Chan / Seon / Zen

This is the Miracle, by Trevor Leggett

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The teacher said that people today, and always, sell themselves cheap. Somebody who is always saying, ‘I’m no good,’ won’t try at anything because, ‘Things always go wrong for me. And if I do happen to succeed in something, it’s never appreciated; it always goes badly. And is life worth living anyway?’ Such people are selling themselves cheap. They have a treasure in them…

White Blossom

The outside of people is no clue to what is inside, by Trevor Leggett

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There are two trains of instruction, which sometimes people notice. One is that in the highest consciousness, the highest awareness, there is no effort. And the other is, ‘You have to put your whole heart and soul into this.’ And some people will say, as one does when one wants to get out of something, ‘You’re told these things are effortless and you’re trying to attain them by making tremendous efforts. Isn’t it absolutely ridiculous? It’s a self-contradiction.’ So these people either go in for a type of meditation which practically is falling asleep, or else they go in for a furious sort of meditation, and never attain any calm at all.

Korean Sunim sitting by open door.

Life in a Korean Monastery, Jisu Sunim

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At the beginning each practitioner is given a hua-tou, a kind of koan. For example: What is this? I-Mo-Ko? What is this? The idea is to concentrate your entire attention and mind on this one particular koan or hua-tou: What is this? What is this? What is this? It is different from vipassana meditation where the intention is to be aware and solely aware of what is going on. When you eat, you just acknowledge how that feels—approaching the spoon, touching the spoon, feeling the coolness of the handle, and so on. In koan meditation, however, your attention is single-pointedly directed to this question—What is this?—right now. Initially, it is very difficult to concentrate because all kinds of thinking comes up . . . comes up . . . comes up . . . like clouds, or smoke from a chimney…

Tangen Harada Roshi

Baby English—sorry! by Tangen Harada Roshi.

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The English isn’t exactly right, but we know what he means. It is with great respect that we publish his Baby English Teisho here. If it is read with this in mind, we’re sure you will agree, it is a magnificent dharma thrust.

Deep, deep, deep, great smile; That’s the roots. Why?

Eternal, perfect and bright; Eternal, perfect safety; Eternal, perfect peace; Everything eternal,

Now, here, now, here; Now, here—no change!

All people hope, desire, Desire, desire,

Desire perfect peace; Perfect enough, myself; Always, yes!