This comes again and again. There is something hidden even in the terrible experiences we have, which ― if we have spiritual sight and discrimination ― we can find. There is a treasure in our own house which we often don’t see. We can say, ‘Well, how can there be?’…
Chan / Seon / Zen
Dharma-Seal of the Unborn, by Kusan Sumin
Everyone originally possesses the Dharma-Seal of the Unborn; so why do you still search for it? Have you realized it yet?
Sound and Noise, by Suzuki Roshi
Short film by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi – Sandokai – Sound and Noise
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!”…
Fingers and Moons
The well-known Zen Buddhist phrase ‘the finger pointing at the moon’ refers to the means and the end, and the possibility of mistaking one for the other…
The Old Zen Master
At the beginning you have to take up a koan riddle. One such is this: ‘What is your true face before father and mother were born’. For one facing the turbulence of life and death, such a koan clears away the sandy soil and opens up the golden treasure which was there from the beginning, the ageless root of all things…
It’s hard to let go of wishing and wanting, yearning and craving, by Diana St Ruth
That ordinary mind of ours tends to get camouflaged with desires and fantasies. It’s hard to let go of wishing and wanting, yearning and craving, and come to a stop, here, where we are. We may even think that…
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…