by SJZC Administrator | Jul 8, 2025
The first of the Eight Awakenings of Enlightened Beings is having few desires. This is a great practice. It steers us to noticing how often desire lurks just below the surface of our mental stream. All the thoughts of “I want this” or “I don’t want that.” All the ways...
by SJZC Administrator | Jun 3, 2025
Words from Mushin: “Zazen never becomes anything special, no matter how long you practice,” said Kodo Sawaki Roshi. “If it becomes something special, you must have a screw loose somewhere.” Listening to this fine old master Zen adept we are...
by SJZC Administrator | May 26, 2025
Words from Mushin: Writing this on a quiet afternoon during the Memorial Day weekend, I notice the very simple pleasure that a warm breeze on my face elicits. It’s these unanticipated moments of simplicity, where no mental agenda presses, and the thinking mind is as...
by SJZC Administrator | May 11, 2025
Mothers’ Day brings to my mind Prajnaparamita, mother of all Buddhas. What IS prajnaparamita? We translate it as the “perfection of wisdom”. “Prajna” is “wisdom”, and “paramita” means “that which goes beyond”. Whatever’s happening right here and now. Where is the...
by SJZC Administrator | Apr 28, 2025
Listen. Just listen. At any time of day or night, anywhere. Listen to the sounds of the world. This simple practice is always available in the midst of activity or stillness. One of the gifts of just listening, according to Master Dogen, is what that allows for. At...
by SJZC Administrator | Apr 7, 2025
For the Sake of All Beings. This was the sign we carried at Saturday’s rally, affirming our practice in Bodhisattva School (Jomon’s phrase). There was a huge variety of signs at the rally, and much joyful cacophony as those in the crowd expressed what each found most...
by SJZC Administrator | Mar 17, 2025
There’s a phrase, “mind like a steel trap”. What an image! It describes a mind that is sharp and quick to grab on. This sounds good, something we would want. Some of us have such a mind, snatching at every thought, every piece of information and holding on tight....
by SJZC Administrator | Mar 10, 2025
When you begin to practice Zen, you may notice more frequently that you drift off into both thinking and daydreaming more than you’d realized, even in the midst of your daily routines. If these routines are long established and/or humdrum, the mind has lots of...
by SJZC Administrator | Feb 18, 2025
Chan Master Yunmen taught: You have the one thing that matters, each and every one of you! Its great function manifests without the slightest effort on your part. What is the one thing that matters? One thing. He doesn’t put a name to it, but tells us what it does,...
by SJZC Administrator | Feb 4, 2025
The Buddha taught the Middle Way and explicated its meaning. The middle way reminds us to notice when we are caught in some fixed dogma and misunderstand the import of actual conditions. The Middle Way teaching reminds us to get caught neither in the search for...
