Directly Pointing to Mind 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.” For years I followed the instructions of...
The Buddha Gave Up Before we get into the breadth and depth of Zen it’s good to know that this is a living lineage that goes all the way back 2500 years ago to its founder the Buddha. I am just one of a long line of Masters that have appeared to share the dharma, to...
Prayer is the orientation of all the attention of which the soul is capable toward God. —Simone Weil, Waiting for God One of the simplest methods of contemplation is “to practice the presence of God” as described by Brother Lawrence (1614–1691), a French...
Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of the “Sudden Enlightenment” school of Zen, states: “Therefore ‘no-thought’ is established as the doctrine.” “Good Knowing Advisors, why is no-thought (wu nien) established as the doctrine? Because there are confused people...
Since the enlightened man, like white clouds over green mountains, is not fettered by any state, there is no right or wrong in any of his actions. He flows along according to karmic affinities like a blue stream in a deep valley, which winds without obstructions...
Hear this truth… It’s simple – it takes a humble and grateful heart to embrace it, to practice it, to discover and live by its wisdom. It brings unending blessings and mountains of merit to the one who looks within and sees their own self nature for themselves. In...
Nisargadatta had a shift in consciousness just before his death. He truly realized “Anatta” (no self) exactly as the Buddha taught. Nisargadatta: “Whatever I had thought earlier has now changed. What is happening now is that even the slightest touch of individuality...
If you find yourself dwelling on everything butthe huatou (inquiry: what is this that sees and hears?’), pause and take in what has happened: the huatou has been evicted by diversions and needless thoughts. Recall the pointlessness and eventual utter boredom of...
During zazen, neither loathe nor be charmed by any of your thoughts. With your mind turned inward, look steadily into their source and the delusive feelings and perceptions in which they are rooted will evaporate. This is not yet Self-realization, however, even though...
CASE 2: Hyakujô and the Fox Whenever master Hyakujô delivered a sermon, an old man was always there listening with the monks. When they left, he left too. One day, however, he remained behind. The master asked him, “What man are you, standing in front of me?” The man...
