Li Bai (Chinese 李白, Pinyin Lǐ Bái) (circa 701-762), who is also known by his courtesy name of Taibai (太白), was a Chinese poet acclaimed as one of the best and most important poets of the Tang dynasty, even the whole of Chinese poetry.
He and his friends such as Du Fu (712–770) were among the prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry of the Tang dynasty, often called the "Golden Age of Chinese Poetry." The expression "Three Wonders" denotes
Li Bai's poetry,
Pei Min's swordplay, and
Zhang Xu's calligraphy [1].
Around 1,000 poems attributed to Li are extant. His poems have been collected into the most important Tang dynasty collection, Heyue yingling ji [2], compiled in 753 by Yin Fan.
Thirty-four of Li Bai's poems are included in the anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems, which was first published in the 18th century [3].
Around the same time, translations of his poems began to appear in Europe. In Ezra Pound's famous work Cathay (1915), Li Bai's poems enjoy the lion's share (11 out of 19) [4]. Li Bai's poems became models for celebrating the pleasures of... More
Skritter; Learn Chinese Now; CC Liu, Crystal Quintero, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit
(George Thompson) I lived as monk for year. Here's what happened. Wuhan pandemic lockdown
Tai chi (moving meditation) and sitting meditation in Taoism, the Way [of harmony with nature], on a holy mountain in China with Master Gu, I had to do it. Then I had to go back for the yin and the yang. For an atheist, what is the Tao?
(Project Happiness) In the mystical heart of China, in the legendary Shaolin Buddhist Monastery, the Shaolin kung fu warrior monks train. Shaolin kung fu is a martial art that has become a profound philosophy of life over the centuries, intertwining physical strength, spiritual wisdom, and mental acuity. Under the guidance of the great Shifu [Master] Shi Miao and his top student @Sachka.w, we explores how Shaolin kung fu transforms every aspect of existence, emphasizing strength, inner peace, and wisdom. Observe the daily rituals, challenges, and sacrifices that define the path of a Shaolin warrior. Enjoy watching. 🐉
(China Insider with David Zhang) July 28, 2025: Capitalism is good, just like America taught us. If it's good enough for Protestant Christian televangelists and One product from China Insider with David Zhang tagged products below in the commodification of sea creatures. Learn more
(pre-sale, shipping at the end of September) and get a bonus pack of Taiwan Yushan High-Mountain Oolong Tea (150g).
Whatcha doin, SpongeBob? - Just sitting. - You mean shikantaza? - Uh, what? I mean, yeah, that.
Why Zen is the EASIEST path to enlightenment (but few understand it)
Can we speed this up? I've got things to do.
(Cinematic Bible Lore) May 16, 2025: 🌿 Is Enlightenment (redefined in Zen as satoriorkensho rather than bodhi) really about effort, rituals, or sutra study, or could the simplest path be the most powerful?
This video dives deeply into the essence of Zen Buddhism — a tradition that goes beyond concepts and leads to direct experience of awakening through simplicity.
Discover the story of Bodhidharma, the teachings of Dōgen Zenji, and why zazen (seated meditation) is not just a technique — but a way of mindfully living in the here and now.
Whether new to Zen or deep in practice, this guide reveals why Zen is the easiest — and most overlooked — path to enlightenment.
🧘 LEARN:
Why Zen rejects dogma, rituals, and intellectual striving
The power of zazen: how “just sitting” (shikantaza) becomes awakening
How Dōgen’s teachings dissolve the illusion of time and ego
Why the present moment holds everything we seek
How to bring Zen into daily acts like washing, walking, or breathing
💬 Question:
Ever felt fully present — free from discursive thought, self, and striving? Share the experience in the comments.
📺 Explore more: 🎥 The Deepest Teaching of Buddha 🎥 The Secret Behind Zazen Meditation 🎥 Buddhism vs. Zen – What's the real difference?
