‘I appreciate your enthusiasm in copying my lectures and keeping them, but remember that I speak them with shame and tears. I do such a dirty job (this talking on Zen) because nobody else has done it here before me. Please do not show my lectures to any outsiders and say they are part of […]
September has a feeling of change about it, and this year is no exception. The lingering memories of being at Tassajara and transitioning from guest season to practice period get fainter each year; what I feel this time is a preparation for hunkering down for more months of shelter-in-place. On a personal level, it is […]
‘People, try for a moment to look carefully without scattering your mind all over the place or directing your gaze in front or behind. At such a time, what can you call “self”? What can you call “other”? Since there are no signs of self and other, then what do you mean by “good” and […]
‘Zen student is not, you know, so expressive, you know. Mostly they keep silent. They do not walk so fast. They don’t act so actively, you know. You know, they have some– something, you know– something different, anyway. Especially when you sit for so long time, you yourself feel you changed a lot. You feel, […]
‘We have to understand that at some point we have to develop an attitude of needing to love everything, especially what is unlovable. Everything has to be loved if you’re interested in getting free.’ (Love And Rage) This made me think too that we can’t wait for the unlovable to transform itself into something lovable. […]
‘The basic technique for concentration involves bringing the mind to the object of concentration and patiently training it, through repetition, to stay with the object. This is not easy to do. The mind naturally gets distracted, tired, and/or bored. It is not used to staying put unless it has some distinct drive toward pleasure or […]
Searching for attributes is wrong Seeing no form is like death Don’t ask if it’s vast or small A ray of winter light flickers in the void.
‘Some people think that buddha nature is like seeds of grass and trees: when dharma rain is abundant, sprouts and stems grow; branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit mature; and their fruit contains seeds. Such a view is an assumption of ordinary people. If you come up with such an assumption, investigate thoroughly that each and […]
‘I always say that I’m not nation-building around Zen; I’m not nation-building around Buddhism. I think we have to let go of nation-building. What we’re seeing with the introduction and the taking up in the water of different faiths and traditions is people being able to organize themselves and relate to things that actually speak […]
The temperature dropped, quite considerably, on Wednesday. As much as I usually grumble about the fog, I was glad of it on this occasion, as the coolness and humidity would ease the work of the firefighters all over the state. Maybe some relief is at hand. The air had been hard to breathe on occasion – […]
