Zen: The Authentic Gate

But it is very difficult to actually persist, embodying the content of enlightenment so that it becomes part of our daily lives.

One of the basic prerequisites for Zen experience is for the practice to become single-mindedly pure. Whether the practice is with koans or just sitting, as long as attention is divided between the koan and concerns about the outcome, the practice will never be truly pure. This is why the Zen ancestors criticized Zen with the expectation of enlight

The power of concentration helps us develop two important skills: the ability to actualize our ideas in the objective world, and the ability to free ourselves from being controlled by the world.

It was a case where the development of concentration in one kind of practice brought about results in Zen practice.

He teaches that by practicing Zen and coming to the same experience as Shakyamuni Buddha — the realization of the empty-oneness of all beings — we can transcend the divisions that separate us and find true peace in our hearts and in this world.

slightest thought about awakening.

The first and clearest change is a deep sense of peace of mind.

A number of arts in Japanese culture contain the suffix dō, which means “way,” as part of their Japanese names: kendō, judō, aikidō, shodō (calligraphy), sadō (tea ceremony), kadō (flower arrangement), and so on. All of these disciplines rely on concentration of mind as their basis. It is by harnessing the power of concentration that the Japanese p

It is not the brain that is thinking about the brain as I sit here thinking about the