The journal

Words on
the way of Zen

Reflections on practice, tradition, and the everyday path of Zen.

Philosophy7 min

Professor Lin Chong'an: No-Self and Emptiness, Lecture 2: Refuting the Self Identical to the Aggregates

Lin Chong'an (2007)

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Philosophy6 min

Professor Lin Chong'an: No-Self and Emptiness, Lecture 1: Refuting the Eternal Self, Abandoning the Self Separate from the Aggregates

Self and Emptiness, Lecture 1

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Practice6 min

Master Gangxiao: Zen Seven Talks — How to Do the Seven

(The earlier part of the recording tape had a problem and wasn't captured) ...In this biography, the text is not long to begin with, yet within that short space, apart from the necessary introductory remarks, only this one incident is re...

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Mind9 min

Professor Lin Chong'an: Essentials of Śamatha and Vipaśyanā from the *Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra*, Śrāvakabhūmi — 5. The Sixteen Superior Practices of Mindfulness of Breathing

◎ The practice of breath meditation encompasses the complete path of śamatha and vipaśyanā.

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Practice15 min

Professor Lin Chong'an: *Essential Points of Samatha and Vipassanā in the Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra, Śrāvakabhūmi* Part 4: Seven Types of Mental Engagement and the Sixteen Aspects of the Four Noble Truths

(4) Seven Types of Mental Engagement and the Sixteen Aspects of the Four Noble Truths

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Chan11 min

Venerable Gangxiao: Lecture on the Chan Seven Retreat, What Is "Seven"?

Venerable masters, with your great compassion, I'll continue from where I left off yesterday. We covered the reasons for holding a seven-day Chan retreat. There are two.

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Practice3 min

Master Xuyun: The Way Is Never Apart from Walking, Standing, Sitting, and Lying

you plant grain, which sprouts into seedlings, then transplant those seedlings to grow rice stalks, harvest the stalks for grain, and cook that grain into a meal. Buddha-nature is like a seed: the fundamental nature of all sentient being...

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Practice1 min

Zen Poetry Appreciation — To Learn the Way, One Must First Learn Poverty

By Chan Master Longya Judun of the Tang Dynasty

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Chan9 min

Master Gangxiao: Chan Seven Talk – Why Do a Seven

Venerable masters, to be honest, I've always been a layman when it comes to doing a Seven—whether a Chan Seven or a Buddha-recitation Seven. As for practice, I've never been able to get a grip on it, and I feel deeply ashamed. Thanks to ...

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Practice11 min

Professor Lin Chong'an: Key Essentials of Samatha and Vipasyana from the *Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra* (Section on Śrāvakas), Part 3: The Four Objects of Meditation

(3) The Four Objects of Meditation

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Pure Land5 min

Amitabha Buddha's Vow That All Buddhas Proclaim and Praise His Name

when I become a Buddha, the countless Buddhas throughout the worlds of the ten directions — countless as the sands of the Ganges — shall all proclaim and praise the merit of my name. If this vow is not fulfilled, I shall never attain Bud...

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Pure Land7 min

The Suffering of the Sahā World and the Joy of the Pure Land

In our world, the eight sufferings converge to torment us. Looking at them one by one, we can see why the Pure Land is free of all suffering and filled only with joy. Here we have the three sufferings, the eight sufferings, 108 suffering...

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