In the early centuries of Buddhism in Asia, Zen monks were primarily homeless wanderers, living a mindful, ascetic life, dedicated to maintaining and passing on the teachings.   One of …

The Madhyamaka school of Buddhism, the followers of which are called Madhyamikas, was one of the two principal schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism in India, the other school being the …

Here is a compelling article written by Sodo Yokoyama Roshi, also known as The Leaf Flute Zen Master (草笛禅師 Kusabue Zenji).  Yokoyama was a disciple of Kodo Sawaki Roshi and …

In his first sermon in the Deer Park, Gotama tells us what dukkha means: “This is dukkha: birth is painful, aging is painful, sickness is painful, death is painful, …

* “During zazen we are observing ourselves. We are observing ourselves subjectively—we are observing ourselves objectively. So when I say, “Today I must give someone here the rensaku,¹” everyone wonders …

*Words by Sava Chankov (originally written on Quora) I spent the last year in a Zen temple in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Before you read on I would like to …

Description: A dramatic reconstruction of the life of the great Japanese monk Dogen, who lived in Japan in the 13th century and introduced Soto Zen Buddhism from China. Comments: …

It can be helpful to remember that the brain, this organ each of us carries inside our skull, is the product of 650 million years of evolution. Probably the …

The Zen Poet Ryokan Taigu (1758–1831) is one of the most beloved figures of Japanese Soto Zen, regarded also as one of the greatest poets of the Edo Period, …

Gudo was the emperor’s teacher of his time. Nevertheless, he used to travel alone as a wandering mendicant. Once when he was on his way to Edo, the cultural …