What is Reality? This is a basic Zen question. Is it what I see, hear, taste, feel and smell? Is what I think is real? How do I know what is real? How does anyone know what is real? Well, the answer depends on who is asking and from what perspective. Bats “see” the world through echolocation, that is, the returning echoes of sounds they emit. Many migratory birds navigate the world through feeling the earth’s magnetic field. The honeybee’s vision is based on blue, green

Is there such a thing as right and wrong? In these times of increased polarization, how can we reach mutual agreement about what is right and what is wrong: Make a list of pros and cons? Conduct a survey? Do more research? Or will we just be immobilized by the enormity of it all? Trying to work our way through all the possible permutations of “if-this-then-that” to find the “right” answer is like trying use our brain to predict all possible moves when playing against a ch

There is a saying in Zen that after all your studying, reading, arguing and discussing, you must “leap off the top of the 100-foot pole.” Break through the intellectual barriers. While you may not know exactly will happen after you leap, you must trust that this is the Way, and the Way works. A student once wryly observed: “It wouldn’t be Zen if it wasn’t confusing.” How true, especially if you to try to “understand” what you’re reading. By using only your intellect, s

As the new year begins, many people reevaluate their lives and then set new goals for themselves. For some, it takes the form of a bucket list of things you want to do or accomplish before you die. For some, the list is short and to the point; for others, the list could be very long. Is it possible to live your life in a way so that there is no need for a bucket list, because you are already doing everything you want, right now? Moment by moment? To answer this question, we n

In our “Intro to Zen” class, we teach three basic techniques that can help students in their Zen journey: breath, posture and frame of mind. Combined together, these help them begin to quiet their bodies, which in turn quiets their minds. In this state of stillness, they can then experience a deeper sense of being one with the universe, or what we call samadhi . In the course of the training, students learn how to breathe correctly , that is, from their hara , which is in

In his 22 April 2025 New York T-Magazine article, “I is for Impermanence,” writer Aatish Taseer observes that Japanese religion,...

In our Zen training, a regular sitting meditation session typically lasts 45 minutes. That is 45 minutes out of the 1,440 minutes that...

There are many factors to consider when you start on any spiritual path. One of the most important is choosing the right teacher....

These are challenging, uneasy and tumultuous times: political disagreements, violence and war, climate change, disintegrating interpersonal relationships. Take your pick. None can be resolved with speed or easy fixes. Do you ever wonder: How can we live like this? Where can we find some relief or comfort? People respond to what’s happening in a variety of ways. Some try to fight against it all, hoping against hope that they can make it through until better days. Others tr

When friends complain about growing older, I often respond that it is better than the alternative. Some understand right away, others...

THE 3 “R’s” OF ZEN TRAINING Recognize. Remember. Release. When we begin Zen training, we often find ourselves searching – for something....

Zen is not for the weak-hearted. In Zen, even if you train diligently and hard, there is no guarantee that you will experience a deep...

Many people may read the 11th century book The Tale of Genji because it was one of the world’s first novels. For Zen students the book...

A Zen student once said, “It wouldn’t be Zen if it wasn’t confusing.” A perfectly accurate observation that is especially true if you...

People follow many different paths in their quest for self-insight and life. Dr. Roland Griffiths (1946-2023), late director of the Johns...

During the first time I was living-in as a new Zen student, Tanouye Rotaishi said that I must write with “living words.” Being not that...

Even as the pandemic becomes endemic, two words frequently show up in conversations even as people begin to express more hope: anxiety...

Can one feel the energy of a space? How about the energy of the universe? Sarah Brayer, an American artist working in both Japan and the...

A few years into my early training at the monastery, a group of overseas students came to train. The teacher told them that he was going...

In Zen, we frequently talk about Tao, or the Way, but what is it exactly? Huineng (638-713 C.E.), the sixth patriarch of Chinese Zen,...

The 12 June 2020 syndicated comic strip “Frazz” relates a conversation between two main characters: Frazz, a 30-year-old songwriter and...

The American Psychological Association defines “existential crisis” as a stage of life at which a person’s goal is “finding meaning and...

Have you ever been around people whose energy, or ki`ai, just seems to create havoc wherever they go? A close friend was like that: On...

There is a Japanese proverb that goes something like this: “The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.” The proverb...