Ultimate Understanding?
I received an email that said: I found video of an interview with your teacher Nishijima Roshi and I don’t understand it. In the video he says he arrived at the ultimate truth of Buddhism after studying for more than 60 years, when he was 88 years old. What does he mean by that? I thought that he […]
Brain and Brain? What is Brain?
Someone sent me a link to an article by Michael Taft, called A Universal Theory of Awakening. I’d never heard of Mr. Taft before, but apparently he’s a well-known writer and “mindfulness coach.” I get the impression from my very small amount of research on him that he specializes in presenting mindfulness as a secular […]
The Buddhist Ethics of Euthanasia
Someone asked me about the Buddhist ethics of euthanasia. In case that’s a new word for you (some of the readers of this page are not native speakers of English), the definition I found online goes, “the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. The […]
Thought Filters
Someone sent me an email describing some strange sensations and thoughts that ran through his mind every time he did zazen. Here’s how I answered: Yeah… Lots of things happen during zazen. It’s different for each person. The main thing to do with any sensations or feelings like these is to let them pass. I […]
Now, Now, Now
Someone sent an email asking me, “If everything really is no self, Big Self, or Buddha nature, how did small self get started? Is it something that just happens because it’s part of the human condition like original delusion or sin? Buddhism has an origin of evil conundrum just like theism. Or are we just […]
