When grief breaks through rigid ideals of detached spiritual perfection, we are reminded that authentic wisdom embraces total presence in raw human experience rather than hiding behind conceptual ideals. “When a Zen…
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Drop it!
Beyond physical possessions, the heaviest burdens we carry are often invisible—unspoken fears, rigid concepts, and the ego itself. True liberation requires more than just emptying our hands; it calls for releasing the…
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‘Put your hands on the top of your heads’
I have come across a very beautiful Zen story. Listen to it attentively; it is your story. Behind a temple there was a field where a lot of squashes (vegetables of the…
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The eight winds
The Buddhists say there are eight winds. They are gain and loss, praise and ridicule, credit and blame, and suffering and joy. If you aren’t aware of them, they will blow you…
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Praying for everyone
A farm labourer with a sick wife asked a Buddhist monk to say a series of prayers. The priest began to pray, asking God to cure all those who were ill. “Just…
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Buddha with a black nose
This is a famous story about a Zen nun. She had a beautiful golden Buddha, a very artistic, aesthetic statue of Buddha, made of pure gold. And the nun used to carry…
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The first principle
When one goes to Obaku temple in Kyoto, one can see carved over the gate the words “The First Principle.” The letters are unusually large, and those who appreciate calligraphy always admire them as…
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The crystal cup
A Zen master was given a beautifully crafted crystal cup. It was a gift from a former student. He was very grateful. Every day, he enjoyed drinking out of his glass. He…
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False harmony
The monk Chu Lai was beaten by a professor who did not believe anything he said. However, the professor’s wife was a follower of Chu Lai, and demanded that her husband had…
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The tunnel
Zenkai, the son of a samurai, journeyed to Edo and there became the retainer of a high official. He fell in love with the official’s wife and was discovered. In self-defence, he…
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Finding a piece of the truth
One day Mara, the Evil One, was traveling through the villages of India with his attendants. He saw a man doing meditation walking whose face was lit up with wonder. The man…
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How to deal with insults: The way of the Buddha
One day, the Buddha was walking through a village teaching Dhamma, when a very angry and rude young man belonging to another group of believers came up to him and began insulting…