Or did Zen make me this way? The soul fatigue has always been there.

I could rest for a million years

i am 19F from a catholic country and a catholic family. i was raised christian, but as i got older, i started considering myself an atheist.

i know very little about buddhism, just what i’ve picked up from a few basic internet searches, but it has really caught my interest. i feel genuinely drawn to its values, principles and teachings, and i’d love to learn more about it and maybe even become a buddhist one day.

the problem is that i have no idea where to start. i thought about watching some videos or reading a book but i’m not sure what i should be looking for.

i just need a bit of guidance. i’d love to hear other people’s experiences, as well as any advice, recommendations or things you think a beginner should know.

I have recently acquired a small artwork at a Japanese second hand shop in Thailand for about $12 USD. I believe it may be an original work of Japanese micro-calligraphy with Bodhidharma as the subject and a Buddhist sutra surrounding his image. Even the beard and eyebrows appear to consist of tiny kanji. Can anyone tell me anything about this work? Is the subject indeed Bodhidharma? Is this a sutra surrounding the image and, if so, which one? Is the artist's name visible? Many thanks in advance.

is the intention or idea, the action itself?

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Zhaozhou:

A monk said to Zhaozhou, "I have just entered the monastery. Please teach me."

Zhaozhou asked, "Have you eaten your rice gruel?"

The monk replied, "Yes, I have."

Zhaozhou said, "Then wash your bowl."

At these words, the monk attained understanding.

Asking this several places, since I am u sure of next steps."

So, I grew up in and around Philly and still don't live too far away. I used to lead a small Zen group there because, at the time, there was nothing else available, but always wished there was something a little more there than just my little group, which generally pulled between 2 and 5 people.

Well, thanks to Facebook's targeted ads, I recently discovered there is a now a "Philadelphia Zen Meditation Center".

"Cool!", I think, and look into it.

Apparently, it's run by a dude named Wu Chueh Miao-Tien, a Taiwanese dude who claims to be the "85th Generation Gramdmaster of Zen" (whatever that means) and teaches his own meditation system focusing on the chakras.

I looked into the "Grandmaster" and can not actually seem to find any lineage on him, or even which Zen school his teacher (who I can't seem to find info on) trained in.

Anybody heard of this guy before?

If it's not a cult, it's certainly a gross misrepresentation of the Dharma.

The big questions- Should I expose them? Confront them in some way? Just let it go?

If I do expose or confront, how do I go about it?

Any advice is appreciated.

I believe that one ought to be able to bring their practice into the everyday, that’s the purpose of practice, and I don’t believe that a hermit/monk life is the correct path for many, including myself.

What does living your practice look like to you? In the family setting, work/corporate setting, community setting. What are your thoughts as you sit at dinner with your family, manage people at your workplace, engage with clients/customers, walk through your neighborhood?
I find there are expectations placed upon us- to communicate, engage certain ways, how do you apply your practice to these expectations?

I've been familiar with a few in the past, but life has thrown a lot at me and I lost track of practicing Zen. I've been meaning to return to it, but finding the dedicated time recently has been difficult.

I've had to take on my 3 year old son full-time and he doesn't attend nursery and admittedly it's been recently overstimulating me a fair amount. He doesn't attend nursery or anything and I'm having to go through the court for legal custody and everything.

It's definitely been a lot to say the least. I was just wondering, I don't mind if I already know them of course, a reminder is always good. But do any of you have a recommendations of tips in regards to me managing all of this? My only time for meditation is at night when he's asleep and that's it.

Any koans or literally anything of the sort. I'll definitely take just about anything you lovely people have to offer!

I'm incredibly grateful for you taking the time to read all of this! :))

to;dr: I'm an overwhelmed full-time toddler dad who would like to return to the ways of practicing Zen, but I struggling with finding the time.

Streaks, minute counters, 'calm scores', badges for consistency — apps like this have gotten millions of people meditating who otherwise never would have. That's a real good. But there's something strange about turning a practice meant to loosen your grip on achievement and self-improvement into something you can fail at, optimize, or gamify. Has anyone else noticed the app itself becoming a subtle source of striving? Where's the line between 'helpful structure' and just repackaging the ego's need to perform?

