Latest writings

Zen has the idea of the beginner's mind - a mind that is fresh and alive. Sometimes I wonder how you can practice beginner's mind when meditation is all about focusing on one thing only - it seems a very stagnant way of using the mind. One would at first think to practice beginner's mind is to keep it moving, keep everything "new". But actually the best way is just the opposite; it is only through repetitiveness that we…

Someone asked Elder Zhao-Zhou (Joshu) how he practiced, and he said "For thirty years my mind remains undistracted, except perhaps when eating and putting on robes. Most people dwell on what they know, I alone remain in the not-knowing." I find the idea of being un-distracted really intriguing. Some distractions are obvious, we become fidgety and chatty in social situations. Less…

We can be both sick with worry and worried sick. If we're feeling bad, we often find ourselves panicking, looking around at diets, programs, exercise devices and other fads, trying to stave off ill health. When we get into this kind of panic, e are focusing all our…

If you ask a child what he/she likes to be when he/she grows up. The answer varies. If you ask Zen practitioners what they like to be. All answers point to the same one: become an enlighten being and reach immortality. How to reach it with a right understanding?…

Student: What is the right way to uplift myself? Master: First, set the right goal.  Second, you need motivation.…