Present Moment Only Moment
No matter where we are, no matter what we face, we have to take care of this moment. That’s all. –Dainin Katagiri, You Have To Say Something: Manifesting Zen Insight, 9 The title comes from…
Month: June 2026
A Treasure from the West
One day, [Soen Nakagawa] and his classmates at Hiroshima Junior High School pooled their pocket money to purchase a recording of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which had just been made available in Japan. Overwhelmed by the…
Burning
To take care of your life is to burn the flame of your life force in everything you do.–Dainin Katagiri, The Light That Shines through Infinity But then they danced down the streets like dingledodies,…
It’s Simple… and Difficult
The absence of engagement, the hours spent in one or another form of channel-surfing, is actually the chief cause of our anxiety and mental exhaustion, the sleep of the spirit the chief cause of our…
“Infuriating Things” by Sei Shōnagon
A very ordinary person, who beams inanely as she prattles on and on. Some newcomer steps in and starts interfering and lecturing the old hands as if she knows it all. —The Pillow Book, translated…
Today’s One-Liner (#349)
Hell is not other people (as a resentful toad once said); it is ourselves. –Reinaldo Arenas, The Color of Summer Or The New Garden of Earthly Delights, 169 Note: The “toad” refers to French philosopher…
A Simplifying Renunciation
Thus, you should carefully consider which among the main things you want in life is the most important, and renounce all the others to dedicate yourself to that thing alone. Among the many matters that…
First Things First
One’s education must first of all be directed to a thorough knowledge of the classics and an understanding of the teachings of the sages. –—Yoshida Kenkō, Essays in Idleness, translated by Meredith McKinney, 80
Commitment
In all our studies, continues concentration and diligence are the hallmark of success. It is meaningless to begin the study of karate-do as if you were stopping by a roadside stand for refreshment on your…
Seize the Instant Already!
A man engaged in Buddhist practice will tell himself at night that there is always the morning, or in the morning will anticipate the night, always intending to make more effort later. And if such…