Zen Stories
Who Tied You Up
This morning, while wiping my mala beads, a phrase suddenly surfaced in my mind. "Who tied you up?" Four words. Strange to say, but they floated up fr
6/3/20266 min
Writings
What Ru Shi Writes
Whatever comes to mind. Sometimes a story I read, sometimes something that came to me while holding my mala beads.
Recent
Buddhist Notes
The Man Who Was Always Laughing: The Story of Budai Monk
Behind that chubby, big-bellied, grinning Buddha at the temple entrance, there was a real person — a monk who carried a cloth bag and spent his life smiling. This is his story.
6/2/202610 min
Zen Stories
Su Dongpo and Foyin: Eight Winds Cannot Move Me, One Fart Crosses the River
Su Dongpo thought he was enlightened and wrote a poem declaring "the eight winds cannot move me." Foyin replied with two words: "Bullshit." He immediately crossed the river to confront his friend. This ancient story feels like it's about me.
6/1/20268 min
All Writings
Zen Stories
Zhaozhou Washes the Bowl: After Breakfast, Go Wash Your Bowl — That Is the Highest Practice
A young monk asked Zhaozhou how to practice. Zhaozhou simply said, "Go wash your bowl." One bowl of porridge, one alms bowl, one simple phrase — why did it bring sudden awakening? A deep exploration of this Zen koan's three layers of meaning.
4/21/202615 min
Insights
The Surangama Sutra and Modern Life: Reclaiming Your Stolen Attention
The Surangama Sutra teaches: When the wild mind suddenly stops, that stopping is awakening. In an age of stolen attention, 2,500-year-old wisdom offers the most precise answer.
4/14/202620 min
Buddhist Notes
Huineng: The Illiterate Sixth Patriarch of Zen
Huineng could not read a single character, yet became the greatest Zen patriarch in Chinese history. From woodcutter to Zen master, his story shows that true wisdom transcends knowledge and awakening is here and now.
4/9/202611 min
Zen Stories
Wind Moves, Banner Moves, Mind Moves: Huineng's Moment of Awakening
Is the wind moving? Is the banner moving? Or is your mind moving? A question that has echoed through thirteen centuries, revealing our attachment to external appearances.
4/8/202615 min
Zen Stories
Bodhi Has No Tree: Gradual vs. Sudden Awakening Behind Two Verses
Fifth Patriarch Hongren asked disciples to write verses to determine his successor. Shenxiu wrote "constantly wipe and polish." Huineng wrote "originally there is nothing." Two verses, two paths, a controversy lasting over a thousand years.
4/8/202615 min
Insights
Master Hongyi: From Dashing Scholar to Vinaya Master
Master Hongyi transformed from a celebrated artist into a Vinaya master. He taught us: Life's turning points come not from external circumstances but from inner awakening; true letting go means releasing even the concept of letting go.
4/7/202618 min
Insights
Master Ji Qun: A Modern Interpretation of Bodhicitta
Master Ji Qun interprets the Dharma in language modern people can understand. He teaches us: Learning Buddhism is not about escaping—it is about awakening; not about gaining something, but discovering what was always there.
4/7/202618 min
Insights
Jiang Xun: The Awakening of Aesthetics
Jiang Xun speaks of Eastern aesthetics in the gentlest voice. He tells us: Beauty is not knowledge, it is feeling; it is not far away, it is in the details of life.
4/7/202617 min