Samurai Yagyu Munenori uses the popular Zen image of the moon reflected in the water to explain its application in martial arts training.
Category: The Masters
Mencius – To Fathom the Mind
Chinese philosopher Mencius' core conviction was that human nature is fundamentally good and pure and only sullied by societal living.
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.
Returning Home – From Keizan Jokin’s Zazen Yojinki
The Zazen Yojinki, written by 14th century Japanese master Keizan Jokin, covers the fundamental aspects of zazen, the form of Zen meditation.
Eihei Dogen – Death Poem
A death poem was composed on one's deathbed, with the aim of encapsulating the understanding of impermanence at that moment.
The Better Way to Catch a Snake
The Discourse on Knowing The Better Way to Catch a Snake (the Alagaddūpama Sutta) is a Buddhist teaching about not clinging to views.
The Guidepost of Silent Illumination
"When wonder exists in serenity, all achievement is forgotten in illumination. What is this wonder? Alertly seeing through confusion is the way of silent illumination and the origin of subtle radiance." - Hongzhi Zhengjue Hongzhi Zhengjue was a 12th century philosopher and Zen master in China who authored a large number of philosophical texts as… Continue reading The Guidepost of Silent Illumination
Life and Death Do Not Exist
In this short chapter from the Shobogenzo, Sho-ji, Dogen plays with the distinction between the nuances of the two different meanings, life and death being static and self-defined events, which he argues have no substance or existence, and living and dying which are an endless flow of events and dynamic being
The Dexterous Butcher – Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi's story of the dexterous Cook Ding who teaches a lord a profound life lesson through the workings of his knife.
Fukanzazengi – Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen
The Fukanzazenki is a 13th century Japanese text that provides the most fundamental instructions for Zen meditation, including details on the ideal environment and posture for practice.