Vine of Obstacles Zen

On 19 Ways of Looking at a Wang Wei Poem

This post is a follow-up to my recent post, Sitting, Looking for the Time When the Clouds Arise - my translation of a poem by the great Wang Wei. Below you'll find a lightly edited repost of another piece about Wang Wei, published on my Patheos site a

Sitting, Looking for the Time When the Clouds Arise

Below you'll find my translation of a classic Chinese poem by Wang Wei (701-761), "Zhongnan's Exceptional Karma." The poem contains these often quoted lines, even today: "Going to the water’s source/Sitting, looking for the time when the clouds arise." Wang

Progress

"Why, Oh Why, Is My Practice Not Progressing?"

Progress is empty, but that doesn't mean that progress in Zen practice is unimportant. Just like there are no ears (as the "Heart Sutra" proclaims), but still many people have awakened through hearing. And the Buddha of the Pali Canon often says that if practice isn&

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Dogen

The Difference Between Soto and Rinzai

Record of Going Easy

Absorption, Awakening and Spiritual Fascination: Juifeng Does Not Agree

We're back from sesshin and a little vacation. Both were wonderful, as is being home again in the hermitage and walking along the great lake. Today, as promised, I'm sharing my translation of The Record of Going Easy (Japanese, Shoyoroku, aka, Book of Serenity), Case 96:

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Record of Going Easy

The Inner Meaning of Zen: Dying While Sitting Doesn't Reach It

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Record of Going Easy

How Can You Recuperate From An Illness Caused By Medicine?

Record of Going Easy

Messing With Yasutani Roshi Again and Again: Don't Sit Down in the World of Awakening

In this post, I'm concluding the series of re-edits of Hakuun Yasutani Roshi's (1885–1973 - pictured above) comments on the main case of Record of Going Easy (J., Shoyoroku), Case 11 Yunmen’s Two Illnesses, inserting my translation of the case into his commentary. The

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Old Log Series

Record of Going Easy

Messing with Yasutani Roshi Again: Real Happiness and Peace

In this post I'm going to continue messing with Hakuun Yasutani Roshi (1885–1973, pictured above). The original version of Yasutani Roshi's commentary that I'm working with appeared in The Hazy Moon of Enlightenment, by Taizan Maezumi and Bernard Tetsugen Glassman. But, as with

Record of Going Easy

The Vigorous Nature of Working Zen

Zen students sometimes seem to think that Zen is a passive process. One just sits and the magic happens. Nonsense! And Sōtō students sometimes dismiss wholehearted application of the method by attributing "hair on fire" training to Rinzai Zen. Double nonsense!! Here's a bit from the

Record of Going Easy

Messing With Yasutani Roshi: The Verse for Yunmen's Two Illnesses

Recently, in my translation work and personal practice, I've been playing again with Record of Going Easy (J., Shoyoroku), Case 11 Yunmen’s Two Illnesses. This case is so important, in my view, that in addition to the introduction, koan, capping phrases and Hongzhi's verse, I&

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A Soft Pre-Dawn

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Oxherding Pictures

So You've Seen Mu...

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Zazen at the Beach

Record of Going Easy

Yúnmén's Sound and Color

The issue of sound and color is one that comes up a lot in the Zen tradition, because it is central to awakening. In the Diamond Sutra, Chapter 26, we find this verse: Seeking me by using form/color or seeking me by using the sound of my voice A

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Recent Images

Keizan Featured

What Is The Heart of Zen? Reflections On The Transmission of Luminosity

The Record of the Transmission of Illumination (J. Denkoroku) by Keizan Jokin Zenji (1264-1325) is one of the most important dharma texts available to us today - so important that the great master Harada Sogaku Roshi (1871-1961) chose it for his reformed koan curriculum. In a recent post, I shared

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Dongshan

Dongshan's Other Five Stages of Practice

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Spring in Duluth

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Fayan On The Importance of Dharma Companions

Keizan

A Black Lacquer Person Runs Through the Night: The Sudden Awakening of Keizan Jokin

Sudden, great awakening is the life blood of the Zen school, both Soto and Rinzai.

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Dahui

Intimate Friendship: "When You Sing, I Respond; When I Sing, You Clap Hands"

Denkoroku

Do Not Use Your Hand Like A Visor

After he had completed training, one of our Zen ancestors, Tiāntóng Zōngjué (天童宗珏, Heavenly Child Clan of Jewels; J. Tendō Sōkaku; 1091–1162), appeared in the world as a teacher. Yes, the source text has the phrase "in the world." Keizan notes in his Denkōroku (Record of the

Denkoroku

Not Looking Toward The Peace Of The Innermost Mind

As I mentioned in my last post, in our ongoing Vine of Obstacles Zen practice period focussing on the teaching of Keizan Jokin Zenji (1261-1325), a fourth generation master in Japan, we see that a great deal of his teaching simply points to how to do it - Zen practice-awakening.