Obey the nature of things, and you are in concord with the Way, calm and easy and free from annoyance, but when your thoughts are tied, you turn away from the truth, they grow heavier and duller and not at all sound. When they are not sound, the spirit is troubled, what is the use […]
Category: Education
Clinging is Out of Bounds
Clinging is never kept within bounds; it is sure to go the wrong way; quit it, and things follow their own courses, while the Essence neither departs nor abides. — Sosan Ganchi Zenji, 3rd Patriarch of Zen As I leave the house one hypothetical morning, I am pleased with how centered I am and flowing […]
Calm and Large-Hearted
The Great Way is calm and large-hearted; for it nothing is easy, nothing is hard; small views are irresolute. The more in haste the tardier we go. — Sosan Ganchi Zenji, On Believing in Mind Election speeches are filled with both big and small ideas-big ideas about the higher good and small ideas imbued with […]
One Emptiness
Abide not with dualism, carefully avoid pursuing it; as soon as you have right and wrong, confusion ensues and Mind is lost. The two exist because of the One, but hold not even to this One; when a mind is not disturbed, the ten thousand things offer no offense. No offense offered, and no ten […]
Is that so?
Wordiness and intellection- the more with them the further astray we go; away therefore with wordiness and intellection, and there is no place where we cannot pass freely. When we return to the root, we gain the meaning; when we pursue external objects, we lose the reason. The moment we are enlightened within, we go […]
Don’t Hurt Your Head!
Pursue not the outer entanglements, dwell not in the inner void,be serene in the oneness of things,and dualism vanishes by itself. When you strive to gain quiescence by stopping motion,The quiescence thus gained is ever in motion,As long as you tarry in dualism,How can you realize oneness? And when oneness is not thoroughly understood,In two […]
Finding a Lost Object
The Way is perfect like unto vast space,With nothing wanting, nothing superfluous.It is indeed due to making choices that its suchness is lost sight of. — Sosan Ganchi Zenji This passage is the 3rd in On Believing in Mind by Sosan Ganchi Zenji. This passage reminds me of looking for a lost object to the […]
The egg yolk is the soul and the egg white is the spirit
In one Emptiness the two are not distinguished.And each contains in itself all the ten thousand things; when no discrimination is made between this and that, how can a one-sided and prejudiced view arise? — Sosan Ganchi Zenji, On Believing in Mind The other day I was talking to a friend about the tension between […]
To what purpose is our mind disturbed?
To set up what you like against what you do not like- this is the disease of the mind; when the deep meaning of the Way is not understood, peace of mind is disturbed to no purpose. — Sosan Ganchi Zenji I read a Facebook post this week in which a young man related how […]
Three Questions
Someone confided in me today that they were nervous about coming to meditation because they did not feel advanced enough in their meditation practice. Do you feel the same way? Consider the following questions: Can you sit still for 15 minutes with your back straight? Can you keep your gaze toward the floor? Can you […]