Zazen Notes

There’s a phenomena in the practice of zazen that is similar to hypnotic suggestion from one’s own unconscious.

At S.F. Zen Center, Kobun Chino Otogawa once said: “You know, sometimes zazen gets up and walks around.” My own understanding, which I have come to years after having the experience Kobun described, is that the pulmonary ...  read more

There was once a sense of revolution here around San Francisco, and a strange melding of African-American, Asian-American, Native American, and Anglo-American influences. A bop and beat culture with Taoist and Buddhist influences, that understood that Native Americans had the right idea about the land, and was determined to bring Western science ...  read more

Last time I saw Kobun (unusual Zen guy, wanted to be called Kobun without any honorific), he was concluding three week-long sesshins back-to-back. Someone asked him if he had any pain or numbness in the lotus, and he replied that he never did (of course, his father was a Zen teacher, and Kobun first started sitting at age seven). Kobun noted that ...  read more