👉 Like, share, and subscribe to join in weekly journeys through the world’s deepest spiritual traditions. 📌 Hashtags #ZenBuddhism #ZazenMeditation #DogenZenji #SimplePathToEnlightenment #PresentMomentPractice #ZenExplained #Mindfulness
Cinematic Bible Lore; May 16, 2025; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Roshi Philip Kapleau | Zen Bow | Winter 2018, Vol. XL, No. 4, rzc.org
Shōkei (Andreas Praefcke/Wiki)
Here is a vintage koan ("public case") commentary by the Rochester Zen Center’s founder, the late American Roshi Philip Kapleau.
Mumonkan, Number 14. [Itpresages countless college discussions about Schrodinger's cat below.]
The Case
Once the monks of the Western and Eastern Halls were arguing about a cat. Nansen, holding up the cat, said: “You monks! If you can say a word of Zen, I will spare the cat. Otherwise, I will kill it!”
No one could answer, so Nansen cut the cat in two. That evening, when Joshu returned, Nansen told him of the incident. Joshu thereupon took off his sandal, put it on his head, and walked off.
Nansen said, “If you had been there, the cat would have been saved!”
The Commentary
Just say, what is the real meaning of Joshu’s putting his sandal on his head? If you can give a turning word on this point, you will see that Nansen’s action was not in vain. But if not, beware!
The Verse
Had Joshu only been there,
he would have taken charge.
He would have snatched away the sword,
and Nansen would have begged for his life.
Roshi Kapleau: The two protagonists of this koan, Nansen (748-835) and Joshu, are two of the great masters in Zen. Nansen (Chinese Nanchuan) was the teacher of Joshu (Chinese Zhaozhou). Nansen in turn was a disciple of the great Baso (Chinese Mazu). More: rzc.org
In this thought experiment, a hypothetical cat (and not the precious companion of Wisdom Quarterly's companion fish, Captain Shiny Sides, no relation to Hecklefish Moriarty of The Why Files) in a closed box may be considered to be simultaneously both alive and dead until it is observed, as a result of its fate being linked to a random subatomic event that may or may not occur. The thought experiment, viewed this way, is described as a paradox.
It is not alive but not quite dead?
It was devised by physicist Dr. Erwin Schrödinger in 1935 [1] in a discussion with Albert Einstein [2] to illustrate what Schrödinger saw as the problems (inconsistencies and contradictions) of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.
In Schrödinger's original formulation, a cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive source are placed in a sealed box.
If an internal radiation monitor, such as a Geiger counter, detects radioactivity (a single atom decaying), the flask is shattered, releasing the poison, which kills the cat.
But if no decaying atom triggers the monitor, the cat remains alive.
The Copenhagen interpretation implies that the cat is therefore simultaneously both alive and dead.
Yet, when one finally looks in the box, one sees that the cat is either alive or dead, not both alive and dead.
This poses the question of when exactly quantum superposition ends and reality resolves into one possibility or the other. More
Most people don't get Schrodinger's Cat (including you?)
Looking Glass Universe, Nov. 7, 2024; Roshi Kapleau, Rochester Zen Center (rzc.org); Brian Cox via Explainify; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Did the great South Indian Buddhist sage Bodhidharma teach Shaolin kung fu to China?
.
Shaolin Monastery training is very severe.
(ReligionForBreakfast)
April 24, 2025: [What is "Zen"? It is a Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chan (channa), which itself is the Chinese approximation of the Pali word jhana, which derives from the Sanskrit dhyana.
It refers to "meditative absorption," a profound meditative state of still or samadhi, which used to be misleadingly translated into English as "trance" but would have been better rendered "stillness" or "integrated coherence of mind," an all-one (unified, yogic) state of mind necessary for temporary mental purification that puts one in a position of being ready for sudden understanding, kensho orsatori, or "insight" (Pali vipassana).
All the Taoist, Brahminical, Shinto, Pure Land, Mahayana, Chinese and Japanese cultural baggage got blended into what we now refer to as "Zen Buddhism." Alan Watts does an excellent job of unpacking Zen at a detailed level. Here RFB does an admirable job of describing more generally the history and frame of what came to be modern Zen.
