Vine of Obstacles Zen

Vine of Obstacles Zen

Sign in Subscribe

A Year-End Thank You: The Platform Sutra's "Pivotal Affinities" Chapter

Paid-members only

A Year-End Thank You: The Platform Sutra's "Pivotal Affinities" Chapter

True Kensho: An Ordinary Person Wakes Up

True Kensho: An Ordinary Person Wakes Up

To commemorate the Buddha Shakyamuni's awakening - a repost from early 2024 of a householder's famous awakening experience in about 1750 and his post kensho work with Hakuin and the nun, Esho.

How Do Experienced Practitioners Slide By Kensho?

How Do Experienced Practitioners Slide By Kensho?

One-Night Awakening is Verified by the Sixth Ancestor - and Goes

Paid-members only

One-Night Awakening is Verified by the Sixth Ancestor - and Goes

On Not Serving a Sangha: A Reflection on Zen Teaching

Zen teaching Featured

On Not Serving a Sangha: A Reflection on Zen Teaching

An Unexplainable Election Truth as Zen Practice

An Unexplainable Election Truth as Zen Practice

Dharma Ocean's Pivotal Affinity with the Sixth Ancestor: Studying the Platform Sutra

Dharma Ocean's Pivotal Affinity with the Sixth Ancestor: Studying the Platform Sutra

"When absorption and wisdom are maintained equally/Within consciousness all is pure and clear."

What Color is the Cool Breeze? Fayan's Substance and Name

Paid-members only

Record of Going Easy

What Color is the Cool Breeze? Fayan's Substance and Name

404 Adverse Meditation Experiences

Adverse effects of meditation Featured

404 Adverse Meditation Experiences

The Spirit of Zen: Wrapping Ourselves in Buddha's Teaching

The Spirit of Zen: Wrapping Ourselves in Buddha's Teaching

Inka Shomei: The Ancient Practice of Face-to-Face Verification Today

Inka shomei Featured

Inka Shomei: The Ancient Practice of Face-to-Face Verification Today

More Is Less: How To Shut Up And See Deeply

More Is Less: How To Shut Up And See Deeply

If you want to deeply delight in the buddhadharma, if you want to go beyond stages, break through mu, and practice wisdom-samadhi throughout the day, the first thing you gotta do is sit down and shut up.

Back from North Carolina - Sesshin and Helene

Paid-members only

Record of Going Easy

Back from North Carolina - Sesshin and Helene

The Precepts of Compassion Roar Like Thunder

Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts

The Precepts of Compassion Roar Like Thunder

Wandering Close to Home: A Year of Zen Reflections, Consolations, and Reveries

Wandering Close to Home: A Year of Zen Reflections, Consolations, and Reveries

"Our essential choice is whether or not we align with what is already true."

A Translator's Dream: With A Little Help from Earnestine

A Translator's Dream: With A Little Help from Earnestine

Forty Years a Zen Priest

Forty Years a Zen Priest

Stars Shining Through a Hidden Meaning: On Taking the Teaching Seat

Paid-members only

Record of Going Easy

Stars Shining Through a Hidden Meaning: On Taking the Teaching Seat

How to Shut Up and See Deeply

How to Shut Up and See Deeply

A Dharma Talk: Politics and Dharma - My View and a Case History

A Dharma Talk: Politics and Dharma - My View and a Case History

What Was Bodhidharma Really Doing? On The Importance of Breaking Through Walls

What Was Bodhidharma Really Doing? On The Importance of Breaking Through Walls

If we cling to walls about dharma practice, how can we break through?

Four Big Juicy Factors of the Zen Way

Vine of Obstacles Zen Featured

Four Big Juicy Factors of the Zen Way

Many practitioners languish in their home practice, tormented by small doubt, due to the difficulty of implementing Zen practice in non-residential settings.

Is Just Sitting Facing a Wall Enough?

Paid-members only

Record of Going Easy

Is Just Sitting Facing a Wall Enough?

Vine of Obstacles Zen Training: What's the Point?

Vine of Obstacles Zen Featured

Vine of Obstacles Zen Training: What's the Point?

Wholeheartedly doing the training just for the love of the buddhadharma.

Not Misusing Sexuality: The Red Thread

Not Misusing Sexuality

Not Misusing Sexuality: The Red Thread