One thing I’ve learned in my practice is that there are no guarantees – with perhaps a major exception. That is that we will all face...

I was recovering from a three-day flu. I had congestion and a nagging cough. Hurricane Elsa was on her way up the Gulf. It was raining...

As prisoners most of us are touched keenly by how unpleasant and stressful daily living can be. When we were free, our desire to attain...

Joko Beck’s thoughts on tragedy were a challenge for me, but I was attracted to these lines: “From the moment of conception our life is...

Claude Anshin Thomas’ book, Bringing Meditation To Life, is a collection of short, practical Zen teachings. Chapter 10 is titled “Go...

HARMONIZING THE MIND So here we are. We have come to the last phase of Master Sheng-Yen's teaching: No-Self, No-Mind. My hope is that you...

This month we look at phase six, ''The Unified Mind of Samadhi''. This is where your whole world is blown to bits. Where all of your...

5. Pure but Effortful Concentration on the Method In the fifth phase, there exists only pure counting of breaths. There are neither...

4. Subtle and Unbroken Application of the Method Just as before, you are able to maintain concentration on counting breaths...

3. Coarse but Unbroken Applications of the Method By the third level, you are able to maintain uninterrupted concentration and count each...