There’s a well worn story about a Zen Master by the name of Banzan, who was walking past a butcher’s shop. I guess in those days they were in markets and fairly open. He overheard a customer talking to the butcher. “Can I have your best piece of meat?” the customer asked. “But all my pieces of meat are the best. You won’t find any piece of meat in my shop that is not the best,” replied the butcher. At which Banzan was enlightened. (more…)
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Who seeks me by form,
Who seeks me by sound,
Perverted are his footsteps on the way;
For he cannot perceive the Tathagata.
The Diamond Sutra, The Buddha
There are a number of products out there that claim to work on the brain to produce deepened meditation or enlightenment. One came in my mailbox yesterday claiming Discover how to meditate deeper than a zen monk in just five minutes – without years of practice, or hours of boring meditation CDs – by using a secret shortcut you can’t find anywhere else.
How do they promise to achieve this? Through sound. (more…)
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When I first read Unlimited Power years ago, it struck me that likes and dislikes are really part of the machine. What I mean by that is that the personality is really an automaton. Yet we continue to identify with the personality.
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The Method of No-Method: The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination