Don’t just sit there – do something! Conventional wisdom Don’t just do something – sit there! Buddhist wisdom This website is about practice; we try to minimize philosophy. As Red Pine says in his commentary on The Heart Sutra: Buddhism is better understood as a skill or an art to be practiced and perfected,… Continue reading Tranquil Wisdom Zen
Category: Anapanasati Sutta
Silent Present Moment Zen
Step 3 – First Glimpse of the Ox The Eighth Dharma Realm I hear the song of the nightingale. The sun is warm, the wind is mild, willows are green along the shore – Here no Ox can hide! What artist can draw that massive head, those majestic horns? First Glimpse of the Ox Silent… Continue reading Silent Present Moment Zen
Mindfulness Of The Body Zen
Step 4 – Catching the Ox The Seventh Dharma Realm I seize him with a terrific struggle. His great will and power are inexhaustible. He charges to the high plateau far above the cloud-mists, or in an impenetrable ravine he stands. Catching the Ox Mindfulness of the Body The seventh dharma realm is the dharma… Continue reading Mindfulness Of The Body Zen
Mindfulness of Feelings Zen
Step Five – Taming the Ox The Sixth Dharma Realm The whip and rope are necessary, else he might stray off down some dusty road. Being well trained, he becomes naturally gentle, then, unfettered, he obeys his master. Taming the Ox Mindfulness of Feelings The sixth dharma realm is the dharma realm. Counting from the… Continue reading Mindfulness of Feelings Zen
Mindfulness of the Mind Zen
Step Six – Riding the Ox Home The Fifth Dharma Realm Mounting the Ox, slowly I return homeward. The voice of my flute intones through the evening. Measuring with hand-beats the pulsating harmony, I direct the endless rhythm. Whoever hears this melody will join me. Riding the Ox Home Mindfulness of the Mind The fifth… Continue reading Mindfulness of the Mind Zen
The Core Meditation of Zen
There are numerous meditation techniques. Some use mantras, some use Zen koans, some, like vippasana, monitor thoughts. But the core meditation taught by the Buddha is Tranquil Wisdom meditation. It’s a sixteen step meditation but the steps flow naturally so it’s not a memory test. The sixteen steps are found in Intermediate Zen at www.howtopracticezen.com,… Continue reading The Core Meditation of Zen
Zen, Mindfulness, and Ignorance
This week’s Time magazine’s cover story reports that mindfulness practice is becoming a mainstream practice despite its Buddhist origins. People who won’t listen to monks in robes will listen to scientists, the magazine reports. Obviously, it is the monks who should be listened to. They won’t teach mindfulness to Marines so that they can become… Continue reading Zen, Mindfulness, and Ignorance
Zen Mindfulness of Mind Objects
Venerable Ajahn Sumedo When our Zen (meditation) practice reaches the super-advanced stage of mindfulness of mind objects, we can start bragging that we are advanced, highly skilled practitioners (that is a hilarious joke so I hope you don’t break your ribs laughing; bragging about anything is something a practitioner at such an advanced level would… Continue reading Zen Mindfulness of Mind Objects
Mindfulness of the mind
After arriving at the Still Forest Pool, the eighth stage of Tranquil Wisdom meditation, discussed in the previous blog, we sit in equanimity, i.e, our mind is the Still Forest Pool, silent and unmoving. We await the appearance of a nimitta. Nimitta is the sign of nirvana. We are in the neighborhood of nirvana when it… Continue reading Mindfulness of the mind
Mindfulness of Feelings
The previous blog post discusses the first four steps of the Buddha’s sixteen step meditation popularly known as Tranquil Wisdom meditation. Now we can briefly discuss steps five through eight, the four steps that collectively develop mindfulness of feelings, the second foundation of the four foundations of mindfulness. When we experience the breath of the… Continue reading Mindfulness of Feelings