‘”It knows without touching things” [from Hongzhi’s Zazenshin]. Knowing, here, of course does not mean perception. For perception is of little measure. It does not mean understanding, for understanding is artificially constructed. Therefore, this knowing is not touching things. And not touching things is real knowing. Such knowing should not be measured as even universal knowledge. It […]
‘Practice letting go of your thoughts again and again until you taste very deeply what ego consciousness is.’ (The Light That Shines Through Infinity)
‘There’s no place you can go that is not your life. You are not currently in a dress rehearsal for a life that’s going to happen only on Friday and Saturday nights, when the curtain goes up. For that reason, I wish that we’d found a word other than “practice” for practice, because of course, […]
I was offering the zazen instruction at Zen Center last Saturday for the first time in a while, and as I was running through some of the things I often say, I remembered that I was coming up to the tenth anniversary of my shukke tokudo, which, like other important ceremonies, had taken place in the Buddha Hall, […]
‘While the Chinese ideogram for shukke [the word used in priest ordination] means “leaving home,” this word also means “renunciation.” It may sound like a heavy word. What does it mean to you? does it mean “I can’t do all the things I wish to do?” Contrary to what we might think, renunciation is not antilife but […]
When you’re happy, I’m not When you’re sad, I’m not A crane thinks of flying north or south A swallow thinks of its old nest Autumn moon and spring flower thoughts never end You only need to know yourself right now
‘Right Aspiration is what develops in the mind once we understand that freedom of choice is possible. Life is going to unfold however it does: pleasant or unpleasant, disappointing or thrilling, expected or unexpected, all of the above! What a relief it would be to know that whatever wave comes along, we can ride it […]
