The Daily Zen Teisho

The Wise Ones of Old

Daily Zen — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:49:53 +0000

To say too much about Taoism can interfere with another’s own direct experience of intuitive understanding. Having read this piece many times in the past, I see how often it takes multiple readings to reveal deeper insights.

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Five Points in Buddhist Practice

Daily Zen — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 15:15:00 +0000

Shosan was born into a warrior family in 1579 and lived through one of the most war-torn times of Japanese history. At age 12, he was adopted by a member of a seventy-man horse troop and thus began his life as a samurai.

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The World of Intensive Practice

Daily Zen — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 19:04:00 +0000

Reading this piece reminds me of listening to a piece of classical music. Each movement transitions so skillfully into the next that we are barely aware that we have just entered a new room filled with new tempos and phrasing, all skillfully balanced around the theme of zazen as the bedrock of our lives.

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Sermons – Part 2

Daily Zen — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 13:50:19 +0000

Some pieces are overwhelming as we try to absorb the depth communicated. Ma-tsu is delivering a sermon to monks who, just like us, have been practicing for various numbers of years.

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Sermons – Part 2

Daily Zen — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 08:27:27 +0000

There are numerous sutras, teachings of the Masters, and enlightenment stories in the history of Buddhism and Zen. There are times when we read these writings and feel a million miles away from enlightenment, Nirvana, or equanimity.

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The Wayseeker

Daily Zen — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 18:01:44 +0000

Dropping gaining mind in practice is a huge step; in the beginning, we are all awonder at these marvelous “results” of meditation and when they might appear.

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Readings from Sun Face Buddha

Daily Zen — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:37:00 +0000

I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value. After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap. When the hut was completed, fresh weeds appeared. Now it’s been lived in-covered by weeds. The person in the hut lives here calmly, Not stuck to inside, outside, or in-between.

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The Ryumon-ji Sermons – The Unborn Part 3

Daily Zen — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 08:48:00 +0000

For those of us who have read the stories of Zen masters’ lives, Bankei’s enlightenment story is among the more powerful ones. His dedication is inspiring, and his insights shared from that ground give us a rich perspective on his deceptively simple-sounding teaching.

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The Fundamental Expedient Teachings

Daily Zen — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 17:20:29 +0000

This translation comes from the Tun-huang documents discovered in Cave 17 sometime around 1900. While we don’t usually explore where these translations actually come from, this story deserves some attention.

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Illusion = Satori

Daily Zen — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:18:15 +0000

At times we feel like we are “successfully” walking with a foot in both worlds where illusion and reality seem balanced. Similar to walking a balance beam, we adjust our heart/mind and respond to what is happening within and without with a sense of naturalness.

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King of Samadhis

Daily Zen — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 18:44:00 +0000

Most of what we have read or heard about sitting meditation has come from contemporary vehicles for Buddhism. This lovely piece, King of Samadhis, helps communicate the direct teaching of sitting meditation expounded hundreds of years ago to monks in Dogen’s assembly.

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The Platform Sutra

Daily Zen — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:11:19 +0000

Many of us are familiar with the first part of the Platform Sutra, recounting the story of Huineng’s life and how he obtained the robe and bowl after arriving at the monastery as a commoner.

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To Live is Just to Live

Daily Zen — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:34:00 +0000

All of us have been known to complicate our lives and our practice at times. We overthink problems, over-dwell on emotional states from time to time, and try to quantify where we are in practice. To simply sit without the complications, the trappings of practice, even something this simple, can be challenging for us.

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Shikantaza

Daily Zen — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 15:48:22 +0000

Time to return to the beginning with Spring/Fall around the corner. Many of you have asked for more instruction on beginning meditation.

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Informal Talks

Daily Zen — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:38:03 +0000

Dogen speaks clearly about the mind that seeks the way and how to maintain the intensity of practice over time. We couldn’t ask for a world of more distraction than the one we currently inhabit.

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What is the Way?

Daily Zen — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 11:17:47 +0000

There are always layers of understanding and misunderstanding in practice. It is similar to a snake shedding its skin; at one stage that is the only protection it has; then, at some point it is time to expand and let go of that empty skin that no longer serves.

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Divine Light

Daily Zen — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 11:38:18 +0000

In the beginning, I was seeking that one essential point to connect with, to focus on, which would allow me a foundation that didn’t clutter up the mind with too many concepts or formulas, or rules.

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Zazen

Daily Zen — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 13:01:14 +0000

There’s room in practice for many kinds of students; at some stage in practice, we have been them all. Everything is in a constant state of change, including us, and anything we think we understand about zazen is to be discarded to make room for even vaster insights.

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Skeletons

Daily Zen — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 15:50:00 +0000

Death, the great equalizer, has a way of bringing life into a different kind of focus. Ikkyu’s skeletons share teachings from their point of view, which is accessible to those of us who remember we too will be those skeletons, and in fact carry them with us daily.

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Kuan-shin lun – Contemplation of Mind

Daily Zen — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 16:07:39 +0000

Sometimes less is more. There is no technique discussed other than contemplating the mind. We might translate this into turning the light of awareness inward, or leave it open to experience and discovery.

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Skeletons – Part 2

Daily Zen — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:21:41 +0000

Ikkyu’s skeletons teach in rich and evocative koan-like poems. Any one of them can be read alone, and in fact, each one deserves quiet contemplation rather than a single reading. Powerful in imagery and content, these skeletons have much to share.

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The Enlightenment of Chiyono

Daily Zen — Tue, 19 May 2026 16:58:43 +0000

Mugai Nyodai, known also as Chiyono, was one of the first Japanese women to receive transmission in Zen.

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What is Ch’an?

Daily Zen — Tue, 12 May 2026 09:08:00 +0000

This is a time to return to the roots of practice. With new people coming into Daily Zen every month, it is fitting now for a piece like this. Sheng-yen skillfully paints a history of how Buddhism traveled from India to other parts of the East, and the transformation that became known as Zen today.

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The Awakening of Mugai Nyodai – Part 2

Daily Zen — Mon, 04 May 2026 08:32:29 +0000

Mugai Nyodai, known also as Chiyono, was one of the first Japanese women to receive transmission in Zen.. While she is well known through her founding of many women's Zen monasteries, she is relatively unknown to those of us in the West who are more familiar with the Patriarchs of Zen, like Hui-neng or Bodhidharma.

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On the Transmission of Mind – Part 12

Daily Zen — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 12:29:29 +0000

This piece of Huang Po’s touches elements of practice that seem to turn your mind inside out at first. He seems to raise more questions than answers, and thus helps us return to beginner’s mind—that place where we don’t know as much and are ready to learn.

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