Latest writings

Try to remember something you believed so strongly that your life was completely driven by it -  you thought you will never change or go away from it - and yet today you no longer believe it. It could be an accomplishment, a relationship, a religious or philosophical faith or conviction. Whatever it was, it is a belief. Do you remember having such belief? If you do, then compare that to anything you believe today. Are you…

Once I was told that my 401K can be down as much as 30% and I should do a re-allocation. As I stare at the numbers on my most recent statement, it seems all the numbers are quite arbitrary. As far as I know, my 401K down by 30% has not affected my life at all - at least in this moment. The only impact it had on me is creating some questions and concerns in my mind. So who decides the worth of my retirement account anyways?…

To me the teaching of reliance on meaning instead of word is not just a warning against literal interpretation of Buddha's teaching - that would be substituting our words for Buddha's words. Given our deluded state of mind, I actually prefer staying with the Buddha's words. So what gives something meaning? It seems that meaning emerges only when concepts finally meets reality and become alive. In other words, we finally…

Just completed this morning Zen-Seven Retreat at the monastery and over lunch, a few fellow practitioners and I came up with a question: "How do you know if a thought is a habitual thought or a wondering thought instead of a pure thought?" Our answer is: "You must know from where the thought arise. If you do, then it is a pure thought. If you don't, then it is habitual thought." What is your answer?

Face the truth within you, so you can transform your karma. Every obstacle that manifests in our life is simply a reflection of our inner stagnation. When we use our mind improperly, we create karma that leads to suffering.…