Words on
the way of Zen
Reflections on practice, tradition, and the everyday path of Zen.
Fully Arousing the Three Minds and Dedicated vs. Mixed Practice
Shandao Master composed some of his most brilliant passages in the Four Annotations, first in the section expounding the profound meaning, and second in his commentary on the chapter on the highest grade of the highest birth. He especial...
ReadThe Five Aspects of Resolute Faith
Below is a detailed exposition of the five aspects of resolute deep faith—the aspects of faith.
ReadGiving Is the Root of All Good Deeds, Placed First Among the Six Paramitas
Practice the Six Paramitas oneself, and encourage others to do the same.
ReadOrdaining as a Monk to Repay One's Father's Kindness
During the Tang Dynasty, there was a man surnamed Xie whose father earned his living by fishing. One day while out fishing, he accidentally fell into the water and drowned. After his father's death, Xie pondered: "My father accrued heavy...
ReadThe Root of All Suffering Lies in the View of Self
The Vow of Not Arising Attachment and Calculation Regarding the View of Self.
ReadChanting the Buddha’s Name Does Not Guarantee Rebirth in the Pure Land, but It Definitely Eliminates Karmic Obstacles
I will personally manifest before that person, touch their crown to comfort them, and cause them to awaken.
ReadEliminating Great False Speech
"You teach the people of the world to cultivate samadhi, and afterwards to further eliminate all major false speech. This is known as the fourth decisive, clear instruction on purity given by the Tathagata and the past World-Honored Ones."
ReadAvici Hell's Fivefold Endlessness
["There are five karmic conditions that account for its name 'Avici' (Uninterrupted)."]
ReadWhy Guanyin Bodhisattva’s Ear-Contemplation Dharma Gate Is the Most Supreme in the Dharma-Ending Age
Guanyin Is the Supreme
ReadDo Not Preach the Lotus Sutra to These Six Types of People
And again, Shariputra: do not teach this sutra to those who are arrogant and indolent, who cling to a view of a self; to ordinary people with shallow understanding, deeply attached to the five sense desires, who cannot comprehend it even...
ReadIn Mahayana Buddhism, All Karma Is Unfixed
Some people raise a doubt: those who have committed evil deeds their entire lives, such as the beings reborn in the three lower grades of the Pure Land (all of whom are evil-doers)—why are such beings able to be reborn there? This is a q...
ReadWhy We Should Treat Enemies and Loved Ones Equally
Consider our present cycle of life and death. Even if a human lifespan were to last a hundred years, a single day in the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings is equivalent to fifty human years, and a single day in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven eq...
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