In Zen-Buddhism, Dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a “successor in an unbroken lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual ‘bloodline’ (kechimyaku) theoretically traced back to the Buddha himself.” The...
GOING FOR REFUGE Going for refuge and taking the precepts is the cornerstone of all the Buddhist paths. It usually becomes a turning point in a person’s life. One where they work toward an ideal – this ideal being shown to us through The Buddha – a...
THE HEART SUTRA The Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokateshvara, while in deep meditative concentration, absorption and curious inquiry, looked deeply into the nature of experience, penetrated fully to the intuitve realization of the emptiness of the skandhas and after...
The Perfect Enlightenment Sutra is one of the most popular and influential sutras in Zen. It was held in the highest regards by some of the greatest Zen Master’s like Zongmi and Chinul. The sutra itself is twelve chapters and the introductory section describes...
“Do you have a Koan?” That was the first question Korean Zen Master, Venerable Hwasun Yangil Sunim asked me. I had heard about Koans before – mainly from books. I didn’t really think they were essential for Zen practice. But here I was, sitting...
A quick and expedient way of awakening… The master takes his staff and points directly to your heart saying, Listen here! This! This! A thousand times this! The seeker is what’s sought. Originally the mind is pristine, vast and expansive like a clear blue...
A young monk tentatively asked the Master, “Teacher, why did Bodhidharma come from the west?” The Master looked out the window and said, “The cypress tree in the courtyard.” The Zen Master whacks his stick against the floor. You’re startled, heart racing, eyes...
The conceptual every day mind is never happy. It always wants something to chew on. It’s a hungry ghost and no matter how much information we feed it the mind will never be satisfied. “Does a dog have buddha-nature?” “Why did Bodhidharma come to China?” “Was the...
Zen is… “A special transmission outside the scriptures, not founded upon words and letters. by pointing directly to one’s mind, It lets one see into one’s own true nature and thus attain buddhahood.” (1) The above statement from Bodhidharma is an...
Abwoon The Christian Mystic path is probably one of the most beautiful and life transforming paths out there. And one of the practices found in it is the chanting of certain phrases – Abwoon being one of them. They say it’s significant when you “officially”...
How we see someone is how we hear them. Upaka – did not know Siddhartha. had no chance to get to know him and no patience to either. He saw what he wanted to see. And maybe that was a reflection of himself as well. (Upaka scoffed at the Buddha when Shakyamuni...
Radiant Jewel Samadhi – Unlocked by Koan Chitta Mani Rupam Citta: Consciousness Mani: Jewel, radiant, precious, Rupam: Show, way, loveliness, play When you feel you have fallen off the ledge of life and are tumbling toward the hell realms As if your life...
Shakti Bija Mantras Besides the mantric power of letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, there is another series of powerful bija or single-syllable mantras, which consist of several vowels or consonants. These come under the term ‘Shakti mantras’, as they are commonly used...
The first time I heard about the Chinese Legend of the Red String of Fate and Soulmates was in Richard Websters book called “Soul Mates: Understanding Relationships Across Time“ (Click link to read my review) In his Soul Mates book he tells us that, “According to...
A person once came to me who was studying Christianity but who had run into a stone wall in his study. He could make no further progress at the time, so he came to me to try Zen meditation. We discussed this and that, and I finally said to him, “If you wish to...
BASSUI’S LETTER TO THE LAYMAN IPPO (HOMMA SHOKEN) You are meeting him face to face, but who is he? Anything you say will be wrong. And if you hold your tongue, you will be equally wrong. Who is he, then? On top of a flagpole, a cow gives birth to a calf. If you come...
Click to listen to The Awakened Podcast on one of your favourite platforms • Apple Podcasts • Google Podcasts • Spotify • Breaker • Overcast • Pocketcasts • Radio Public • Anchor Leaving Home – Coming Home Student: So I’ve had a challenge. Zen master e: Hi!...
The Charyapada – Mystic Poems of Eighth Century India Charyapada 1 Luipada The body is like the finest tree, with five branches. Darkness enters the restless mind. Strengthen the quantity of Great Bliss, says Luyi. Learn from asking the Guru. Why does one...
Sometimes our lives feel like hell. It may seem like we’re boxed in and trapped. Locked in a prison of and that place is filled with all kinds of horrors. This is the scene we find Queen Vaidehi in as she cries out to the Buddha for help. Her son Prince...