"If you meet the Buddha (a cult of personality or ultimate authority figure) on the road, [unalive] him" then means that the Truth we seek cannot be found outside ourselves, so the death of the ego is what is needed, the realization that there is, ultimately speaking, no self.]
00:00 Intro
1:42 The Legendary Origins
2:26 Bodhidharma and Buddha Nature
5:58 A special transmission outside of scriptures (sutra texts)
Use code RFBINCOGNI at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: incogni.com/rfbincogni. Join Patreon community: religionforbreakfast. Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images and Reuters.
Religion for Breakfast, April 24, 2025; Alan Watts (alanwatts.org) via T&H Inspiration and Motivation; TEXT: Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
An amazing Buddhist spectacle unfolded at the World Peace Gathering in a fancy hotel across from Disneyland in downtown Anaheim on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025. From 4:00 to 9:00 pm floors of the Anaheim Convention Center were transformed into a kind of Mahayana Buddhist Pure Land, with 300 monastics from all traditions and countries in the Southland and 1,700 or so lay participants.
We filed into a color filled hall in the diagonal, our bodies forming a mandala (sacred geometrical pattern in the Mahayana/Vedic Hindu sense) for a kind of Catholic-style repentance ceremony, inviting peace and countless light beings (devas, brahmas, bodhisattvas, mahasattvas, and buddhas).
No photography or video footage was allowed by participants, though there were official cameras on the perimeter and some people couldn't help but pull out their cellphones for a quick snap or two. However, here is old footage of this event from 2013 and 2018 before it evolved into the spectacle we experienced for Earth Day 2025.
World Peace Gathering 2013: Mandala Ceremony (2 of 4)
(CompaSS) Jan. 6, 2014: This Mandala Ceremony was held on Dec. 22nd, 2013, at the Long Beach Convention Center during Compassionate Service Society's 5th Annual World Peace Gathering. Approximately 1,500 people attended this mandala.
What happened in 2025?
Wisdom Quarterly 2025
It started off as a normal convention of Buddhists at a convention center in OC. But it became profound with Vedic/Brahminical magic -- mantras and mudras, intentions and emotions. It made an impression.
First, everything was color coded. There are Sanskrit letter, bija mantras or "seed sounds" we were uttering once in formation. When 1,700 get in a room with 300 monastics, whatever happens is bound to be special.
There is the Soka Gakkai Buddhist cult, and they have that chant for material manifestation that may encourage greed in the name of "spirituality." One could understand how nice it might be to chant a repetitive set of meaningful sounds one doesn't know the meaning of. Somethings are only meant to be vibrational utterances, not sensible concepts. But there were translations, too. It was not mindless.
One would have wished to be videotaping the goings on so the outside world could see it. Once, at the Lu Mountain Chan Monastery in Rosemead, San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County, California, there was the ordinary sermon by Chan Master, as he had us call him. Then a short meditation. Then a great vegan meal of homemade Vietnamese delicacies by elderly expert cooks in the temple kitchen. Then socializing and talking, people hanging around and eventually dispersing.
Wanting to get some real meditation in, something silent and unguided, free of visualizations and interruptions, I went into the empty meditation hall and took a seat. To my surprise, people came back in dressed in robes, the same people from the morning sit. But there was no special occasion announced.
They began to chant and do hand movements (mudras) with a secret book they had, turning the pages. It went on and on. I remained still and silent, going unnoticed. That was their mistake, which they tried to play off when I began to ask questions afterward. I had seen the secret ceremony, the ritual Hindu-influenced Mahayana practices that really aided their Chan ("Zen") and samadhi, surrounded by countless alleged sariras (sacred relic beads and crematory remains). This was like that, and it may go on in every Vietnamese Zen temple in the county. The OC is full of them, particularly in the small city of Westminster.