I moved into the residential training program at the Zen Center of Los Angeles this spring. It's a hybrid model—we all keep jobs and lives outside, but we also share the daily work of running the place: cooking, cleaning, gardening, ringing the bells, tending the altars. We call it samu.

What I didn't expect is how much samu would matter more than the sitting.

Outside the gates, status is the actual currency of how you're treated—what you do, who you know, what you're worth translates directly into how much room you're allowed to take up. I spent twenty years in entertainment marketing. None of that follows me into the kitchen. When it's my turn to ring the bell as jikido or sweep pine needles off the driveway, the résumé means nothing. Nobody's assigning the worst jobs to whoever has the least power in the room, because status isn't the organizing principle here. Vows and forms are.

It sounds small. It isn't. Most of the suffering I've watched in the world outside—including plenty I created myself over twenty years—comes from a system where care and labor get purchased by rank instead of distributed by practice. Samu is the daily, boring, physical proof that another way of organizing a community is actually livable, not just a nice idea in a dharma talk.

I don't want to romanticize it—we're still people, still grumpy and petty and caught in ego plenty of the time. But six months in, the flattening is real.

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A monk asked Zhaozhou, “Does a dog have Buddha-nature or not?”
Zhaozhou said, “Yes.”

The monk said, “Since it has Buddha-nature, why has it entered this bag of skin?”
Zhaozhou said, “Because it knowingly and deliberately transgresses.”

Then another monk asks:

“Does a dog have Buddha-nature or not?”
Zhaozhou said, “No.”

The monk said, “All sentient beings have Buddha-nature. Why, then, does a dog not have it?”
Zhaozhou said, “Because it still has karmic consciousness.”

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Does anyone have an opinion about this? i recently had another post called "a cat is not a cat. a cat is a cat". this post is similar as they both feature contradiction, while also different.

perhaps a starter question, why do zen masters contradict themselves?

A little story from my recent days showed me clearly our Sangha's special but awkward place in the wider Buddhist and Spirituality world ...

So, I recently made a new friend here in Tsukuba "Science City" Japan, a town heavy in science, engineering and medical researchers from around the world. He is a neurological researcher from Eastern Europe, a good chap, and I invited him out for an evening to introduce him to other local friends.

A few weeks ago, he asked me for my business card, and I gave him two: One for me as a translator of Japanese and retired lawyer, and one as 'Zen teacher Jundo.' When meeting people for the first time, I am always a little concerned about the second card, and most especially in this case of introducing myself to a man of science, peer-reviewed papers and reason. Will he think it strange and too exotic, unscientific, perhaps a sign of some cult and pyramid scheme to sell crystals, seances and alternative cures?

In any case, over dinner with my brain researching new friend, the topic eventually came up as to whether he thought consciousness solely the product of the brain or (as I do, although I did not say then) the brain plus something more.

Not only did he say, "something more," but he then began to relay, for the next hour, tales of his personal and frequent experiences of speaking with the dead, energy beams flowing through his body from other realms, witnessed extraterrestrial UFOs, distance healing, travel through multi-dimensional tunnels to other planes, meeting higher "beings" in those planes, encountering the "keeper" of the "book of fates" where our lives are written, mind reading, foreseeing future death days (fortunately, he did not see mine ... or was just being polite not to tell me!  ), his several out of body experiences, spirit possessions and exorcisms ... and more. He discovered that the universe, and those higher beings, are seeking to teach us lessons in this life. In fact, it is not the first time that I have had this kind of thing happen when chatting with apparently "grounded," otherwise hard nosed scientists here in Tsukuba.

I was quickly forced to realize that, not only was I not strange and too exotic as the Zen teacher at that table ... I was, by far, the most boring and uninteresting fellow at the table!

But I was also left with some other realizations.

