Zen Master Hakuin lived in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. He is said to have created the now-famous question: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” Hakuin believed that the understanding arising out of practice in everyday life was deeper than the understanding that […]

Having arrived from Asia within the past generation, Zen and Buddhism are still new enough in the West to be considered other-worldly phenomena, remarkable concepts and unusual activities outside the ordinary, like a meteor shower. When we first read and listen to the teachings of these ancient […]

Observing the workings of the human mind, early Buddhist teachers were very much like psychologists, determined to understand how people create their own suffering through desires and attachment to worldly things. They saw how the mind develops feelings of isolation by seeing the world in dualistic ways, rather […]

In ancient China, the emperor’s minister was troubled and so went to visit a renowned Zen master to seek advice. He said, “Master, the people are unruly and difficult to govern. Please give me a word of wisdom to help govern them.” The master picked up his […]

During a Q & A session following a lecture, somebody asked: “What should we do with a mentally ill person?” It was not a medical question, inquiring about therapies and medicines that can be effective treating a troubled individual. It was a religious question, asking us to go […]