Zazen Notes

It’s been a revelation for me to read that Kobun Chino Otogawa started sitting the lotus at age 7, wrestled in the lotus with his brothers, and could get in and out of the lotus without using his hands. Of course, his father was the abbot of a Zen temple in Japan.

At the close of a sesshin I attended, Kobun said it was his third sesshin ...  read more

I attended Bonnie Hayes’s show at Sweetwater in Mill Valley a week ago, and when the band played one of her songs particularly well I experienced something about my action that I think will inspire me for awhile. She’s a teacher, yet most people in the hall were not even moving–they didn’t know how to find their feet ...  read more

I’m reading “Embracing Mind”, a collection of some of the talks Kobun Chino Otogawa offered at retreats (sesshins) between 1974 and 1993. Kobun offers some interesting comments about seated meditation, among them:

It’s impossible to teach the meaning of sitting. You won’t believe it. Not ...  read more