CHOSEI ZEN BLOG
Why is Mushin (No-Mind) Important?
One of the lesser known laws of the universe (like gravity) is that the state of no-mind can be transferred to others. We call it “transferring samadhi” but also talk in more serious terms about “giving fearlessness.”
How Can We Practice Mushin (No-Mind)?
I’m highlighting another type of tool besides your breath and posture – it gets described as “concentration,” “awareness,” or “our senses.” Usually, we give far less instruction in this area than about breath and posture, letting people discover for themselves, which can take years.
Mushin (No-Mind) as a Trainable Practice
Somehow I knew that living in the world of my head wasn’t the correct way to live as a human being. No one told me that. I just knew. This led me to seek out zazen (Zen meditation) and Zen training with our school.
Voice of an Ancestor
In a growing series of publications we are presenting edited versions of talks that Tanouye Roshi gave more than forty years ago in various settings, some of them quite informal while others are formal teisho given during sesshin.
Okyo as Zen Training
The objective of practicing okyo is to change the way you vibrate. If you change the way you vibrate, you can change the way others and your environment vibrate as well.
Origin of Chosei Zen Shakuhachi
The reason that repetition is the best way to master any martial art, because it will lead to perfection of desired skills, since incorrectly performing a skill wastes energy and is inefficient.
Here, Read This
Tanouye Roshi looked at me, shook his head, and said, “You read too much.” Then, he surprised me handing me a book that he had been reading and saying, “Here, read this.”
Hlala Apha: Sitting here now
In Xhosa, an indigenous language spoken in South Africa, the word apha means “this location”, “this place” or “being here right now”.
Wandering Ox: A First Sesshin For Chosei Zen's Newest Dojo
Together we experienced a sesshin with a 'pioneer' feel, where nature whipped, dripped and crept around and through us. It was elemental.
Antidote for the Weary
We find kiai is more like a fresh mountain spring than a protected water reservoir. Time expands and contracts depending on our state of mind.
Training In-Person After Two Years Online
My goal shifted from training because I wanted something in particular out of the week to wanting to train strong so that I could help those around me train strong and have the sesshin they needed to have.
Flipping A Coin With No Heads Or Tails
And then my world flipped, just like a coin that has consistently landed heads up suddenly landing on tails.
Why We Train in the Virtual Dojo
The reason that the Virtual Dojo can function as a Zen dojo is because the human body is the real Zen dojo.
Zazen Strapped To A Locomotive
There came a moment during the sitting when I was no longer in my tatami room with a panoramic view of our prairie and oak savanna. Instead, I felt myself strapped to the front of a locomotive speeding down the track toward a black tunnel.
Reflections on Spring Sesshin
It’s hard to describe in words what it feels like when a group of people ceases to be made up of individuals, and starts breathing, living, and acting as one big loving heart and hara.