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 | Aug 21, 2024
How often in a day do you just stop? Not to rest, not to turn around, but just to stop to experience stopping. This is a wonderful Zen practice to pepper the day with. Stop. Physically. Experience the stillness that is so much more apparent when you have been moving...
by SJZC Administrator | Aug 12, 2024
Why leave behind the seat in your own home to wander in vain though the dusty realms of other lands? If you make one misstep, you stumble past what is right in front of you. ~Dogen Zenji Soten and I just returned from a trip wandering the dusty lands of Peru. We...
by SJZC Administrator | Aug 5, 2024
Impermanence is one of the unalterable marks of conditioned existence. Let’s just call it change. It’s an awareness practice that’s always at hand. We can appreciate how different each moment is from the moment before. Conditions change and condition what...
by SJZC Administrator | Jul 29, 2024
The Sangha jewel is the third of the Three Treasures, along with Buddha and Dharma, that functions to support awakening altogether to the richness of life on this particular path. We need each other, we sit zazen together, we maintain the building and grounds, work...
by SJZC Administrator | Jul 22, 2024
There are many teachings in the Zen Buddhist tradition. Taking up any one as a way of life will access them all, guiding us in the direction of wisdom and kindness. Dogen’s Eight Awakenings of Great Beings is an example of these. In eight brief prompts he reminds us...
