My teacher said that I should go to Eiheiji, you realize that it is nothing special — ‘This is all it is?’ Then you can relax and get down to practising. That’s the reality, isn’t it?
History
CLACK! by Trevor Leggett
The Abbot set Kyogen the Koan riddle: “What is your true face before your father and mother were born?” Baffled and furious Kyogen left the monastery but the riddle haunted him…
Final Lesson, by Arthur Braverman
And he [Uchiyama Kôshô Roshi] told us ‘to look at zazen and not at him as our teacher’. It’s almost as if he knew some of us would become disappointed in him and he didn’t want our disappointment to carry over into our zazen…
The Buddha in Medieval Europe? – The Getty Iris
I find the unexpected connection between this medieval manuscript and the Buddhist tradition during the Angkor period fascinating. It reminds me of how small the world really was and is…
Zen Teaching of Instantaneous Awakening
This eighth-century classic is a complete translation of Hui Hai’s teachings. He was one of the early Chan/Zen masters (along with Ma Tsu and Huang Po) following on from Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch.
Hui Hai: “What do you suppose is not the Buddha? Point it out to me!”…
The search for Gautama Buddha’s birthplace
In 1837, a young Englishman James Prinsep, who as a master of the Royal Mint at Calcutta and secretary of the Bengal Asiatic Society, was able to decipher the Brahmi inscriptions of the edicts of Emperor Asoka…
Advice for Monks who are Beginners on the Way
Your paying homage to the Buddha proceeds from certain conditions latent within your true original nature. These are deep impressions that you have received from the Buddha. And they were not received in vain. They are like sounds near a mountain that will be followed by their echo…
Zen in the Park, by Arthur Braverman
During my stay at Antaiji I came into contact with five teachers of Zen. Three, I met, and two I learned of through their heirs and their writings. All of these teachers were, in some capacity, connected with Antaiji, a small poor temple in Kyoto…
Buddhism now 