Why We Sit
Traditionally, in China and Korea, only monks did Zen practice. But Zen has come to the West and here lay people practice Zen besides monks and nuns.
Entries by Barbara Pardo
Don’t Know, No Problem
Human beings have too much understanding. Too much understanding, too much have problems.
Waking Up from the Dream
I will tell you a story. There was a guy who went to his psychotherapist claiming that he had a big problem, and that it had been bothering him for one year already.
New Year Poem
New Year poem, from Zen Master Seung Sahn, 1980
What Are You?
Zen is very simple… What are you?
Opposite Thinking = Suffering
In Buddhism, Buddha taught that suffering comes from opposite mind, opposite thinking. Instead of just being connected and appreciate being here, we are fantasizing about different things.
Heaven and Hell
Hakuin, the fiery and intensely dynamic Zen master, was once visited by a samurai warrior.
Seeing Your Own Karma
Letter From A Student about Karma, and Response by Zen Master Jok Um (Ken Kessel)
You Must Understand Yourself
We understand many things about this world, but we don’t understand ourselves.
Why Do “I Want,” And For Whom?
We used to have a different translation of the second great vow: “Desires are inexhaustible. We vow to extinguish them all.” Once during an interview, a student asked Zen Master Wu Kwang: “Desires are inexhaustible. What does this mean?”