by Eihei Dogen, in Shobogenzo (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye)

As all things are Buddha-dharma, there are delusion, realization, practice, birth and death, buddhas and sentient beings.

As myriad things are without an abiding self, there is no delusion, no realization, no buddha, no sentient being, no birth and death.

The Buddha Way, in essence, is leaping clear of abundance and lack; thus there are birth and death, delusion and realization, sentient beings and buddhas. Yet in attachment blossoms fall, and in aversion weeds spread.

To carry the self forward and illuminate myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and illuminate the self is awakening.

Part 1 of 8

At the time of Suzuki's arrival, Zen had become a hot topic amongst some groups in the United States, especially beatniks. Particularly influential were several books on Zen and Buddhism by Alan Watts. Word began to spread about Suzuki among the beatniks through places like The San Francisco Art Institute and The American Academy of Asian Studies, where Alan Watts was once director. Kato had done some presentations at the Academy and asked Suzuki to come join a class he was giving there on Buddhism.

Part 1 of 2

Venerable Hyon Gak Sunim is currently the Head Teacher of the Zen hall at 500 year-old Hwa Gye Sah Temple in the Sam Gak Sahn Mountain range, outside Seoul, South Korea. In August 2001, he received inka by Zen Master Seung Sahn the 78th Patriarch in a lineage stretching back to Shakyamuni Buddha.

A beutiful short documentary on Zen practice in North America.

Click on Read More button for part 2 and 3.

by Ch'an Master Tung-shan Liang-chieh

The dharma of thusness is intimately transmitted by buddhas and ancestors.

Now you have it; preserve it well.

A silver bowl filled with snow, a heron hidden in the moon.

Taken as similar, they are not the same; not distinguished, their places are known.

The meaning does not reside in the words, but a pivotal moment brings it forth.

Move and you are trapped, miss and you fall into doubt and vacillation.

Turning away and touching are both wrong, for it is like a massive fire.

Just to portray it in literary form is to stain it with defilement.

In darkest night it is perfectly clear; in the light of dawn it is hidden.

It is a standard for all things; its use removes all suffering.

Although it is not constructed, it is not beyond words.

Like facing a precious mirror; form and reflection behold each other.

You are not it, but in truth it is you.

In the twelfth century, the Chinese Zen master Kakuan (1100-1200) drew and wrote this wonderful parable of the ten bulls as an aide to enlightenment for Zen students.

The following is adapted from the preface by Nyogen Senzaki and Paul Reps to the first edition of their translation.

The bull is the eternal principle of life, truth in action. The ten bulls represent sequent steps in the realization of one's true nature. An understanding of the creative principle transcends any time or place. The 10 Bulls is more than poetry, more than pictures. It is a revelation of spiritual unfoldment paralleled in every bible of human experience. May the reader, like the Chinese patriarch, discover the footprints of his potential self and, carrying the staff of his purpose and the wine jug of his true desire, frequent the market place and there enlighten others. 

Zen Tails^® is a series of beautifully illustrated storybooks conveying the timeless wisdom of Zen to the children. The books address fundamental questions which must be faced by each of us as we move through life. These questions are simple enough to be understood by young children, yet profound enough to warrant a lifetime of study, reflection and practice. Download the PDF version of the book.