Zen ⁽⁶⁾

On this journey south to seek monks and sages, Mr. Steven Nicholas Alexander Zhou Ergou Maimaiti was suddenly seized by poetic inspiration and improvised a quatrain: A tiny room like a dungeon, deep and fathomless; Reins of fame and locks of gain are hard to…

When the Second Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, Huike, attained the Way, there is the following famous gong'an (encounter dialogue) about pacifying the mind: Huike asked Bodhidharma: "Can I hear the seal of the Buddha's dharma?" Bodhidharma replied: "The seal of the Buddhas' dharma is not…

Modern life seems not to involve much physical labor, but the mental pressure is enormous—especially for young people working and living in first- and second-tier cities, where the pressure is even greater. Over time, excessive stress easily leads to depressive illness. Physical and mental health…

The maxim "Keep your original mind, and you will reach fulfillment"—whose original source can no longer be traced—became popular thanks to Steve Jobs's advocacy. The concept of "original mind" (chuxin) comes from the "initial aspiration" (chufa xin) repeatedly mentioned in the Buddhist Avatamsaka Sutra. Yet…

Sima Daoxin was a native of Yongning County (also known as Guangji County; present-day Meichuan Town, Wuxue City, Huanggang Prefecture, Hubei Province). His father, Sima Shen, was the first county magistrate after Yongning was established; the family ancestral home was Wen County, Henan. The county…

My grandmother believed in Buddhism all her life; at seven I began teaching her to recite the sutras, reading from pinyin. She often went to temples to worship the Buddha and brought back many hand-copied sutras; the monks told her that reciting them would bring…