Zen tings
If you think Zen is something lofty and esoteric, the master will give you a shout or slap for an answer. If you think it is abstract, you’ll be told it’s three pounds of flax or the oak tree in the garden. If you think it is beyond words and abstractions, the master may quote the sutras or a poem by Han Shan. If you think Zen is nothing but our ev
... See morefrom Ending the Pursuit of Happiness: A Zen Guide by Barry Magid
Sara Campbell added 1mo ago
In essence, Zen is the art of living. All the teachings and practices of Zen are aimed at helping you live more wisely, more compassionately, and more fully. A Zen master has become adept at simply living her life, but she is not so much a master of her life as she is a master of the art of Zen study and practice.
from Zen Living by Domyo Sater Burk
Sara Campbell added 1mo ago
There is only one teacher. What is that teacher? Life itself. And of course each one of us is a manifestation of life; we couldn’t be anything else.
from Everyday Zen: Love and Work (Plus) by Charlotte J. Beck
Sara Campbell added 1mo ago
The Tibetan teacher Kalu Rinpoche puts it this way: You live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality, but you do not know this. When you understand this, you will see that you are nothing, and being nothing you are everything. That is all. Healing comes in touching this realm of nonseparation.
from A Path With Heart by Jack Kornfield
Sara Campbell added 1mo ago
Not technically zen but close enough
The goal of Zen is to awaken to life as it is, rather than stay in the comparative dream world of our ideas about it.
from Zen Living by Domyo Sater Burk
Sara Campbell added 1mo ago
- Engaged Buddhism has emerged over the past few decades as a framework for understanding how Buddhists can integrate practicing the Dharma with social justice issues. Often, engaged Buddhism is understood to mean that practitioners use the Dharma as a tool to gain deeper insight into injustice and to craft strategies to act dharmically in the world ... See more
from ‘Woman Hold My Hand’
Sara Campbell added 1mo ago
Buddhism is about letting people know they do not need to follow any authority. If you think you need an authority figure, go somewhere else.
from Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner
Sara Campbell added 1mo ago
And as I continued to practice and to talk with other students of the buddha dharma, I found that many people share the conditioning that leads us to think that there’s something wrong with us. If we could only get, do, or be something more, then we would be all right. It’s so easy for us to get the idea that there’s something wrong with us. And it
... See morefrom Seeds for a Boundless Life: Zen Teachings from the Heart by Zenkei Blanche Hartman
Sara Campbell added 21d ago
But when your practice deepens and it begins to dawn on you that all your thoughts are just thoughts, even that most basic of thoughts, the idea that your thoughts are generated by something called “self,” becomes questionable and finally dissolves away.
from Sit Down and Shut Up by Brad Warner
Sara Campbell added 1mo ago