Words on
the way of Zen
Reflections on practice, tradition, and the everyday path of Zen.
Guizong Zhichang
A monk came to take his leave of Guizong Zhichang.
ReadThe Returning Bird, Lost Its Nest
A lay devotee asked Chan Master Foguang:
ReadExalting the South, Eclipsing the North
Shenhui was a late disciple of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng and the founder of the Heze lineage. He played a crucial role in the establishment and flourishing of the Southern School, and was among its greatest champions.
ReadOne Path to the Source
The Linji school is known for its sharp, uncompromising style. As the Record of All Dharmas Returning to the Mind puts it:
ReadAttaining Buddhahood in This Very Life
A Huayan master asked Master Huihai, “Venerable, do you hold that insentient beings are Buddhas?” The master replied, “I do not. If insentient beings were Buddhas, living people would be no better than the dead, and dead horses and dead ...
ReadThe Passing Years Are Impermanent
The sun cannot linger, the earth cannot stand still; time shifts with the sun’s rising and setting, and fades with the earth’s turning. Thus the Buddha taught: “All things arise and pass in a flash, ever-shifting and impermanent!” Those ...
ReadThe Master's Gourd
A young monk went to see his master.
ReadWas There Ever Any Confusion?
A wandering monk, resting before a small hermitage kept by an old woman during his travels, called out:
ReadZen Poetry Appreciation — Cold Ice Congeals Within the Flame
Hymn on the Unity of Lord and Vassal
ReadMaster Zibo on Putting the Mind to Good Use
A sharp blade drawn from its sheath, its radiance dazzling as the sun. It cuts through iron as if it were clay. Whatever wood it meets—catalpa, nanmu, pine, or cypress—each becomes a useful vessel once shaped by its edge. Such is one who...
ReadZen Poetry Appreciation: The Sharpened Blade Must Still Be Honed
Verse on Dharma Transmission
ReadZen Practice: The Unity of Samadhi and Prajna (Part 1)
Question: "In the later stages of practice, the true meaning of the unity of samadhi and prajna remains unclear to me. Please expound on this further, dispel my confusion, and lead me into the gate of liberation."
Read