All sensory objects satisfy us temporarily, but then we have to find something else to be absorbed into — to read, think, go to sleep, get drunk, take dope, have sex. It goes on and on, without reflection…
Buddhist meditation
No Longer Foolish, by Shen Hui
Shen Hui answered, ‘”The absence of thought” is a method for the wise, but if the foolish were to cultivate it, they would no longer be foolish.’
Buddha is only a provisional name, by Harada Sekkei Roshi
No matter how much we think about the past, it isn’t possible to change it…
Intuitive Insight, by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
There is a word in Buddhism that covers this completely, the word sunnata, or emptiness, emptiness of selfhood, emptiness of any essence that we might have a right to cling to with all our might as being ‘mine’…
The Mind and its Weather by John Aske
Previously I had lacked the self-awareness to see a passing mood as ‘internal’ without absorbing into it or being absorbed in it, and saw it, for example, as ‘being depressed’…
Part 2 Zazenshin: Acupuncture Needle of Zazen, by Shohaku Okumura
In our zazen we have to let go of any kind of thinking, even thinking about dharma.
Looking Deeply, by Thich Nhat Hanh
During the exercise, we identify the in-breath as the in-breath, and the out-breath as the out-breath, like a child’s game. It is very easy. If you enjoy it, concentration just comes without any attempt at getting it…
Tathata or Suchness
When I first came across this word ‘Suchness’ in Zen literature, I thought, ‘What the heck is Suchness?
