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“A roshi is a person who has actualized that perfect freedom which is the potentiality for all human beings. He exists freely in the fullness of his whole being. The flow of his consciousness is not the fixed repetitive patterns of our usual self-centered consciousness, but rather arises spontaneously and naturally from the actual circumstances of
... See moreShunryu Suzuki • Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: 50th Anniversary Edition
Rinzai Roku (a celebrated Zen text of the T’ang dynasty) and the teachings of Bankei, the seventeenth-century Japanese master who, for me, represents Zen at its best.
Alan Watts • In My Own Way: An Autobiography
“Cultivating mental clarity is all about your willingness to give up logical thinking and avoid getting trapped in a spider’s web of words and thoughts”, Monk Tsuda tells us as we settle on to the straw-matted floor in as close to a lotus position as we can physically manage. For more than a decade, I’ve been struggling with understanding the concept of stillness. In some way it possesses the ability to trigger peace and anxiety almost simultaneously in equal measures and intensity. Spending time with Monk Tsuda - third generation Zen Master and head priest at the Kyoto based Daishin-in temple - provided a new refreshing approach to the notion of self and how that self-realization is related to the ability to become a mere observer of your thoughts, and therefore in turn can foster stillness. “Human beings can’t learn this truth by rational thought, nor by studying scriptures, rites or rituals”, he continues. “It requires practicing stillness on a daily level in witch the aim isn’t to clear your mind entirely, but just to make mini steps towards letting your thoughts fully go”. Excerpt from a recent story on Japanese Zen Buddhism.
instagram.comRikyu took the baton of artlessness from his predecessor, Ikkyu, when he introduced Korean craft pottery into his tea ceremony. The Korean potters, who might have made a hundred similar pots in a day, were probably totally devoid of any thought of artistic aspirations as they worked, and it was just this lack of intellect that proved so attractive
... See moreAndrew Juniper • Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence
Rinzai’s radical use of buji tells us that Zen is no “thing” whatsoever. In his talk, he tries to cut off any notion we may have of what there is to do or what there is to accomplish. He spells out all the traps that his monks are likely to fall into—his way of flushing out their “secret practices.” Today, Rinzai is famous for answering questions w
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