After a particularly beautiful period of meditation, Nyogen Roshi is prompted to share his inner experience of zazen. Though setting aside striving and expectation can be difficult, the rewards are beyond measure. “You relax and release,” Roshi tells us, “then at a certain point, you begin to feel good, and the sitting itself becomes rich. You experience the wonder of what you truly are.”
Main Content
Awakening in the Marketplace
Wherever Dharma is being manifested it is always this state of awareness here with each one of us. There are no barriers except for what we erect in our thinking minds. You can’t overcome thoughts by trying to suppress thoughts, but that’s what we often do when we begin…
Forgetting Oneself
Nothing is more difficult for me than sitting in front of my computer to write this. Countless words are running through my head, leaving me unable to settle on the right ones. I’m not a creative writer, and I can’t remember the last time I read a novel. So this is intimidating in an all-encompassing way. When I read beautiful essays written by members of the sangha, it doesn’t only terrify me; it leaves my lips tight and my mouth dry. I don’t how to do this…
Bathing in Nature
A review of Forest Bathing by Dr. Qing Li
Forest Bathing tells us what we instinctively know to be true about being in the natural world: it “can restore our mood, give us back our energy and vitality, and refresh and rejuvenate us.”
Chanting Services
If you’d like to include chants in your home practice, scroll down to find links to our complete chant book and Zendo recordings of several of the seminal chants in Zen.
Services introduce the aspect of ritual into our practice. Specifically, a “service” consists of a chant, performed in front of the altar, to transmit the energy, intention and benefit of our practice into the world we inhabit…
Oryoki: The Practice of Eating Mindfully
Meditation retreats help us learn to approach everyday life in a more mindful way. Oryoki, or mindful eating practice, is one of the most practical elements of a traditional Zen retreat–though for newcomers, the ritual of oryoki can often seem intimidating. In this video, a student at the Hazy Moon Zen Center shares his appreciation for oryoki and its place in the daily flow of events during a retreat.