I picked up a color diagram explaining the five elemental colors (white at the perimeter, yellow, blue, red, green, and white at the center). There is a siddham or character that looks like a four (4) in Japanese/Chinese script interpreting Sanskrit. A Vietnamese speaker is needed to decipher the explanation: Quan he giua pham tru ca the va tap the khi tu tap phap Lien Hoa Thu Nhan va Mandala Lien Hoa, which may not make sense without the diacritical marks.
The magic spells (mantras)
A color booklet with pictures of lotuses titled So tay Lien Hoa Bo Tat ("Lotus Bodhisattva Handbook"), Ban Cap Nhat 2025, on the cover also came to hand.
Alan Watts, Something's Happening, KPFK.org, March 9, 2025
Zen as Taoism and Mahayana-Hinduism
I'd rather talk about Taoism than Dhamma
The Tao is not Buddhism, but it has been made into Buddhism (at least the version of Buddhism called Zen) by incorporating Taoist philosophy into the Buddhism of Japan, China, Korea, and Vietnam. It is far from the only form of Buddhism, in some ways straying so far from the historical Buddha's Teaching or Dharma that one could call it into question as a syncretism or apocryphal Mahayana doctrine. Who has time for the sutras the Buddha spoke when we can look at koans ("public cases") and puzzle over them to get out of our intellectual minds? They're funnier, more surprising, paradoxical riddles and entertaining stories. We might never learn what the Buddha taught, but hey, come on, life is short, and we have all the time in the world to waste. Plus, Zen looks cool, and that's half the battle right there. We might even get a cool Japanese name. Right, Doggone?
Can I get the name Kwan Chan Kane?
The Japanese term kōan is the Sino-Japanese reading of the Chinese word gong'an (Chinese 公案, pinyin gōng'àn, Wade–Giles kung-an, lit. "public case"). The Zen term is a compound word, consisting of the characters 公 ("public; official; governmental; common; collective; fair; equitable") and 案 ("table; desk, altar; [law] case; record; file; plan; mandate, proposal.") More
It's funny in that, if it leads to a sudden realization (kensho, epiphany, satori), the way a joke is funny because we are led down one road in the setup and down another in the punchline, it's like someone hitting a gong, at least in the sitcom world of our imagination and American TV shows depicting Asian or "Oriental" way of speaking, full of deep wisdom and a sudden change of perspective. For example, Douglas Adams was famous for his ability to turn a phrase, one time depicting the ET character Ford Prefect (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) complaining to the human Arthur Dent:
FORD: "It feels unpleasantly like being drunk."
ARTHUR: "Well, what's so unpleasant about being drunk?"
FORD: "You ask a glass of water."
We thought "drunk" referred to being intoxicated then suddenly find out Ford meant the past tense of drink. This kind of turning led to a whole class of Orientalisms (intended in the pejorative sense of Westerners stereotyping an Asian manner of speaking), leading to a famous class of jokes like:
"Man who fart in church sit in his own pew" where pew is pronounced phew!
This is significant because the Tao is translated as "the Way," but the Buddha taught that "Way" or "Path" was magga, the Noble (Ennobling, Enlightening) Eightfold Path, not following the Tao or "path of least resistance," going with the flow, just doing whatever.
Soto Zen monk in meditation pose
Alan Watts knows that, but do his listeners realize he is most of the time talking about Taoism and Vedic Hinduism rather than what the Buddha taught, for that is what Mahayana concerns itself (the former, not so much the latter). Ask a Mahayana Buddhist what the historical Buddha taught, and they won't know much of anything beyond lists, which they imagine are very rudimentary and obvious, whereas they extol their apocryphal texts as being "the real thing" Siddhartha Gautama meant but never said. The most famous Buddhist sutras are not the Buddha's teaching but derivative works of clever invention: the Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Platform Sutra, Flower Adornment Sūtra, all kinds of nice-sounding Sanskrit texts, leaving to the wayside what the Buddha taught as key to enlightenment and progress in wisdom and compassion. Alan Watts hardly ever mentions Theravada (Pali canon) or Sarvastivada Buddhism, preferring instead the Eastern philosophy of India, China, and Japan. As long as listeners know that, he is a great "philosophical entertainer." If they do not realize that, he must be very confusing.
