Tag: Zen
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Rosemarie Bloom Delights With “Sakura”, Zen Poetry Collection
In her debut digital chapbook, “Sakura”, Rosemarie Bloom stuns and delights with her collection of poetry about mindfulness, the nature of existence, and those fleeting moments of self-transcendence. Scattered throughout the book like cherry blossoms in the breeze, Bloom also reflects more extensively about human condition in a series of meditations about anger, sadness, anxiety…
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IMG KOAN #3
Swim against the current (2024, February 2) by IKB Wind
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Itō Jakuchū: Potential for Flight
I am enraptured by Itō Jakuchū’s art. The stark contrast between the ink-black background and the bold use of color on the foreground is immediately striking, sure. But it’s more than that. The hues on Swallow and Camellia are not jump-at-you bright, but they are made dazzling nonetheless by graceful saturation. The crimson on the…
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Being is Breathing
“So when we practice zazen, all that exists is the movement of the breathing, but we are aware of this movement. You should not be absent-minded. But to be aware of the movement does not mean to be aware of your small self, but rather of your universal nature, or Buddha nature.” -D.T. Suzuki, Zen…
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Posture
“Enlightenment is not some good feeling or some particular state of mind. The state of mind that exists when you sit in the right posture is, itself, enlightenment.” – D.T. Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind Any book on Zen will tell you that Zen is simple. Complications arise from our own hang-ups and the nature…
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Shoshin or Beginner’s Mind: Full Receptive Awareness
An open mind is a receptive mind. “What Will Eye Choose?” by Marie Ro “It (Zen) is difficult because it is hard to keep our mind pure and our practice pure in its fundamental sense.” – D.T. Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind “An impure mind” is not a moralistic reprieve. In the context of Zen,…
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Fūryū of the Fisherman: Finding the Original Mind
“Finding the Original Mind” is somewhat of an oxymoron – one cannot find what is never lost. And yet, the statement succinctly describes what fūryū is all about. But what is fūryū, you ask? According to Qiu (2001), the term fūryū first evolved in medieval Japan as a way to describe elegance, or a “penchant…