Words on
the way of Zen
Reflections on practice, tradition, and the everyday path of Zen.
Appreciating Chan Poetry: Every Green Mountain Is a Dharma Hall
A Farewell Verse
ReadA Brief Introduction to Master Mingzhe
Elder Mingzhe, courtesy name Rijing, secular name Zhang Yuxiang, monastic name Yunxiang, was born in March 1925 in Jining, Shandong Province. He began studying at a private school at the age of seven, practicing vegetarianism and learnin...
ReadInvesting in Solitude
Selected from: Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche's Not for Happiness
ReadIntroducing Yijing: A Tang Dynasty Scripture Translator
Yijing (635–713) was a Tang dynasty monk, scripture translator, and traveler. His lay surname was Zhang, and he was from Qizhou—present-day Licheng in Shandong—though some accounts place his origins in Fanyang, in the southwest of modern...
ReadThe Happiest Person in the World: Teachings by Mingyur Rinpoche
Imagine you live in a small room with only one window—locked, and so caked with grime that no light can pass through. You might assume the world outside is a bleak, dismal place, populated by all manner of grotesque creatures, because ev...
ReadFocus and Awareness: Dharma in Daily Life from *Fundamentals of Buddhist Practice*
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ReadA Brief Introduction to Master Shenxiu
Master Shenxiu was born in 605 and died in 706, living to the remarkable age of 102 — thirty-five years older than Master Huineng. According to historical records, he studied the classics and histories in his youth before leaving home li...
ReadNeither Emptiness Nor Existence, Yet Both at Once
Don't trade one ignorance for another. Don't swap one delusion for a different one.
ReadSeeing Interdependent Conditions Clearly Lets You Cultivate Your Practice While Influencing Others
That earnest, aching wish— the kind that longs to see rough iron forged into fine steel, frustrated when progress stalls— has softened and leveled out over long years of practice. He, too, is shaped by his own karma and the causes and co...
ReadBuddhism Does Not Urge Everyone to Renounce Love and Enter Monastic Life
Buddhism doesn’t universally urge people to renounce love and enter monastic life, nor does it dismiss romantic love and marriage outright. The Buddha teaches this clearly in the Sutra of the Good Person (Sigalovada Sutta), explaining th...
ReadFor Practitioners of the Buddhist Dharma, First Establish Unwavering Resolve
With genuine, steadfast resolve, the power of the Way grows strong all on its own. This holds true for everyone, regardless of gender: for those who practice the great Chan Dharma, and for anyone walking the Buddhist path, the first and ...
ReadVenerable Huaping’s Dharma Talk: Flickering Between Good and Evil Never Lasts — Only Repentance and Remorse Endure
Flickering between good and evil never lasts. Only repentance and remorse can endure. Only when you let go of fixating on good and bad can you abide in your true, unchanging nature. Instead, turn your mind only to reverence, faith, the t...
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