Book Bits
Bodhidharma’s Bloodstream Sermon
Bodhidharma’s fundamental teaching was that the Buddha can only be found in the mind since its essence is mind itself.
November 23, 2020
Why I Write – Nicholas Trandahl
Religion and faith are two of the most difficult subjects to write about according to Nicholas Trandahl, author of the poem, The Chapel.
Why I Write – Caroline Goodwin
Writing can be anything, from self-discovery to incorporating pain to establishing direction, according to poet Caroline Goodwin, who featured in The Dewdrop a couple of weeks ago with her poem, Not I’ll Not, from her book, Custody of the Eyes.
Why I Write – Cuong Lu
Author Cuong Lu is a student of Thich Nhat Hanh and has worked for many years as a prison chaplain.
Why I Write – Les Kaye
Les Kaye is the Abbot of Kannon Do meditation center in Mountain View and the author of the books Joyously
Why I Write – Danielle Pieratti
Can writing with your wrong hand beat writer’s block? Are maternity leave and creativity at all compatible? Danielle Pieratti, The
Why I Write – Ben Connelly
Ben Connelly is a Zen teacher at the Minnesota Zen Center as well as the author of several books including
THE BEATS
BROWSE BY THEME
Wisdom movement impermanence A Sense of Something Greater Mumonkan Travel everyday liberation separation Coronavirus Rinzai philosophy relationship Author Q&A presence Poem nature Chinese Zen pain Reality Taoism Compassion Zen Flesh Zen Bones loss Jack Kerouac race Sufi Christianity desire transcendence language Buddhism truth Shiva Relationships Sadness poet Courage anger the Way isolation learning Zen Process narrative Bodhidharma Writing transition Suffering science Literature Children God awareness growth home Practice friendship peace journey nothingness Stillness psychoanalysis Loneliness Freedom existence zazen Poetry Chinese Poem Mind meaning community life Beat Dying Trees Darkness conversation Rebecca Solnit Action Allen Ginsberg imminent experience COVID-19 being Wumen Huikai dharma Nirvana Thich Nhat Hanh Joy American Poetry Dreams Silence Spiritual Practice humanity Chan Belief Enlightenment love Koan consciousness Emptiness snow Shunryu Suzuki China Spirituality salvation Gratitude Homeless Kodo Solitude change Devi Meditation Death Water Gary Snyder Kodo Sawaki knowledge Inspiration The dewdrop perception Violence Awakening childhood Self Happiness Thomas Merton questions beauty marriage Advice prayer time reflection transience Centreing Alan Watts religion faith Sutra Shobogenzo grief Vigyan Bhairava Les Kaye listening attention Buddha Dogen Fear Japan memory
MYSTICS
Eighteen Thousand Universes Through Eighteen Thousand Eyes
The Sacred is the Everyday – Joan Chittister
Thomas Merton on Solitude, Authenticity and Being
Gurdjieff and The Two Rivers
Blinded by the Sun – St Teresa of Avila
“Don’t Tell Me Who I Am Yet. It Is Still Being Spelled Out”
Kabir – The Moon Shines in my Body
Rumi’s Guest House
POPULAR READS
FROM THE ZEN GARDEN
The Path That Leads Into the Mountains
In 1993, Zen teacher Joan Halifax published a book called The Fruitful Darkness based on her anthropological engagements with Tibetan Buddhists, Mexican shamans, Native American elders and other tribal communities.
Ryokan – Playing with the Children
Ryokan loved children, and played with them so much that other adults began to question his sanity. He says, ‘Even if I were able to say something/how could I explain?’ His wholehearted immersion in playful activity is the essence of Ryokan’s very particular Zen expression.
Expressing Yourself the Way That You Are – Shunryu Suzuki on Communication
Shunryu Suzuki always admitted his own difficulty with the English language, but also addressed the deeper problem of human communication, namely that ‘when we say something, our subjective intention or situation is always involved.’
Bankei and the Unborn
17th century Zen master Bankei on the Unborn, the unconditioned mind that comes up spontaneously and is fundamental to every person, without exception.
Am I Conscious Now?
“What does it mean to ask a question? Is there some magic in the inquisitive brain?” Susan Blackmore’s lifelong investigation into consciousness encompasses Zen practice and the recurring question: Am I conscious now?
The Bhaddekaratta Sutta: The Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone
The Bhaddekaratta Sutta is one of the many teachings the Buddha gave over the course of his 19 three-month practice periods at the Jetavana Monastery. It conveys the essence of a self-sufficient practice and way of existing – not clinging to the past or living for the future but diligently dwelling in current stability and freedom.
You Must Go Beyond All Words – Ajahn Chaa
Achaan Chaa was a Buddhist monk in the Thai Forest Tradition who taught a simple practice in nature that did not depend on reading or studying.
Chiyono’s Enlightenment Poem
Adachi Chiyono (also known as Mugai Nyodai) was the daughter of a samurai warrior in the 13th century who became the first woman – and mother – to found and head a Zen monastery in Japan.
Phil Jackson and the Zen of Basketball
‘Selflessness is the soul of teamwork’ was former basketball coach Phil Jackson’s mantra when coaching his players in the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jijuyu Zanmai – Master Dogen’s Self-Receiving and Employing Samadhi
The Jijuyu Zanmai is the second section of the first part of Dogen’s Bendowa – ‘The Endeavor of the Way’ and concerns the experience of zazen
Being Intimate with the Essence of the Teacher’s Practice
This biographical snippet, taken from the introduction of Tenshin Reb Anderson’s book Being Upright, tells a bit of the story of how he met his
Mitsu Suzuki on Teaching Tea Ceremony
Mitsu Suzuki was the wife of Shunryu Suzuki who accompanied him when he moved to the United States from Japan in the 1960s. After her
