Articles

These remarks are excerpted from course handouts given by Rev. Fujita at a workshop called “The Lived-Body Experience in Bud­dhist Meditation” he taught at BCBS in March, 2002. There seems to be a common misunderstanding about zazen, which some people th…

The Fukanzazengi: Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen by Eihei Dogen Four Translations, three printed texts, and one audio… _This fascicle was written by the great thirteenth century master Eihei Dogen. It’s original composition is generally…

Jules Shuzen Harris teaches Zazen, the meditation practice at the heart of Zen Buddhism. There are many forms of meditation that offer you the opportunity to cultivate stillness and open up space in your life. One such form, zazen, has both outward and i…

Practicing the Breath Begin rocking the body back and forth, slowly, in decreasing arcs, until you settle at your center of gravity. The mind is in the hara, hands are folded in the cosmic mudra, mouth is closed, tongue pressed on the upper palate. You’r…

From the spring of 1932, in Nanzen-ji, in Kyoto, Japan, an American woman sitting meditation had an awakening. After wrestling with a koan, Ruth Fuller Everett, a rich 40-year-old wife and mother from Chicago, obtained a glimpse of a new reality. When she…

How I found my way out of depression, thanks to the writings of the English priest who brought Buddhism to the West. Ever since I was a child, I have been acutely sensitive to the idea — in the way that other people seem to feel only after bereavement or…

It was 1972 at Penn State University, and Gary Weber, a 29-year old materials science PhD student, had a problem with his brain. It kept generating thoughts! He had a continuous and oppressive stream of neurotic concerns about his life, his studies, and e…

The Tso-chan-i is attributed to the eleventh century Chan monk Ch’ang-lu Tsung-tse. It may be the earliest of the “mature” Zen texts on seated meditation. And would be the bases for Eihei Dogen’s Fukenzazengi, which in part simply translates large segment…

Meditation has the capability to decrease some risk factors for cardiovascular disease, but the golden standard for reducing risk remains a heart-healthy way of life and following medical recommendations, according to a new scientific statement from the A…

The Power of Zen Art In much of Japanese culture, sight is regarded as the least reliable of the senses. Japanese art, and especially Zen art, is not supposed to be a visual encounter. Miyamoto Musashi, a master Japanese swordsman and artist of the 17th …

Meditation is not only a hippie trend anymore, with more and more people becoming interested in it. In recent years, potential benefits such as relief from stress, depression and anxiety have been well established scientifically. But have you ever tried …

Editorial Thich Nhât Hanh — L’Univers dans un Grain de Poussière Le 30 mars 2017 L’UNIVERS DANS UN GRAIN DE POUSSIÈRE « L’esprit n’est ni intérieur ni extérieur ni ailleurs, il est introuvable… » Shantideva Hier après-midi, quand je suis revenu à mon ermi…