Zen is teaching us that when we are facing a problem in our life it originates more often from our thoughts, opinions, beliefs, expectations and desires rather than from the outside world. Most problems come from our self-centered mind that we call our shadow.
Kneading clay to make a beautiful and useful pot is hard work, patience, determination, skill and experience but it's only the "nothing inside" this pot that gives us the use of the vessel. SO WHAT!.... you may ask. Open up your mind and empty it - somewhat - by dropping some of your cherish opinions, […]
Few years ago my Zen Master Yangil Sunim asked me to study this obscure Zen saying: “Cultivate a - don’t know mind - and everything becomes clear as a blue sky” Then he added: “Don’t know mind opens the door to serenity and tolerance. It is the foundation of Zen practice. Work on this” Zen […]
The purpose of this talk is to share with you the Zen perspective and not to convince you. What is a restless mind? Zen uses a colorful language to describe our mind and how we are slave to it: “monkey mind”, “thinking zombies”, “day sleepwalking”, “non-stop talking”, and “wild horse mind”. Our mind is […]
The purpose of the following is simply to present the Zen perspective and not to convince. Desire, anger and illusions are our main poisons. Among our emotions such as guilt, fear, resentment, doubt, confusion and jealousy anger is probably our most common one. “Being angry” does not mean I am "this anger". Anger is not […]
It seems appropriate to refresh our view on meditation. It’s why and how, its myths and its realities. An extensive review about meditation is posted on our web site: http://www.mindfulnesszenmeditation.ca/zenmeditation/ http://www.mindfulnesszenmeditation.ca/misconceptions-about-meditation-25feb15/ http://www.mindfulnesszenmeditation.ca/zen-mini-meditation/ http://www.mindfulnesszenmeditation.ca/tv-clips-on-meditation-and-stress-management/ http://www.mindfulnesszenmeditation.ca/why-can-meditation-be-boring18feb15/ http://www.mindfulnesszenmeditation.ca/meditation-the-brain-how-it-works/ Research shows over and over again that between 80%- 85% of people who start meditation with various degree of understanding, […]
Schematic sections of an human brain where F = frontal lobe (centre What are the effects of meditation on the brain? The human brain is the product of 3.5 billions years of evolution when the life started on Earth. Its functions requires a fairly inconceivable 100 billion neurons, interconnected […]
Heaven & Hell ✪ Whether life feels like heaven or hell depends mostly on our state of mind even if we don’t have too much control of it. (We already talked about lack of control on our life in a previous session). We experience and judge life not always as it is but as […]
This is a true story occurring in Japan countryside during the 16th century. An old farmer and Zen Master for many years named Takahashi was returning from the fields at dusk with his son when both realized that his single labor horse was gone! “How unlucky you are!” shouted his friends and neighbors.... so sad...what […]
"I would like to share the below article related to all is void (that's word-for-word translation from Chinese classic Zen philosophy, i.e. emptiness), where it mentioned two Chinese ancient poems, plain but meaningful." Lois. Vivian Dong (China) and Jay McDaniel (US) Two Buddhist Poems: Commentary by Vivian Dong: When I was in high school, I would often worry about how I would do […]
