In this passionate summary of his teaching, Nyogen Roshi exhorts us to put aside the intellectual pursuit of Dharma–the true nature of each one of us. Realizing our true nature can only be accomplished through practice. “You truly are the Dharma,” Roshi says. “You truly are the Way. But do you understand what that means? No! You can’t understand that. You can only be that.”
Home
Beating the Drum
Kasan said, “Cultivating study is called learning. Cutting off study is called nearness. Going beyond these two is to be considered real going beyond.” A monk came forward and asked, “What is real going beyond?” Kasan said, “Knowing how to beat the drum…”
Losing My Misery
My name is Honmei and my practice is counting my breath. I’ve been practicing at Hazy Moon for 11 years.
When I started practicing, I did it because I felt like I should. Practice is good for you, like exercise, and I felt a connection to Buddhism…
Maezumi’s 3 Admonitions
Wisdom teachings are fascinating things. They may not appear to be special. They are never complicated. They can sound so ordinary that we don’t even hear them or grant them consideration. But like seeds, they burrow into us and one day surface in full bloom. Only then are we ready to appreciate them. Here are Maezumi’s Three Admonitions, which you’re not likely to find elsewhere…
Answers for an Authentic Life
A review of Zen: The Authentic Gate by Koun Yamada Roshi
An old friend passed away this morning. I wasn’t aware he had suffered a stroke two weeks earlier, so I was shocked to hear that he was gone. A silent pause seems to follow news like this, then my mind fills with questions…
Kinhin
Kinhin is walking meditation. At the Hazy Moon, we perform kinhin in between periods of zazen, or seated meditation. Kinhin is a continuation of practice that also refreshes your legs after sitting and gives you an opportunity to exit and re-enter the zendo if needed. A period of kinhin lasts 10 minutes. It begins with […]
How to Meditate
Learn the basics of Zen meditation in less than five minutes. Clear, step-by-step meditation instruction, as practiced at the Hazy Moon.
In Love With the World
A review of In Love With the World: A Monk’s Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche with Helen Tworkov.
Nyogen Roshi strongly recommended this book to me because the author writes in detail about what he does with his mind when faced with fear…
The Overstory
“I read a book that changed my life,” says Claudia Hosso Politi. The Overstory–a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about inter-connection between human beings and the natural world, especially trees–sparks wonder and a new passion for nature in Hosso…
The Courage of Humility
I am a Hazy Moon student living on the east coast. Along with daily practice at home, I attend two extended training periods a year with our Los Angeles sangha. Traveling to the Hazy Moon, I’m on pilgrimage to a place far away from everything familiar—a place where I can try again and again to let go and simply sit…
Inspiring Transformation
In this Dharma talk which he gave shortly after he returned from a hiking adventure to Everest Base Camp in Nepal, Kelly Doman Stevens Sensei recounts the rewards and challenges of his transforming experience. “It was vast, desolate and awe-inspiring,” he says of the landscape around Mount Everest. “But I wouldn’t call it pretty exactly.” […]
Affirmations Work
“When he began talking about affirmation practice, I told Nyogen, this is so long overdue for me personally. This habit of negative thinking of mine is poison, and I have been poisoning myself with it for years.”
