• THE DAY AFTER*

    Today we only speak silently and know everyone hears. Today we cry only dry tears, and others gently wipe our eyes. Today we mourn what we fear is lost and together vow to retain it. Today the sun shines less brightly and we know the dark cloud will eventually pass. Today we hug, each to…


  • NOT

    Today I will hope to master, if only for a brief moment, not not being attached to thoughts, but recognizing them and letting them pass, since the thought of recognition must replace the thought that was recognized, not trying for anything on the cushion including not trying to not try for anything for that is…


  • MU

    If you ask me whether a dog has buddha nature I will stare back at you in total silence. If you ask again, or implore an answer I will smile at you, offer gassho and a bow. If you ask yet again, I will turn away and you will be left with a box into…


  • COGITO

    In many ways thoughts are very much like cats. By that I mean that they are known to wander in and stay as long as they like and never a moment longer. If you feed or stroke them they may linger, but please rest assured that if you really want them to stay, try though…


  • COSHAN’S DHARMAKAYA

    He spends considerable time looking in the mirror trying hard to see what is there, to see inside himself, to truly see himself as he imagines others see him. The mirror denies him a static image, it is always shifting, and try though he might to grasp one single image he finds it impossible and…


  • CHIH MEN’S BODY OF WISDOM

    As you search for the source of all wisdom, will you stop along a beach and consider that it can be found, fully in a single grain of sand. Be careful, for the beach contains countless grains of sand, so choose carefully. If you are uncertain which one contains the source of all wisdom select…


  • SAMADHI

    He is certain that there is that single moment when it will be exactly the right time for it. There must be such a moment, for it will not happen until that instant arrives and he knows it must be arriving soon. He isn’t sure how he will know when the moment arrives, just that…


  • UNGAN’S SWEEPS THE GROUND

    As you stoop to pick up fallen leaves are you cleaning spring, summer or autumn? What seasons are deep within the winter branch? How does your work and that of the tree truly differ, and what leaves do you shed? A reflection on Case 83 of the Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye)


  • RE-ENTRY ALLOWED

    He sits on the cushion staring through hooded eyes at the wall in front of him. He expects exactly nothing to happen, expects there to be no sound within his mind, only what happens without, expects that time will cease for him, or will at least cease to matter. He is not disappointed. The bell…


  • MUSING (4 HAIKU)

    Out the plane window a lake or a sea of clouds Why does it matter?   during an eye blink the butterfly spreads its wings galaxies collapse   Cats curl in furred sleep the moon crawls across the sky a monk awakens   leaves cling to the trees the rivers flow more slowly the stone…