Dec 11, 2018
The old stories all have the same punchline: the monk was suddenly enlightened. What really happens when we have an experience of insight?
Transcript: https://emptysqua.re/blog/the-day-yunmen-broke-his-foot/
Dec 11, 2018
If we treat the Zen precepts as a set of rules to obey, that's just conformity. Let's use them instead as a tool for busting the hierarchy!
Transcript: https://emptysqua.re/blog/rules-for-hyenas/
Apr 15, 2018
In the Blue Cliff Record, Case 32, a monk named Jo asks Master Rinzai, "What is the essence of Buddhism?" In response, Rinzai grabs the monk and slaps him. Why?
In this talk I explain what all this hitting and slapping is about in Zen. There's a lesson in this story, about sustaining our own meditation practice over the...
Jan 27, 2018
A monk asked Unmon, "What is Buddha?" Unmon replied, "A dry shit stick." Why? Where is Buddha in this regular, shitty, unsatisfactory experience? I've heard a thousand times that ordinary mind is Buddha. Here, I try to explain how to actually practice this truth.