Question: Do you still suffer from time to time despite 25 years of practicing? What do we mean by suffering? People can have different definitions of the word “suffering”. I always say if the truth appears and we’re holding it or trying to push it away or adding something to it, that is the definition of suffering. It can also mean we are filtering the truth of the world with our own view. So, do I experience that? Yes! If we are talking about suffering being old age sickness and death, there is an interesting story about that. Right before Zen Master Seung Sahn died, a monk asked him, “sir ..read more

From a question in our weekly livestream. We all go through periods when we are feeling un-motivated to sit Zen. Everybody in their consciousness has what I call the backseat driver. It’s the little voice that is always talking. “I should do this. I shouldn’t be doing that.” “Am I’m doing good?” “Why am I doing so badly?” This is what we call “checking”. The first step is not to worry about this voice. That little voice has one job, and that job is to check. Our problem is we put our energy into that little voice. This creates dissatisfaction in our lives. Our meditation practice means putting ..read more

For Buddha's Birthday Ceremony at the Providence Zen Center April 1, 2023. Happy birthday Buddha! But how is this possible? What even is the Buddha? Siddhartha? Shakyamuni? Is that Buddha? Dried shit on a stick? Three pounds of flax? Grass shoes? Is that Buddha? Somebody asked Zen Master Ma-tsu, "What is Buddha?" He replied, "Mind is Buddha." Later, when asked the same question, Ma-tsu replied, "No mind, no Buddha." So which one is it? Zen Master Un Mun once said, "On the Buddha's birthday, as he sprang from the side of his mother, I hit him once and killed him, and fed him to a hungry dog. Th ..read more

Question: There are brief moments of clear mind, but is this enlightenment? Is enlightenment a constant state or are there stages of enlightenment? There is no such thing as “clear mind“ and there is no such thing as “enlightenment”. Those are just words we use, pointing to an experience. So how can there be a constant state of enlightenment? That is the first point I want to make. If we are thinking of something that’s constant, we think of something that is occurring continuously over time. But there is no coming and there is no going. There’s no past, there’s no present and there’s no futur ..read more

Check out my YouTube channel here.  Question: Could you explain what it means when Zen teachers say, "meditate like your head is on fire"? - Each week I highlight a question from our livestream.  I would like to thank all of you who have been supporting my project on Patreon. Your support allows me to invest more time to create more videos, livestreams, training, and 1:1 sessions for anyone around the world. Patrons have access to: Exclusive Access To Zen Podcasts Access To All Workshop And Website Training Recordings Access To Patreon Everyday Zen weekly posts and teachin ..read more

Question: Knowledge of emptiness may lead to disinterest, negligence, dullness, and laziness towards the body, mind, and life. What is the purpose of body, mind, and life? Emptiness is a misconception because anything we say about it is not true emptiness. Why is that? It is because emptiness is the experience before thinking. That’s really important. Many people get attached to the idea or understanding of emptiness, or maybe have an experience of emptiness, then try to hold on to it. The result of this is disinterest, negligence, dullness, and laziness towards the body, mind, and life. To ta ..read more

From my book, No-Nonsense Zen for Beginners ..read more

There’s a difference between attachment to anger and using anger. Anger is just energy. It is not good or bad. Sometimes we talk about four types of anger. The first type of anger is “attachment” anger. This is anger we hold on to, feed, and put more energy into. The experience of this type of anger can last for days, weeks, months, or even years. Holding on to anger is the most destructive to our lives and others. The next type of anger is “reflective” anger. Somebody says something to us we don’t like and then we respond with anger, but we see it clearly. When we see our anger and response c ..read more

Question: I find my attention drifting a lot during meditation. Recently, I’m getting lost in thoughts and dreams and losing my question, “what is this?” during practice. Are there any specific techniques to work on this other than just keep doing it? Answer: Right now, in THIS moment… how is it? That’s most important? What you are talking about is a dream. Then we start to dream about the dream and that is where we get lost. We disconnect from what’s happening right now in this moment. In fact, you’ve never meditated before. In fact, your attention has never drifted before. Why is that? Becau ..read more

I am happy to announce a new series on my YouTube channel. By popular request, I am introducing the Zen Poetry Series. This is an interactive video series. I will share poems from Zen teachers and from selected poems in the community. If you feel inclined, write a poem in the YouTube comments. This is a wonderful way to engage and interact with each other. I will feature some poems from the comments in a future video. If you haven't already, subscribe to my YouTube channel here ..read more