by SJZC Administrator | Sep 24, 2024
The stillness of the afternoon just now, the silence that is filtering through the stream of sunlight is just freely offered. Distant children’s voices. What else is freely offered at this very moment? We have to stop to notice. It’s not so much that we have to...
by SJZC Administrator | Sep 16, 2024
Once a monk asked Master Shirto, what are monks supposed to do? Shirto said, “Why are you asking me?” The monk said, “If I don’t ask you, how will I find the truth?” Shirto said, “Are you sure you have lost it?” How are we to...
by SJZC Administrator | Sep 9, 2024
From Shinei… What is a thought? What is it made of? Is it true? In Zen practice, we emphasize releasing the story and touching our experience directly, before concept. A thought about something is like a painting of a glass of water. It is not water and will...
by SJZC Administrator | Sep 2, 2024
We can celebrate this Labor Day by remembering how important everything we do is. It’s all that we have to work with, to take up any task wholeheartedly. To remember that this activity, this action will have results. The more carefully we attend to it, the more...
by SJZC Administrator | Aug 26, 2024
Is Zazen necessary? Of course not. Humans, dogs, birds, donkeys, grasses, the moon, my car – all get along completely fine without it. What is zazen? This cannot be answered. When is zazen necessary? Zazen is necessary when our own source calls to the surface,...
