The Genjo-koan, whose name can be translated as 'Realizing the Heart of the Matter', is one of the key chapters in Master Dogen's voluminous Shobogenzo. The Genjo-koan cuts to the heart of Dogen's teaching and presents us with the fundamental tenets of Zen practice as well as an account of its distinct phenomenology. This version… Continue reading The Genjo-koan (Part 1)
Category: The Masters
The Five Gates of Daoxin
Dayi Daoxin was the fourth ancestor in China: the student of Jianzhi Sengcan and the teacher of Daman Hongren, he was the founder of the Sizu temple in China's Hubei district which is still an active monastery today. Daoxin did a lot to popularize the practice of Chan, and his was the first monastic community… Continue reading The Five Gates of Daoxin
The Maha-Saccaka Sutra – The Longer Discourse to Saccaka
The Maha-Saccaka Sutta narrates the very interior journey of the Buddha's path to realization and this particular excerpt recalls when he was a boy sitting under a rose-apple tree while his father was working. The moment was one of the first times the young Siddhartha entered into a state of meditation and understood 'the pleasure… Continue reading The Maha-Saccaka Sutra – The Longer Discourse to Saccaka
What to Do About Noise
One day a student at the Cambridge Zen Center said to Seung Sahn Soen-sa, "I am disturbed by noise when I sit Zen. What can I do about this?" Soen-sa said, "What color is this rug?" "Blue." "Is it quiet or noisy?" "Quiet." "Who makes it quiet?" The student shrugged his shoulders. Soen-sa said, "You… Continue reading What to Do About Noise
The Ultimate Path is Without Difficulty
Chao Chou, teaching the assembly, said, "The Ultimate Path is without difficulty; just avoid picking and choosing. As soon as there are words spoken, this is picking and choosing", "this is clarity." This old monk does not abide within clarity; do you still preserve anything or not?" At that time a certain monk asked, "Since… Continue reading The Ultimate Path is Without Difficulty
The Stability of One Whole Life
We don't practice zazen in order to get enlightened; we practice zazen being pulled every which way by enlightenment. The life in which you are glared at by zazen, scolded by zazen, obstructed by zazen, and get along with tears in your eyes is the happiest life, isn't it? - Kôdô Sawaki (1880-1965) From… Continue reading The Stability of One Whole Life
Empty Bowl: Two Poems
In the blue sky a winter goose cries. The mountains are bare; nothing but falling leaves. Twilight: returning along the lonely village path Alone, carrying an empty bowl. Foolish and stubborn - what day can I rest? Lonely and poor, this life. Twilight: I return from the village - Taigu Ryokan (1758-1831)… Continue reading Empty Bowl: Two Poems