First, the brain researcher helped me feel deeply that I preach a "left brain" Zen wherein, while I consider myself a mystic who believes that the point of Zen is to see through the purely material surface appearances of this world to something wondrous and easy to miss and deathless and timeless, I nonetheless remain the skeptical lawyer with a love for science, evidence, demanding of some basis in what is reasonable and not outlandish. I call myself a "pragma-mystic" who knows that something "is afoot" in this universe beyond what meets the eye, who finds all time and space in every grain of sand, and knows everything as a great dance ... but has little trust in crystals, unearthly UFO, out-of-body experiences (the doctor said his were something more than just some trick of the spatial-temporal brain centers), distance healing and most of the rest, for there may be some truth there but also a lot that deserves skepticism. Sorry, In fact, I feel that much of that gets in the way of the real power and mystical wonder of what Zen has to teach!

But that also means that we will never attract to our Treeleaf Sangha the people (the vast majority?) who want energy healing, talking with the dead, wild realms (taken literally, rather than psychologically or symbolically), and all those other colorful things and experiences in their religion. Again, sorry.

On the other hand, listening closely to the doctor, I realized not only his deep sincerity about these adventures, but that the final lessons that such phenomena left to him were basically identical with the wisdom and compassion of our flavor of boring Zen practice! It was only the packaging that was different. For just one example, the "keeper" of the "book of fates" has left him with the message that each of us both should accept what is written in the book, but also know that much of it can be changed! Even if a bit less colorful in presentation, that is Zen wisdom too!! 

Maybe it is only the vehicle and packaging of the message that is different. Maybe different people need to learn these lessons in their own ways. Maybe the Catholics and ancient Aztecs, Daoists and Wickans, Tibetans and Norsemen ... and yes, mystical lawyers and scientists who sense the "beauty of the math and music of the spheres" ... just express something basic, but each in their own language and myths and images. It is the insights that matter, not the artwork and trippiness of the trip.

So, finally, I realized that I am happy to be the boring "left brain mystic" that I am, because there are people out there ... even if not the majority ... who need to hear the wisdom packaged that way and delivered sensibly, maybe because they are left brain "pragma-mystics" like me too and a bit skeptical. One can transcend the cosmos AND be down to earth at the same timeless time. I will leave the Aztec gods to the Aztecs, witches to the WIckans, the other realms to other realms. For many folks, the song and dance and distracting scenery can get in the way, when it is the wisdom and compassion that really matters.

This world is not as meets the eye, but the point is to see clearly with a Buddha's Eye, not clouded or colored or confused eyes.

I know that the universe is teaching us something profound, but it can be heard and mastered in many ways.

As I continue reading An Introduction to Parallel Programming, I cannot help but notice a connection between communication among processors, communication among human beings, and communication within the individual self.

Increasing computational power has allowed us to decode the human genome, improve medical imaging, accelerate web searches, and approach problems that were previously unimaginable. Climate modeling, protein folding, drug discovery, energy research, and large-scale data analysis all depend upon enormous computational resources.

But the textbook’s deeper lesson is that adding more processors does not automatically produce more useful work. A problem must first be divided into parts. Those parts must communicate, synchronize, and share the workload. One processor cannot remain overloaded while the others wait. Nor can every processor compete endlessly for the same resource. The challenge is no longer simply producing more power. It is learning how to coordinate the power we already possess.

Perhaps the same is true of human beings.

A person may possess intelligence, emotional depth, physical energy, memory, and creativity, yet still become overwhelmed when these parts are unable to work together. The mind may say one thing while the body communicates another. Speech may conceal both. Memories may continue running like unfinished processes, consuming attention long after the original event has passed.

In Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, wholehearted activity is compared to a fire that burns completely and leaves no unnecessary trace. This does not mean forgetting the past or pretending that painful events never happened. It may mean allowing an experience to be fully felt, understood, and completed, rather than endlessly attaching ourselves to the residue it left behind.

How many experiences continue to consume us because they were never allowed to finish burning?

Honest communication is a form of synchronization. When our thoughts, emotions, bodies, and words communicate truthfully, they can begin to move together. When they conceal information from one another, the result is internal contention: anxiety, exhaustion, confusion, and eventually burnout.

Parallel programming asks how many separate processors can work as one system without ceasing to be individual processors. Zen seems to ask a similar question of human life.

Maybe our greatest limitation is not a lack of power, but power divided against itself.

