2026 Buddhist Film Festival (6/16-30)

A 15-day film festival co-presented by Tricycle Magazine and the Pure Land Foundation runs from June 16–30, 2026. All are invited to join for Tricycle’s third annual Buddhist Film Festival, offering five feature-length films and five short films from across the Buddhist world that can be watched all festival long. Tricycle is pleased to co-present this year’s festival with the Pure Land Foundation. Tickets are $40 for general admission and $30 for subscribers. — Get tickets below. Please note that the festival is only available in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. TICKETS

(Asangoham) What are the ancient teachings of Pure Land Buddhism?

• Tricycle's Buddhist Film Festival
• Tricycle.org; Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Jen Bradshaw (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Voice of Zen Buddhism Alan Watts wrong?

(Buddha's Wisdom) Was Alan Watts wrong about Buddhism? The truth behind the "Voice of Zen"

• When Buddhism met Taoism: The hidden birth of Zen

Alan Watts: Zen means jhana (absorption, dhyana) - Zen (Tao) of effortlessness, soft power

Becoming interested in Zen: Alan Watts - Alan Watts: wu wei, with the Way (Taoist)

How can I effortlessly go with the flow?

Wu wei (無為, 无为, wúwéi) is a concept from ancient pre-Buddhist Chinese philosophy that literally means "not-acting" or "non-doing," variously interpreted and translated as "noninterference," "action-lessness," "inaction," or "effortless action" [1, 2].

In Taoism, it denotes the nature of Tao, meaning that while Tao (the Way, Path, or flow of nature, acting in accordance with the natural course of things), is the source of all existence and the manifestation of all phenomena, its intrinsic formless essence is that it acts or moves in a silent, invisible, ineffable, often-unnoticed manner that may even seem motionless and effortless [3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

It's all a matter of seeing the Suchness!

Accordingly, Taoists (and subsequently Zen Buddhist practitioners) aspire to live their lives in alignment with such a harmonious state of free flowing and unforced activity. In a political context, it also refers to an ideal form or principle of spontaneous and non-aggressive form of governing [8]. More

Zen Reconsidered: It's all "Suchness"

(Alan Watts) Zen Reconsidered: Suchness (full lecture by Alan Watts on Buddhism)

• 50 years without Alan Watts: A timeless echo in today’s culture (The Brussels Times, 2023)

What is "suchness"?

What is Suchness? All is Suchness.

Tathātā (Sanskrit तथाता, Pali tathatā) is a Buddhist term variously translated as "Suchness," "Thusness," "True Thusness," or "True Suchness," referring to the Ultimate Reality, the intrinsic and essential nature of all existence, free of dualistic thinking, conceptualization, subject–object distinctions [1].

It is formless, uncreated, eternal, perfect, unchanging, indestructible, and is the true nature of all phenomena. It represents the genuine reality of existence, which transcends physical forms, physical senses, and intellectual comprehension, indicating a profound insight into the nature of things as they truly are [2, 3, 4].

Tathātā has a large number of synonyms found in different Buddhist schools, traditions, and scriptures, such as:

• Emptiness (śūnyatā 空),
• Reality Realm (bhūta-koṭi 實際、實相),
• True Suchness (bhūta-tathatā 真如),
• Dharma Nature (Dharmatā 法爾、法然、法性),
• Dharma Realm (Dharma-dhātu 法界),
• Dharma Body (Dharma-kāya 法身),
• Nirvana (Nirvāṇa 涅槃),
• Vajra (金剛),
• Actionlessness (無爲),
• Dharma Intrinsic Nature (Dharma-svabhāva 法自性、法自然),
• Buddha-nature (Buddhatā, Buddha-svabhāva 佛性),
• Tathagata-Treasure (Tathāgata-garbha 如來藏),
• The True Reality of all phenomena (sarva-dharma-tathatā 諸法實相), and so on [3, 5, 6].

Although it is a significant concept in Mahayana Buddhism, it is also used in the Theravada tradition [7, 8]. More

The Life of Zen with Alan Watts - “Do what you like doing [rather than for money]”

Alan Watts on Buddhism and the word "Buddha" - Alan Watts, Who is the Buddha?