ABC News (Australia) Jan. 28, 2025: For the next two weeks, we say goodbye to the Year of the Dragon and welcome the Year of the Snake. What does the Year of the Snake mean astrologically in accordance with the ancient Chinese zodiac? What is the significance of the "snake" (smart little dragon) in Chinese culture and history, and how do people in Asian countries celebrate this giant festival? #ABCNewsAustralia
Lunar New Year fireworks LIVE: Vietnam welcomes the Year of the Snake
We are all in this together. Happy 2025!
(Associated Press) Streamed live on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025: Watch fireworks celebrations live in various parts of Vietnam. Asian communities across America and the world will begin ringing in the Lunar New Year on Jan. 29th, with 2025 designated as the "Year of the Snake" in the Chinese zodiac. The magical Year of the [fire breathing] Dragon comes to an end, and we take up with another clever reptile. #lunarnewyear #live #vietnam
(Island News) Lunar New Year 2025 in Oahu in Hawaii's big Chinatown
Year of the Dragon ends in smoke
2025 is the Year of the Golden Snake
We spent New Year's Eve on the fringes of burnt-out Pasadena at Doctor O's house, chanting and meditating in the Tibetan (Vajrayana) and Indian (aarti) traditions, banging gongs, ringing bells, singing kirtan to the harmonium then snacking on exotic Chinese snacks and gluten free French baguettes as good as the original wheat product. Fruit and friendship before the changing of the zodiac and the year to come is a wise way to spend the day, getting zapped by a Lifestream Generator, talking with our guest, the Japanese abbot of a Nichirin temple in Boyle Heights with Old O'Connor on the bongos. What one does, my former Chinese-Vietnamese girlfriend warned me, on New Years, one will be doing the rest of the year. So it's a good day to visit the temple. Hsi Lai ("Going West" monastery) in Hacienda Heights, the largest Chinese monastic complex in the Western hemisphere, is always a good destination to see the nuns and a few monks wandering about. Chinese Americans come to celebrate the Sinosphere and burn incense, donate, cultivate luck, and have their fortune read.
CC Liu, Crystal Quintero, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
(Einzelgänger) Jan. 11, 2025: What is Zen (the Japanese version of Chinese Chan) Buddhism? Let’s explore its core, several key concepts, and the practice. How does it differ from the traditional teaching of the historical Buddha (Siddhartha "Shakyamuni" Gautama) as embodied in the ancient Theravada Buddhist school and its practice of "tranquility" (jhana, dhyana, channa, chan, zen) and "insight" (vipassana, lit. "clear seeing") in this very life or through lives of striving?
Fun fact: most footage was shot during my recent trip to Kanazawa and Tokyo. This video: When You Seek It, You Lose It | The Zen Secret to Letting Go. #zen#alanwatts#taoism
As an American, I opt for a sudden awakening (because I ain't gots no time to be muddling through formal or intensive practice. I need to purify and clarify my inner vision and awaken ASAP!)
Where does "Zen" get all these non-Buddhist ideas? Lao Tzu's Taoism: The Art of Not Trying
(After Skool) July 9, 2024: The curious Taoist celestial sage Lao Tzu was aware of a human quirk. We get so lost in our intellectual prisons that we forget the "natural" way. We force and struggle, swimming against the stream [like the historical Buddha said his Dharma or Teaching traveled, not the way of the world but something counter to it]. We do this so much that sometimes we end up farther from our goals than when we started. So what if we stopped "trying" so hard and pursued a different way, an effortless way, of getting things done? This video explores Lao Tzu and the art of not trying or what one modern American author has capitalized on in his book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life. Because if there's one thing we Americans love, it's our misconceptions of what "Zen" is, teaches, and does. Happy Kensho or Satori.
Why does Theravada waste time with effort?
Early Buddhist Studies
Theravada ("the Teaching of the Elder Enlightened Disciples of the historical Buddha") is such a drag. Why so slow, traditional monks and nuns? Get with the new program, the Hindu-fueled fast track to enlightenment and riches and everything you ever wanted. "Zen" sounds great, but it's an amalgamation that's gone off the rails.
