steve Stücky, the late central abbot of San Francisco Zen Center, answers, “What is meditation?” for us in this video. He also talks about, “What is Tassajara?” and “What is Zen?”It was filmed last summer at Tassajara. In the video Steve explains: Zazen is to settle into ‘now’ – right here, right now. And, […]
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