General Instruction for T’ai Chi Chih
The movements, and their variations, that you are about to learn are the results of many years of experimentation. From a development of the original two movements shown me, adding the leg motions and making other changes, I expanded and added 18 more, giving them [...]
Foreword for Climb the Joyous Mountain
Reading Climb the Joyous Mountain, we are touched by Justin’s lyrical poetry and deep appreciation of life. He genuinely connects with people, places, and situations because he doesn’t bring a personal agenda. Justin asks, “Does writing about the ‘Joyous Mountain’ make one more joyous?” He [...]
Glossary for Gateway to Eastern Philosophy & Religion
AHAMKARA - The ego, the sense of "I," which Indian philosophies feel is false. AVATARS - A direct incarnation of the Lord. It is believed there have been ten Avatars (incarnations on earth) of Lord Vishnu, the Sustainer, in the Indian trio of gods (Brahma [...]
The Impersonal, Part 2
Frequently, followers of the Spiritual Path reach a joyous feeling of Unity — and then get hung up there. Unless they can come full circle, back to the ordinary life, it will be practically impossible for them to function in this world. What do [...]
Breath
Let’s consider the breath for a bit. Nothing is as vital to life as breath, yet we take it for granted and breathe unconsciously. This is probably for the best, for when breath is regulated or made the object of concentration; it tends to become [...]
The Self Of All Things
The great Indian sage, Ramana Maharshi, told his followers to ask themselves the question, “Who am I?” A psychiatrist or psychoanalyst might also want to know the answer to that question, but the purpose of these two people is widely different from what Ramana Maharshi [...]
The Way of Mindfulness
Now we come to the Way of Mindfulness (Satipatthana in the ancient Pali language), the Buddha’s great meditation that directly led to his all-encompassing enlightenment 2500 years ago. Only one man in historical times has been called Buddha, meaning Fully Enlightened One. Other epithets have [...]
Spiritual Stories of the East: Ordinary Teaching & Empty Cup
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 took my friend Dick and his wife to see the [...]
Spiritual Stories of the East: Carrying Nothing & Oneness
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 a humorous side. This is particularly so with Zen and [...]