“Some Sōtō Zen scholars and priests argue that Dōgen was against ‘personal’ enlightenment and that such an experience is out of tune with Dōgen’s teaching. Therefore, they conclude that later teachers must have made up the story of Dōgen’s personal enlightenment experience (you’ll find one version of this story at the bottom of this post).” I wrote that on April 1 (no joke), 2016. You can read the whole post here. In this post, I’d like to update… Read more

Wúmén Huikai (1183-1260, literally, “No-Gate Bright-Opening”), the compiler and author of the Gateless Barrier (無門關 Wúménguān), is one of the most important ancestors of our Zen tradition. Aitken Roshi notes: “An unconventional Zen master in many respects,Wúmén let his hair and beard grow and wore old soiled robes. He worked in the fields and carried his own slops. Called ‘Hui-k’ai the Lay Monk,’ he is a wonderful archetype for us monkish lay people in the West.” Wúmén was a contemporary… Read more

                A monk asked Zhaozhou, “For a long time I’ve heard about Zhaozhou’s stone bridge. Coming here, I only see a simple log bridge.” Zhou said, “You only see the simple log bridge, but don’t see the stone bridge.” The monk said, ”What is the stone bridge like?” Zhao said, “Carries donkeys, carries horses.” Zhaozhou is both a province in ancient China with a famous bridge and an important Zen teacher who not… Read more