Chan / Seon / Zen

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!

Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Dartmoor, Devon

The Enlightened Body, by John Aske

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Only by familiarizing ourselves with all the elements, allowing these things to pass into our awareness untrammelled, and then out again — to allow them their changing nature — only in this way can we learn to live with them, accept them and be free of them. What we do not accept, what we love and hate, we are bound to.

Beopjeong Sunim having tea with another Sunim.

Who are you? By Beopjeong

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Don’t get distracted. Don’t look for the Buddha anywhere apart from your own mind. When you are a really free person, you hesitate nowhere when you are only “you and self.” Even when living in the common world, if you don’t become attached to or imbued with worldly things, you can become your true self…

Monk with hammer. © Marcelle Hanselaar

Fool the Devil, a story by Trevor Leggett

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There are about forty thousand Chinese characters in the total Chinese language. Nobody, of course, can possibly know them all, but they exist. Of course, the Bodhisattvas in China know them all; and the Devil knows them all too! He’s been around, and he’s got these forty thousand off — or he thinks he has!

Yoshi Yoshi. Good, alright

We have a choice, by Corrado Pensa

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Every difficult or unpleasant situation can be used as further training for our aversion, anger and hatred or as training in our dharma practise. Any pleasant situation can be used to further our training in attachment, fantasising and possessiveness or to kindle attention and exercise our capacity to open up and let go…