Author: ron

Founder of The Zen Practice Foundation. University of Tennessee, B.S., Industrial Engineering (1969). University of Florida, J.D. Law, (1973). Registered patent attorney.

Zen Practice And The Tenth Fetter

The last and final fetter that an arahat breaks in order to realize nirvana/nibbana is the fetter of ignorance of the Four Noble Truths. Funny, but among the first things we learn of when studying Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths. Yet these truths are the last things we learn. As the last of the… Continue reading Zen Practice And The Tenth Fetter

Zen And The Heart Sutra

Nor is there pain or cause of pain or cease in pain or noble path to lead from pain, not even wisdom to attain, attainment too is emptiness. As Red Pine points out in his superb translation and commentary on The Heart Sutra, these lines were penned to directly refute the Four Noble Truths. The… Continue reading Zen And The Heart Sutra

Zen Practice And The 7th Fetter

The Pali texts define the seventh fetter as attachment to formlessness. The three worlds are: 1. The world of desire, which is the one we live in, together with hell dwellers, hungry ghosts, animals, asuras, other humans, and the gods of the world of desire; (keep in mind that these are levels of awareness, i.e., humans are… Continue reading Zen Practice And The 7th Fetter

Zen And The 4th and 5th Fetters

Sense desire is the fourth fetter and ill will or hatred is the fifth of the ten fetters. Thus we wonder why there are Five Hindrances and Ten Fetters. These fourth and fifth fetters are the same as the first two hindrances. According to the Pali canon, if we can break the first three fetters… Continue reading Zen And The 4th and 5th Fetters

Zen Practice And The Eighth Fetter

The eighth fetter, conceit, seems at first to be a lot like the first fetter, sakkaya ditthi, the wrong view of self. The eighth fetter, however, is more subtle. We may acquire the right view of self yet still feel distinctiveness, i.e., we may compare ourselves with others and find ourselves to be superior, equal,… Continue reading Zen Practice And The Eighth Fetter

Zen Practice and Sakkaya Ditthi

Spirit Rock, pictured, is a Theravada practice center. However, we use Zen in its meaning of meditation and these practitioners are sitting in meditation. This is a copy of an email I received June 14, 2010 from the Contact Us page of the old static html How To Practice Zen.com website, and my reply which I… Continue reading Zen Practice and Sakkaya Ditthi

Zen And The First Three Fetters

Sometimes we try to learn too much, too fast. That’s why it’s good to let the concept of sakkaya ditthi sink in for a long time. We need time to ponder the thought that we are not what we thought we were. How many people can hear the teaching of no self and grasp it… Continue reading Zen And The First Three Fetters

Practice Zen or Waste Time?

Entrance Gate City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

Entrance to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas One person quit our local Zen sitting group with the question: Why should I sit and torture myself when I could be out and about, having a good time? The question was posed by email, and this is the response I provided by email: Dharma Master Hsuan… Continue reading Practice Zen or Waste Time?

Rebirth of a Hillbilly #Zen

It is not hard to imagine that after we are dead and gone, some other life form will appear. After all, we appeared after Ben Franklin and a lot of other people were out of here. After we are gone, an earthworm will be born. So will a fish. And gazillions of bacteria and people… Continue reading Rebirth of a Hillbilly #Zen