Rusty Ring

"Dying is easy. Practice is hard." (My monastic riff on a hallowed show biz pun .) (Photo of Chàn ancestor Hanshan De...

Enlightenment is the stated goal of Buddhism, possibly the only doctrine all denominations share, though variously defined. As ...

Long ago, in the first years of my Zen practice, I encountered a teaching that's remained in my mind through the intervening year...

"I'm going to try speaking some reckless words and I want you to listen to them recklessly." Zhang Wuzi Quoted in Zhuan...

Master Dongguo asked Zhuangzi, "This thing called the Way – where does it exist?" Zhuangzi said, "There's no pl...

Huike said to Bodhidharma, "My mind is anxious. Please pacify it." Bodhidharma replied, "Bring me your mind, and...

Shítóu Xīqiān (called Sekitō Kisen in Japan) is having a moment. Fixture of contemporary Soto, his Sandōkai , a memorable exposition of...

(Last Christmas I got a tiny cellophane envelope containing half a teaspoon of hard, opaque, plastic-looking multicoloured beads, a...

( Update, 13 October 2025: The YouTube file I originally embedded here has gone 404, but I found this one to replace it. Though I have...

I'm told this is a fad in China now. That first glance is a bit revolting to round-eyed sangha, but as I understand it, this...

Chàn fascinates me. Founded in China during the 6th century CE, it's the parent tradition to the three current national schools of ...

This week I learned two things: that something called "the Buddha-like mindset" is trending among young people in China a...

Last month I posted a story about Jia Ruhan , the Chinese opera and erstwhile pop star whose life has taken a turn for the eremitical. ...

I recently happened upon an interesting moment in Season 6, Episode 4, of Gimlet Media's Startup podcast. (Transcript here ; downloa...

(A friend recently gave me this fine tea. To make it, the Chinese pack specially-fermented green leaves into a tangerine rind and let t...

(Regulars will recognise this as the origin of my profile picture. It's a giant Chinese fishing float, blown from recycled bottles....

In Meditation in the Wild: Buddhism's Origin in the Heart of Nature , Charles S. Fisher writes: "Buddhism was born in the for...

By oneself is evil done By oneself is one defiled By oneself is evil left undone By oneself is one made pure Purity and impur...

(This is one of those compact white hardhats that workers wear in Asia. This one turned up on the high tideline after a gale. I picture a...

In Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits , Bill Porter writes:    "Throughout Chinese history, there    have always bee...