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Appreciate Your Life…
The Venerable Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi Roshi, a seminal influence on the growth of Zen Buddhism in the United States, was ordained as a Soto Zen monk at the age of eleven. He received degrees in Oriental Literature and Philosophy from Komazawa University and studied at Sojiji, one of the two main Soto monasteries in Japan.
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What is Zen?
Zen is being “yourself.”
Zen is a branch of Buddhist teaching; Buddhism aims to reduce suffering or end it altogether.
To practice Zen is to confide in zazen.
What is not Zen?
Not-Zen is everything that does not seem to be Zen: ego, suffering, old age, illness, death, ignorance, and confusion…
In order to overcome Not-Zen – suffering – many people have started to practice Zen.
The wave is pushing against the ocean.
If we’re not sitting zazen, are we not zen?
Beyond Zen and not Zen
Warm is the sand under the sole.
A green shard cuts into the blood.
The swear is short.
No plaster present.
Dharma
The terms “Dharma” and “Budda-Dharma” will often appear on this website. I will therefore define what I mean when I refer to Dharma or Buddha Dharma. This post gives an overview of how I understand the historical development of the terms.
Dharma is an Idea of Indian…
Zazen
To understand Zen and feel comfortable in Zen, it is good to sit in zazen every single day.
To sit in zazen, choose a place you will like and where you can stay quiet for about 20 minutes. Make sure the temperature and light are comfortable. Don’t waste time looking for or decorating the place: you can sit anywhere.
Streets, Zen and Bodybuilding 1
In 1998 I wrote down some experiences of my first ten years of Zen practice. I imagined and told the story of a morning sitting during a sesshin. If you like, follow me, the narrator, into the meditation room: We enter the Zendo together, find our place and sit down on the meditation cushion…
Enlightenment
A flame, as soon as it is lit, illuminates a room that was dark before.
Now that I can see what it is, I can find my way around the room. I can move without constantly bumping into tables or benches. As soon as I have orientated myself, I can start to get to know the things that are in the room and then use them as I please.
Was I blind before, I am now seeing.
Streets, Zen and Bodybuilding 2
In 1998 I wrote down some experiences of my first ten years of Zen practice. I imagined and told the story of a morning sitting during a sesshin. So far we have entered Zendo, before six o’clock in the morning; we have settled down on our cushion and now we are waiting for the beginning of zazen…
The suffering of Siddharta
The suffering of Siddharta Such random words as these in uttering! Thou mak’st an arrow quiver in my heart. [1] Siddharta Gautama’s family and friends It is a muggy morning just before sunrise. The man had tossed and turned in his clammy sheets and could not sleep any longer. He rolls to the edge of
Tradition lineage in the West – USA
In the 50s and 60s of the last century, the seeds for Zen in the West were sown. The Soto School has portrayed the events and the protagonists in a short video.
Taizan Maezumi Roshi, one of these protagonists, is the “grandfather” of our Zen line in Germany.
Tradition lineage in the West – Europe
Since 1967, Zen has also established roots in Europe. The Soto School has portrayed the most important European temples in a short video.
Guided Meditation March 18, 2020
On March 18, 2020 – in the course of the Corona crisis – Kanzeon Sangha moved the physical meditation from the Zen Center Düsseldorf to the internet. This meditation “online” was a debut for Kanzeon Sangha. Participants asked Jikishin Sensei to also include a guided meditation. This audio file (22:42 minutes) is an edited version of Wednesday’s guided meditation.
Appreciate Your Life…
The Venerable Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi Roshi, a seminal influence on the growth of Zen Buddhism in the United States, was ordained as a Soto Zen monk at the age of eleven. He received degrees in Oriental Literature and Philosophy from Komazawa University and studied at Sojiji, one of the two main Soto monasteries in Japan.
What is Zen?
Zen is being “yourself.”
Zen is a branch of Buddhist teaching; Buddhism aims to reduce suffering or end it altogether.
To practice Zen is to confide in zazen.
What is not Zen?
Not-Zen is everything that does not seem to be Zen: ego, suffering, old age, illness, death, ignorance, and confusion…
In order to overcome Not-Zen – suffering – many people have started to practice Zen.
The wave is pushing against the ocean.
If we’re not sitting zazen, are we not zen?
Beyond Zen and not Zen
Warm is the sand under the sole.
A green shard cuts into the blood.
The swear is short.
No plaster present.
Dharma
The terms “Dharma” and “Budda-Dharma” will often appear on this website. I will therefore define what I mean when I refer to Dharma or Buddha Dharma. This post gives an overview of how I understand the historical development of the terms.
Dharma is an Idea of Indian…
Zazen
To understand Zen and feel comfortable in Zen, it is good to sit in zazen every single day.
To sit in zazen, choose a place you will like and where you can stay quiet for about 20 minutes. Make sure the temperature and light are comfortable. Don’t waste time looking for or decorating the place: you can sit anywhere.
Streets, Zen and Bodybuilding 1
In 1998 I wrote down some experiences of my first ten years of Zen practice. I imagined and told the story of a morning sitting during a sesshin. If you like, follow me, the narrator, into the meditation room: We enter the Zendo together, find our place and sit down on the meditation cushion…
Enlightenment
A flame, as soon as it is lit, illuminates a room that was dark before.
Now that I can see what it is, I can find my way around the room. I can move without constantly bumping into tables or benches. As soon as I have orientated myself, I can start to get to know the things that are in the room and then use them as I please.
Was I blind before, I am now seeing.
Streets, Zen and Bodybuilding 2
In 1998 I wrote down some experiences of my first ten years of Zen practice. I imagined and told the story of a morning sitting during a sesshin. So far we have entered Zendo, before six o’clock in the morning; we have settled down on our cushion and now we are waiting for the beginning of zazen…
The suffering of Siddharta
The suffering of Siddharta Such random words as these in uttering! Thou mak’st an arrow quiver in my heart. [1] Siddharta Gautama’s family and friends It is a muggy morning just before sunrise. The man had tossed and turned in his clammy sheets and could not sleep any longer. He rolls to the edge of
Tradition lineage in the West – USA
In the 50s and 60s of the last century, the seeds for Zen in the West were sown. The Soto School has portrayed the events and the protagonists in a short video.
Taizan Maezumi Roshi, one of these protagonists, is the “grandfather” of our Zen line in Germany.
Tradition lineage in the West – Europe
Since 1967, Zen has also established roots in Europe. The Soto School has portrayed the most important European temples in a short video.
Guided Meditation March 18, 2020
On March 18, 2020 – in the course of the Corona crisis – Kanzeon Sangha moved the physical meditation from the Zen Center Düsseldorf to the internet. This meditation “online” was a debut for Kanzeon Sangha. Participants asked Jikishin Sensei to also include a guided meditation. This audio file (22:42 minutes) is an edited version of Wednesday’s guided meditation.
Appreciate Your Life…
The Venerable Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi Roshi, a seminal influence on the growth of Zen Buddhism in the United States, was ordained as a Soto Zen monk at the age of eleven. He received degrees in Oriental Literature and Philosophy from Komazawa University and studied at Sojiji, one of the two main Soto monasteries in Japan.