In Ruth Ozeki’s The Book of Form and Emptiness, narrated by an omniscient being called “the Book,” Benny is a troubled 15 year-old boy who begins to hear voices following the tragic death of his father and emotional struggles of his mother. The post The Ruth Ozeki Koans: Form and Emptiness, Time and Being appeared first on San Mateo Zen ..read more

Suppose we stopped compartmentalizing death, cutting it off from life. Imagine if we regarded dying as a final stage of growth that held an unprecedented opportunity for transformation. Could we turn toward death like a master teacher and ask, "How, then, shall I live?" (Frank Ostaseski) The post What Dying Can Teach Us About Living: A Visit with Frank Ostaseski appeared first on San Mateo Zen ..read more

“How can we go through the portal of zazen and not ever hear the cries of the earth? Do we not dream as Buddha did? Do not the spirits of nature affect our lives? These exploratory questions deepened my curiosity about seeing Zen meditation as shamanic journeying.” (Osho Zenju Earthlyn Manuel) The post Shamanic Bones, Dark Gates: A Visit with Earthlyn Manuel appeared first on San Mateo Zen ..read more

Master Ma was unwell. The superintendent of the monastery asked him, “How have you been […] The post How Have You Been, Master Ma? appeared first on San Mateo Zen ..read more

Don’t light a lamp—there’s no oil in the house.It’s a shame to want a light.I […] The post Move in the Dark, Hand in Hand appeared first on San Mateo Zen ..read more

As we investigate the shamanic influences on Chan-Zen, this week we read the Book of Changes (Yi Jing), a book of divination. It is the oldest of the ancient Chinese wisdom texts, predating Confucius and Laozi by a millennium, and Buddhism by even longer. Yet it has garnered commentary from all. For many centuries the Yi Jing hexagrams have described the “inner dynamics of both spiritual life and social life” and is a “basic guide for conscious living,” writes translator Thomas Cleary. The post Fire Below, Fire Above appeared first on San Mateo Zen ..read more

One day Manjushri asked Sudhana to pick medicinal herbs, telling him to bring back anything […] The post Beauty After the Burn appeared first on San Mateo Zen ..read more

Where do songs come from? We can’t know the answer to that, but we know there is music inside each of us. And somehow, we allow it to flow from our own breast and cover heaven and earth. (Jordan McConnell) The post The Source of Song: A Visit with Jordan McConnell appeared first on San Mateo Zen ..read more

Deepest ecology, shamanic sources, mystic roots: Chan-Zen has all of these. We will explore these topics in anticipation of an upcoming visit by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel. The post The Old Ways appeared first on San Mateo Zen ..read more

Born into this life, those who seek to recover their lost wisdom need to find a teacher whose task is not to directly teach ideals but rather to remind the student of what the soul already knows. (Lewis Hyde) The post A Primer for Forgetting: A Visit with Lewis Hyde appeared first on San Mateo Zen ..read more