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's Dog: One Question, A Thousand Years of Silence
Someone asked Zhaozhou: Does a dog have Buddha-nature? Zhaozhou said: Mu. Just one word that countless people have failed to penetrate for a thousand years. Maybe it's not an answer but a wall — making you crash into it and find all your prepared responses useless.
5/15/20268 min
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
Zen Stories
Have Some Tea: The Three-Word Wisdom of Zhaozhou
No matter who you are, no matter what you ask, Zen master Zhaozhou's answer is always the same: "Have some tea." Three simple words that contain the essence of Zen.
4/8/202615 min