I have been practicing on and off for a few years, and one thing I noticed is that I have great difficulty staying awake while sitting if I’ve had a workout session beforehand. For context, I usually do brazilian jiu jitsu or weightlifting first thing the morning, so when I try to sit after, my parasympathetic nervous system is deeply relaxed. I have no problem staying awake if I haven’t exercised.

I know I could sit before exercise, but I usually don’t have time before my training session in the morning. Maybe I just need more sleep?

Anyone else deal with this?

A cat is a cat.

Any opinions about this?

famous quote by Qingyuan Weixin (Chinese Zen master 9th century):

“Before I had studied Zen for thirty years, I saw mountains as mountains, and rivers as rivers. When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I saw that mountains are not mountains, and rivers are not rivers. But now that I have got its very substance, I am at rest. For it's just that I see mountains once again as mountains, and rivers once again as rivers”.

tldr: Recommended some good books/lectures on the second of the Eightfold Path: Samma Sankappa, Right Intention.

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My sangha encourages us to write down our intentions every morning. The sangha also says that "intentions" are different from "goals." I'm confused.

I'm told: Goals focus on future expectations. Intentions focused on the present. But...When I use the word "intend," it's always about the future. "I intend to eat my meals mindfully." "I intend to pause 3 times today for meditation." "I intend to show metta to a co-worker I want to strangle." How can you have an intention that doesn't look to the future?

I've heard that the Pali word "Sankappa" (Chinese canon Zheng Siwei) is better translated as "resolve." That makes more sense to me. I think of "resolve" as a decision or dedication. "I resolve to enjoy silence and mindfulness." "I have the resolve to stay mindful of my food and avoid doom-scrolling while eating."

Yesterday, I heard "Sankappa" described like a moral framework. Your moral framework might be "Eat drink and be merry" or "Always get revenge" or "YOLO bro!" Right Sankappa, then, is having the right moral framework to guide your life.

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Is any of that accurate? Does that sound right? Does Intention (Sankappa) influence Volition (Cetana) which then causes your Action (Kamma)?

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This is a complex topic, and I know you can't answer in short Reddit post. If you can recommend good books, suttas, or videos on the topic, I'd really appreciate it.

This is definitely a work in progress so please use the feedback link to let us know what is missing.

https://www.shambhala.com/a-map-of-buddhism-in-canada/

TL;DR: Trying to find a way to sit in a more traditional way with significant back injury.

I am a regular sitter and do sesshins every season at my local Rinzai temple. I also happen to have a pretty significant sports-based injury. My L4/L5 disc in my spine (down in the lumbar) had a 12-14 mm herniation in 2013 and I had microsurgery to remove the broken pieces in 2015.

The result of this is that if I sit without some kind of back support, I am in excruciating pain in both my back and with sciatica after about an hour or two. The work around for this is to either sit in an upright chair or to sit in a low chair.

I've done several retreats using a "Strongback" branded low beach chair, which includes lumbar support. My abbot has deemed it acceptable and I sit it on the zabuton, back slightly, so my feet don't come off of the zabuton. (See pictures)

When I am not in the chair, such as for tea, meals, dokusan, etc., I use a seiza bench. That works but not for more than an hour or so at most and pain will build and build.

This works but it is a bit cumbersome. I am wanting to find out if anyone has any other suggestions for sitting for zazen that are less cumbersome and maybe retain a more "traditional" posture. I've tried various zafus, meditation blocks, etc. If I sit without something supporting my lumbar portion of the spine, they all lead to the same pain.

I've been meditating on and off for ~10 years and recently committed to a consistent, daily zen practice of 30 minute zazen twice a day -- or at least once if the day's going to be busy. Since then I've noticed genuine improvements in my life. Not that that's the point. But 'just sitting' has fundamentally changed the way that I relate to my body sensations, my thoughts, and reactions to the world around me. I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder so that's huge for me.

The thing is I'm a very insecure/introverted/neurotic & self-depricating person, and a lot of my self-talk is very negative. I'm having a better time not identifyign with the negative thoughts. But what can I do to change the CONTENT of my thoughts? If i had to not cling to thought, I think I'd be happier and healthier detaching from intrusive positive thoughts than the constant pity party and self-doubt that runs in my head 24/7.

Does any literature speak to this, maybe? Or your own experiences?