Words on
the way of Zen
Reflections on practice, tradition, and the everyday path of Zen.
How Can High Mountains Hinder the Flight of Wild Clouds?
At 27, the monk Shan Jing left his official post to ordain as a monk. He made his way to Mount Lepu to train under Chan Master Yuan An, who put him in charge of the monastery’s vegetable garden, having him ground his practice in the simp...
ReadBeyond Words
When Master Dongshan arrived at Fang Pond, he saw a monastic official giving a dharma talk to the assembly. The man cited no sutras or scriptural authorities at all; Dongshan heard only him muttering softly to himself: How utterly marvel...
ReadMountain Flowers Bloom Like Brocade, the Stream Deep Blue as Indigo
Someone once asked Zen Master Dalong: "Everything with form is bound to pass away. Does any eternal, unchanging truth exist in this world?"
ReadDeshan Xuanjian
Master Deshan Xuanjian was a native of Sichuan, surnamed Zhou in lay life. He left home as a boy and threw himself into the study of Buddhist teachings, becoming especially skilled at expounding the Diamond Sutra—hence his nickname, "Zho...
ReadThe Way of Hospitality
The King of Zhao made a special trip to visit Chan Master Zhaozhou Congnen in Zhaozhou City. At the time, the Master was resting in bed. He remained lying down and said to his visitor, "Your Majesty, I'm old and frail now. Though you've ...
ReadReceiving the Buddha's Prophecy of Buddhahood
At one time, the Buddha was staying in the city of Śrāvastī. In the city, the wife of a prominent lay patron gave birth to a remarkably handsome and dignified child. The couple held an elaborate birth celebration, gave him a name fitting...
ReadAttaining Great Freedom
Clouds in the blue sky, water in the bottle.
ReadWhere Are You Going?
One day, Chan Master Dongshan went to visit a gravely ill student monk named Dezhao. Dezhao pleaded with him, "Master! Why won't you show compassion and save a disciple who has sincerely pursued the Way? Can you bear to watch me die with...
ReadGo Practice in the Stench of Urine
During the Song Dynasty, when Chan Master Congyue of Jiangxi went to call on Chan Master Yungai Shouzhi, they had barely exchanged a few words before Shouzhi reproved him:
ReadEmanation of Amitabha
During the Tang Dynasty, there was a Chan Master Fenggan. No one knew where he came from originally. He lived at Guoqing Temple on Mount Tiantai, his hair cropped to his eyebrows, always dressed in a plain cloth robe.
ReadDeshan's Encounter Dialogues
A great ancestor who has awakened has a heart wide open, utterly naked, freshly clean, without the faintest trace of obstruction. It's like clouds scattering across the open sky, the blue heavens fully revealed, their light boundless, sh...
ReadThe Descent of Maitreya
One day, Zen Master Daoying brought up a koan with Zen Master Dongshan—Nanquan testing a monk. Nanquan (Puyuan) asked the monk: "What sutra are you expounding?" The monk said: "The Sutra of Maitreya's Descent." Nanquan said: "When will M...
Read