Sometimes the teaching seems contradictory and impossible to achieve.

We ask you to relax mind… then to focus, then to empty mind

A very common area of frustration is how can it be possible to focus on something and empty the mind at the same time, are these not completely opposite actions?

 We are taught and rewarded most of our lives for acquiring a mental catalog of things we “know”.

That’s how we pass exams in school, (we know the required material) get promoted at work (we know how to successfully plan, organize, direct, control or perform based on past experience) and interact in relationships (we repeat patterns of meeting people, deepening connections, etc…)

Within each of us is a light…

 My first introduction to sitting Ch’an was from a martial arts teacher that incorporated seated postures and belly breathing as essential aspects of the practice. He also advocated we develop an appreciation of the mind and spirit, not just  body..This was a spark that led me to study classics of sun zu, go rin no sho, lao tsu, chung tsu, kong zi, etc…and from there eventually into Buddhist doctrine and sutra study.