It may be fun. It may be Taoism and Confucianism (and Shinto) with a whole lot of Vedanta and Hinduism thrown in, as is the way with Mahayana Buddhism. If only it worked as promised. What if we stripped away all the add-ons and cultural baggage? There might be nothing left but some naked Brahmanism/Hinduism.
Most of what people think is so "Buddhist" about Zen is actually Taoist. Have fun, but probably we shouldn't confuse it with or call it "Buddhism." That suggests the Buddha Shakyamuni was talking like this when he very much was not. What was he saying? His stripped-down teachings are reduced to misleading lists. The lists are good. The misleading part is that one can just memorize a list and think one knows anything.
Lists are a shorthand. They refer to very detailed teachings, most of which are not in the written texts but handed down in the teaching lineage of Theravada meditation masters. The suttas (discourses) are great for a broad understanding, and the Commentaries (like the Abhidhamma) are great for a pedantic detailed understanding (in ultimate terms), but actual practice always has been and is likely to always in the future be handed down through the practice.
Find a teacher who actually sits and teaches the art of sitting meditation, walking meditation, mindfulness, and the contemplations. The secret formula is this: Develop the jhanas (zens, dhyanas, chans, or meditative absorptions, which can be called the "meditations") to some extent, preferably to the fourth absorption, then apply the Satipatthanas or "Fourfold Setting Up of Mindfulness Practice."
That may sound fancy, but it's easy: Systematically practice mindfulness (sati) on four things: the body, feelings, mind, and mind objects. There's no need to figure it out. It is explained in the Satipatthana Sutta and the Maha Satipatthana Sutta. That's the conceptual part. The practice part is learned from an experienced teacher. There is one great one in Burma known as Pa Auk Sayadaw. Why is he great? He is a scholar-monk-practitioner. He actually did it, succeeded, and can explain it in terms of the texts. He is both a textual expert (scholar) AND a successful practitioner of it. Of what? He is a success at the practice of the Path that leads to enlightenment here and now in this very life. His greatest contribution may be that he left a line of awakened teachers able to teach -- monks (bhikkhus) and nuns (sayalays) and successful lay practitioners. They are out there.
(It is not true that Theravada advocates anyone take many lives; it may not be possible for everyone to reach full enlightenment in this life nowadays, but it remains true that nearly everyone can attain stream entry, the first stage of enlightenment, which assures full enlightenment in no long time, or what the Buddha promised was a maximum of seven more lives. That may sound like a long time, but compared to the countless lives we've already endured in samsara or the countless rebirths to come, it is as nothing, and it is a maximum. Most can finish in one more life, if they so wish, but now there's no hurry or stress because one is assured of no more rebirths in worlds of woe below the human plane, and one is likely destined for some very sublime and wonderful lives in the deva and brahma planes).
There may be others (Thai Ajahn Chah and his Western students British Ajahn Brahm and American Ajahn Sumedho), but successful practitioner-teachers are rare. Most monastics prefer the easier route ("career") of study and teaching when it would be far better to apply those teachings to one's own life. In that way one could teach from experience and success, but this only very rarely happens.
Theravada may sound slow, but it is a back-to-basics movement about what the real Buddha, the historical human figure (rather than the Cosmic Buddhas and divine figures like Amitabha, Budai or Hotei, Guanyin or Kwan Yin, Avalokiteshvara, Ksitigarbha, and others) taught. The Buddha was not a Hindu (there was no Hinduism then) and not a Brahmin, not an advocate of the Vedas (though very familiar with them), and not an advocate of non-dualism, which many Mahayanists (acting like Hindus) equate with some kind of "enlightenment." Buddhist enlightenment is about penetrating the Four Ennobling Truths that lead one to the "noble" state of enlightenment/awakening. It is the way of direct wisdom, which is full of compassion.
Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; Einzelgänger, Jan. 11, 2025, After Skool, July 9, 2024
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