From a question-and-answer session at the New Haven Zen Center on December 16, 2012.
Question: This is kind of a big one. I was having a conversation with my friend. He’s a very rational, pragmatic person. Very smart. And I said, “So, do you believe that anything has a purpose?
…
[Raises the Zen stick over his head, then hits the table with the stick.]
BOOM!
Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.
Our world is always changing-sometimes fast, sometimes slow. When the change is fast, we suffer a lot. Our world changing fast means volcano, earthquake, tsunami, war. Everything is changing …
Some years ago in Korea, there lived a very devout Buddhist family. In his home, the father had a small room set up for meditation. He also had two teenage daughters. The older one was very responsible and always did the right thing. However, the younger one was quite wild. …
Read More...On September 11th our country and this whole world experienced a trauma of inconceivable magnitude. In this time of loss and confusion, with all of the emotions that arise, it is important to consider the Buddha’s teaching. The following story is reminiscent of Jesus’ teaching of turning the other cheek. …
Read More...Sound is silence. Silence is sound.
Raises Zen stick over head, then hits table with stick.
No sound, no silence.
Raises Zen stick over head, then hits table with stick.
Sound is sound. Silence is silence. What is original sound?…
Read More...Coming empty-handed is going empty-handed. Going empty-handed is coming empty-handed.
[Raises Zen stick over head, then hits table with stick.]
Originally — no coming, no going.
[Raises Zen stick over head, then hits table with stick.]
Coming empty-handed is coming …
Read More...This is the workshop on Zen and psychotherapy. First of all, be aware that this is about Zen and psychotherapy, it’s not about Zen and psychology. There is …
Read More...“Everybody comes into this world carrying nothing,” Zen Master Seung Sahn has said. “Everyone leaves for someplace, also carrying nothing. We cannot take anything with us. Yet in between, everybody wants things, chases things, and is attached to things very much.”
Back in 1964, as a young music student in …
Read More...So, someone left the retreat last night. That’s not unusual in a retreat. It’s part of growing up. Whatever we do in our practice, we learn from. If we keep a mind …
Read More...Clear Mary
Sky is earth. Earth is sky.
[Raises Zen stick over head, then hits table with stick.]
No sky. No earth.
[Raises Zen stick over head, then hits table with stick.]
Sky is sky. Earth is earth.
Which one of these …
Read More...This point is the birthplace of all Buddhas and Patriarchs, but Buddhas and Patriarchs do not understand this point. So, this point completely kills them.
[Raises Zen stick over head, then hits table with stick.]
This point is the source …
Read More...A discussion with Zen Master Dae Kwang and Father Kevin Hunt
Last summer, the Institute for World Spirituality in Chicago hosted a weekend Christian – Buddhist retreat led by Father Kevin Hunt OCSO and Zen Master Dae Kwang. Two days of silent meditation, with both Christian and Zen chanting. These …
Read More...In Florida they have dog races. It is a very popular betting sport. People go to the dog track and bet money on the greyhounds, and if their dog wins, they win a lot of money. It is very simple. Everybody understands how the greyhounds race, yah? The dogs come …
Read More...Broken Consciousness
From a talk given by Zen Master Seung Sahn at Hwa Gye Sah Temple, Seoul, Korea on June 9, 1997
Q: Twenty years ago I was a soldier in Vietnam. At that time I had some bad experiences. These experiences still effect my consciousness today ? my consciousness …
Read More...Conversation with a Great Sutra Master
Zen Master Seung Sahn: If one perceives their true self for one second it’s better than reading sutras for ten thousand years.
Sutra Master: I vowed to read the Diamond Sutra ten thousand times. Should I continue or not?
ZMSS: Why do you read …
Read More...Question: My husband has an idea to open a seafood restaurant in China. He has a very good plan and it seems that we can make money from that business. But having a restaurant, especially a seafood restaurant, means that you kill many lives. So I asked him not to …
Read More...Life is death, death is life.
(Hit)
No life, no death.
(Hit)
Life is life, death is death.
KATZ!
Today is July 2, 1995. How may I help you?
Fifteen years ago before …
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