Spiritual Stories of the East (Volume 1)

Volume 1, Track 7 It seems to me that the great task in life is to find out who and what you are. Once that is discovered and your true nature uncovered, your troubles [...]

Volume 1, Track 12 We live in a dualistic world where something is not big, it is small, and where a statement is either true or false. It is a world of either or. [...]

Volume 1, Track 3 In India, many people have a mantra given to them in an initiation by the family guru. A mantra is not a magic talisman, a sound with magic properties. Rather, [...]

Volume 1, Track 6 Zen masters use ordinary, everyday incidents as opportunities to teach, and it is usually difficult to realize they are teaching. One time, when my Zen teacher was in America, I [...]

Volume 1, Track 1 Here are a few of my favorite spiritual stories of the East, many of them from my own experience. Now, quite a few so-called spiritual stories of the [East] have [...]

Volume 1, Track 10 Many centuries ago, there was a Chinese Zen Master named Tozan. He had a community of many hundreds of monks, among whom his favorite seemed to be Sozan. In the [...]

Volume 1, Track 9 Zen meditation is known as zazen. And in Rinzai meditation, it is interrupted by individual meetings with a Master, the so-called Kill or Be Killed confrontation, known as sanzen. At [...]

Volume 1, Track 8 Zen training is long and difficult. And the Master, much beloved by his disciples, may seem harsh to unknowing outsiders. Only if you are hopeless is the master kind to [...]

Volume 1, Track 5 Much Chinese poetry speaks of the tranquility of Nature, just as Chinese landscape painting emphasizes natural scenes in contrast to struggling man. In truth, it is difficult to find a [...]

Volume 1, Track 11 This next is a serious story concerning two deeply religious people, and I hope it does not offend anybody. Remember, Zen counsels us not to be attached to anybody or [...]

Volume 1, Track 2 When another Zen master was asked, “If I do good all my life, what will my reward be,” his surprising answer was, “Oh, you'll probably go to some hovel called [...]

Volume 1, Track 4 Overjoyed at his experience, which he later classified as a great Satori, or enlightenment experience, Hakuin turned and ran back up the hill to tell his master. But as he [...]