Waking up the Mind in Buddhism! The Zen of Drumming for a Wakeful Mind and Mindfulness with the Wooden Fish Drum’s Unique Sound
Buddhist Practices, Mahayana, Meditation, Zen • Chan • Seon
Chanting and disciplined ritual is still important in many schools of Zen. Here, Zen students chant with the famous "fish drum." Mokugyo are instantly recognizable by their entirely unique and pleasant penetrating sound that almost seems to ...
Dragons in Buddhism: The Zen Tale of the True Dragon; Guanyin and the Dragon King’s son
Buddhist Living, Zen • Chan • Seon
What would you do, if one morning you woke up to find a real dragon coiled by your bed, its scales and teeth glittering in the moonlight? Would you scream in terror, or embrace the opportunity to learn? ...
The Gateless Gate and the door of Mu!: “Does a dog have Buddha Nature?” and other breakthrough koan riddles
Zen • Chan • Seon
The Gateless Gate (or Barrier) is a compilation of 48 Zen koans. Koans are paradoxical, puzzling riddles, statements, or even short pieces of prose that are a fixture in Zen Buddhism; they’re meant to entice those who encounter ...
Korean Seon Buddhism: the thriving and profound tradition, history and practices of Seon Buddhists
Buddhist Practices, Zen • Chan • Seon
Korean Buddhist temple drumming. The resonating sound of the Korean moktak is iconic of the beautiful practices of Korean Buddhism. Although the wooden Moktak is similar to the Mokugyo Japanese fish drum — there are subtle differences, just ...
Buddhist teachings according to Korean Zen (Seon) and Seon Master Daehaeng: Buddha-Dharma encompases all of life; dying three times; One Mind
Dharma, Zen • Chan • Seon
Seon Master Daehaeng taught people to entrust everything that confronts them to their inherent foundation. She taught people to have faith and let go. Having faith in your inherent nature, your root, and your foundation is the main ...
Song of Enlightenment by Master Yonglia — going beyond all dualisms, theories, names, forms, preferences and aversions.
Zen • Chan • Seon
Song of Enlightenment[1]— Commentary The Song of Enlightenment is a concise treatise of about 1800 words, written in literary verse by Master Yongjia (Yōka Genkaku, in Japanese)[2]. It is a long poem, somewhat difficult to understand, yet filled ...
Six ways to focus the mind: Metta, mindfulness, breath, progressive, transcendental, or Zazen
Meditation, Zen • Chan • Seon
Our society is rife with stress, competition, fear, and commercialism – yet we're at a time when spirituality has become a buzzword. On one hand, there’s definitely an increased need for spiritualism in a stressful environment, but there ...
Chan Buddhism – the “Flower Sermon” and the profound roots of Chan or Zen — the open hearted path
Zen • Chan • Seon
To understand the origins of Chan or Zen Buddhism, we have to go back to the "Flower Sermon." This sermon, given by the Buddha himself, is at the heart of Chan — also known as Zen in Japan ...
Zazen is “good for nothing” — the journey to Enlightenment starts with “just sitting” — and it’s good for your health, stress or anxiety (studies)
Meditation, Mindfulness, Zen • Chan • Seon
Zazen is a type of meditation that is central to Zen Buddhism, and first taught by Shakyamuni Buddha as an insight practice — and it's good for nothing! Just sit. That is all. Don't get us wrong, it's ...
Dogen, Satori, and the personal experience of enlightenment in Soto Zen: impermanence, emptiness, Zazen and “Being Time”
Zen • Chan • Seon
Soto Zen is virtually synonymous with Zazen and Mindfulness — especially uji (有時) translated as "Being Time." [For more on "Uji" see section below.] Soto Zen is a far-reaching, profound, and ancient path — with a particular focus ...
Bodhidharma – The Life of the legendary Da Mo, founder of Shaolin: an epic journey from India to China
Zen • Chan • Seon
There is no debate that Bodhidharma is an inspiring and towering presence in Mahayana Buddhism and the mystery of Shaolin. The life of the legendary monk Bodhidharma does have many facets that are subject to debate; based on ...
Buddhism has Nothing to do with Nihilism and everything to do with Experiencing; Why “Emptiness” and “Nothingness” are poor translations of Shunyata
Dharma, Zen • Chan • Seon
Emptiness, Nothingness or Voidness, as English translations for Shunyata are unfortunate — and entirely misleading. To paraphrase the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh: "Emptiness means empty of self — but in the fullness of everything else... it is ...