Zen Master Hakuin lived in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.  He was very dynamic and creative and is credited with reviving the school of Japanese Rinzai Zen.   He believed in the power of koans and is said to have come up with the famous,  “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”   Hakuin [...]

In our practice, we try to keep our mind pure and natural, unperturbed, like a clear stream high in the mountains, clean and life - giving.  But to have this kind of mind is often not so easy.  Something extra continually arises, something that muddies the clarity of mind. This “something extra” appears out of our activity of grasping, [...]

Religion, for most people, offers the promise of  being “lifted up”, to feel “raised up” to a higher place, by someone or  something that has access to such a place.  Religious followers carry the belief that a “higher place” truly does exist - a place they feel is more elevated than their present place.  Religions place  emphasis [...]

The record of human history, from pre-civilized to modern,  illustrates how people have consistently maintained a sense of “other” in their lives, a belief or feeling of something intimate with, yet mysteriously beyond, the activities and experiences of daily existence. Religions, rituals, and shamanic practices express the various ways we try to reach out to, [...]

                                                     
Having arrived from Asia within the past generation,  Zen and Buddhism  are still new enough in the West to be considered other-worldly phenomena, remarkable concepts and unusual activities outside the ordinary, like streaking comets or a meteor shower.  When we first read and listen to the teachings of these ancient traditions and spiritual practices,  we [...]

Our greatest difficulty is to let our life be driven by an image that we have of ourselves. When we are concerned about how we see ourselves and how we want other people to see us, we develop and protect our self-image, constantly comparing ourselves to others.  We do it because of our desire to [...]

When we first begin Zen practice, we may feel that zazen is a private activity, something that we do only for ourselves. So when we reflect on how our sitting is going, we may think “My foot hurts,” “My mind wanders,” “I get sleepy,” “My back hurts.” Our emphasis is on ourselves because we are [...]

The ancient Zen aphorism “To make a sixteen foot high golden Buddha from a blade of grass” points to the sacred nature of the everyday world, completely expressing the heart of spirituality. Underlying the expression is the insight that neither living beings nor inanimate objects are separate from Buddha, or God, or Allah, or however we [...]

 
Three years ago, I attended a symposium sponsored by a local interfaith organization. The question for consideration that evening was, “How does your religion or your faith repair the world?” The question demonstrated the good intention of the symposium and the sincerity of the organizers. Yet, when I first read it, I felt something missing. [...]

Did you ever spill something because you weren’t paying attention? Do you know anybody who hasn’t? A vivid memory of creating a mess through lack of awareness returns again and again over the years like a continuous wake up call. Preparing the breakfast coffee - spooning grounds from the container into the filter - I [...]