The challenge is to use our practice to cultivate awareness, to be honest enough and to train ourselves to be able to witness and watch the ever-changing flow of emotion, thoughts, projections, and experience that goes on in our minds. If we don't pay attention, then our minds make and rule...

Retreat is a time to look inside and investigate our life. It is an opportunity to clear our mind of habitual thinking and access our wisdom and compassion.

Retreat Info

Please join us for a 1 day retreat Saturday, April 24th. 1 day retreats include extended sitting practice, chanting, bowing,...

Deep pine tree valley:

Sitting quietly,

The moon was bright last night.

The ten thousand samadhis are not necessary.

When thirsty, drink.

When tired, sleep

By Zen Master Hahn Am

What is this thing that I call, “I”?  What is it really? We think we know who we are—we have stories about ourselves. But what is it really?  We have our own limited human perception of things, and that's good, that helps us somewhat. But it's not the truth.

We create...

A monk asked a master, "I just became a monk and would like to know how to enter Buddhahood."

The master said, "Do you hear the waterfall?"

"Yes I do" replied the monk.

Master said, "Enter there."

If you go into the realm of metaphysics about life after life after life, you're in the world of supposition. But take everything about our past actions creating a future life and substitute the word “moment” for “life”. Our action in this moment creates our life in the...

Great Effort, I think of as the hinge-point of our practice. If we don't have this great effort, then we really don't have a practice. Because unless we bring our practice to the difficult parts of our lives, it's not much of a practice. In fact, what often seems to happen is many people will...

Your true self is always shining and free.
Human beings make something and enter the ocean of suffering.
Only without thinking can you return to your true self.
The high mountain is always blue, white clouds coming and going.

By Zen Master Seung Sahn

"Before thinking" is easy to talk about but difficult to practice. Our desire, anger, and ignorance are so powerful, so encompassing, and solid that we don’t even recognize their impact. Many people who first hear about before thinking find it absurd. Others feel that it is impossible to...

We're actually more focused on the question than the answer because answers change. There's no one fixed answer. The point of questions is to open us up to the experience of our lives. So, this moment is the answer. Our practice is to open up to this moment. It's usually our ideas, our opinions,...

The First Noble Truth is "All things are suffering." Life is suffering. The word in Sanskrit is duḥkha. Sometimes it is translated as "unsatisfactory". Situations, this world, and our lives are not what we want them to be. There's almost always a gap between what we want and what is. In as much...