Author: zenzdragon
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A Letter to the Sangha: Abbot Mako on Skillful Action
Dear Sangha, As I sit at my desk at Tassajara—a place beloved by myself and so many others—and watch the evening light cast flickering shadows across the tatami floor of the Abbot’s cabin, I feel deeply grateful to be right here. From this seat, I am in harmony with the ancient oaks, the sound…
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91. Zen Phrases
1.) The test of zen is to find that still point within, even in the midst of chaos.2.) Hakuin Zenji taught: Find the silence which contains thoughts.3.) The ego is a fabricated illusion4.) People are afraid to empty their minds fearing that they will be engulfed by the void.What they don’t realize is their own…
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92. Keep A Not Moving Center
You must silence the constant stream of mental chatter. “It is hard toconceptualize, no less experience an openness of mind in the midst of thisconstant internal chatter.” Guo Gu Poet Ryokan also famously said, “There is nothing better than saying nothing.” Itis both possible and actually preferable to teach others simply by a calmpresence. Speak…
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Rolling in the Grass
As I write this, it feels like hundreds of ants are biting my arms and legs. I have a grass allergy, and prolonged exposure results in itching and small bumps appearing on my skin. It’s been this way my whole life. When I was a child I loved playing outdoors with my friends. We spent…
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Letting Go of Minimalism
As a younger man, I prided myself on being a minimalist. I never owned more possessions that what I could fit into a duffel bag. I did my best to avoid clothing purchases; choosing to make due with the free t-shirts that were passed out at college fairs and job recruitment events. When I finally…
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Book Review: The Garden of Weeds and Flowers
Two years ago a representative from the Monkfish Book Publishing Company based in Rhinebeck, New York asked if I would review The Garden of Weeds and Flowers: A New Translation and Commentary on The Blue Cliff Record (2021) written by Korean Jogye Order Zen teacher Matthew Juksan Sullivan. I let the publisher know I…
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Book Review of David McMahan’s Rethinking Meditation
It is hard to know how to even begin to review of a book of the beauty, depth, nuance, and complexity of David McMahan’s excellent Rethinking Meditation: Buddhist Meditative Practices in Ancient and Modern Worlds (Oxford, 2023). David’s previous book—his seminal The Making of Buddhist Modernism (Oxford, 2009)—is undeniably the most important book about Buddhist…
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No front or back
Few words in the English language are as multidimensional in meaning or as laden with emotion as the word integrity. Derived from the Latin integer, the English word integrity has three distinct, established meanings. In its most common usage, integrity is synonymous with honesty, incorruptibility, and fidelity to a set of principles and values. It…
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The perfection of character
“The practice of Zen,” declared Yamada Koun Roshi (1907-1989), “is the perfection of character.” To those accustomed to thinking of Zen as a means of “living in the present” or relieving stress, that stark pronouncement may come as a surprise. In any event, it merits and rewards a closer look. To begin with, Yamada Roshi…
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goodness and mercy
A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. — Luke 6:44-46 The other day I was working the New York Times crossword when one of…