What to do? Go with the flow

Queens of the Stone Age "Go With the Flow" (live on Leno in 2003)

• Queens of the Stone Age – "Go with the Flow" lyrics

Why Zen monks never "fight" bad habits

Why Japanese monks never fight bad habits

You seem so happy. Do you have any problems?

(KODEN OBSCURE) May 26, 2026: Zen Wisdom: Been struggling to break a bad habit for years and feel like it's losing battle using willpower?

Many of us are fighting a war we were never meant to wage. In this video, we explore a profound piece of wisdom from the Japanese monastic tradition: Zen monks never fight their habits.

Instead of using force, they use intelligent design. Discover the five unusual and quiet methods used in Zen monasteries to redirect energy, change environments, design time, and observe urges without judgment.

Learn why treating our mind with patience rather than going to war with it is the ultimate secret to lasting freedom. What this video covers: 

• Why willpower almost always fails in the long run
• The "replacement gesture" and how to redirect energy
• How breaking the spatial anchor of a room can instantly stop an urge
• The danger of "empty time" and how monks structure their day
• Why harsh self-judgment actually feeds our bad habits.

CHAPTERS

• 0:00 The monk who couldn't break a habit
• 1:29 The secret monastic view of habits
• 3:01 Method 1: The replacement gesture
• 4:10 Method 2: Breaking the spatial anchor
• 5:29 Method 3: Eliminating undesigned time
• 6:50 Method 4: The practice of conscious permission
• 8:15 Method 5: Escaping the loop of self-judgment
• 9:37 - Why fighting keeps the habit alive
• 10:29 - Wrestling the shadow (a Zen metaphor)
• 11:37 - How to finally become free.

Make sure to subscribe for more insights on Eastern philosophy, mindfulness, and personal mastery. #zenwisdom #breakbadhabits #japanesephilosophy #mindfulness #selfimprovement how to break bad habits, Japanese philosophy, Zen monk teachings, habit replacement, stop using willpower, Zen monastery secrets, overcome bad habits, personal growth, self improvement, mindfulness practices, replace bad habits, Zen habits, Eastern philosophy, mental health, how to stop overthinking, discipline, atomic habits, dopamine detox, Buddhist philosophy, master the mind

Buddhism the Japanese way: Shinto kami

(Slice)

Hidden Birth of Zen (as Taoism)

Bodhidharma: Nothing you do... - Are you crazy, then why do anything? - Be. Go with the Tao

What are you doing, Zen Master? - I'm going with the Tao. - You're not doing anything. - Yes.

(Buddha's Wisdom) When Buddhism met Taoism: The Hidden Birth of "Zen"

• So much of what people call "Zen" (capitalized as opposed to zen or jhana/dhyana) sounds more like Taoism (with a stiff dose of Confucianism) than Buddhism, and here's why. It was all picked up in translation. So what was lost? Those may be beautiful spiritual/temporal traditions with which to blend, but what is obscured is the historical Buddha's message until it is almost completely lost and replaced by Hinduism (with its Tantra, yoga, and magic that gave rise to another branch Vajrayana/Shingon attached) to a new religion that came to be called Mahayana, far from the Buddha's Dhamma.

Everything Zen

We silly Westerners have no idea! We think we know

"Zen" is a silly word, carrying so much meaning in American English. Goodness knows what it means in Japan or China nowadays, a dying religious sect taking sides in the jiriki versus tariki battle?

We aim to find out on Thursdays in Los Angeles at the Pasadena Zen Sangha. There is a path. What is it? If one were to ask the average American Zen practitioner, then everything likely to be heard in response would be some derivation of Taoism, not Buddhism or any relation to relation to the Doctrine of the historical Buddha.

Shikantaza: just do it because it's just sitting.

Lao Tzu (Laozi) was not a Buddhist. He was possibly a celestial (deva), descended to Earth to philosophize and guide the Chinese.

For all that, on "Buddhist Radio" (Alan Watts - KPFK 90.7 FM, 8:00 am, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026) Alan Watts explained Zen in 18-minutes.

His brief talk lays bare the root of every misconception. Moreover, Buddha's Wisdom (in the video displayed above) does much to add context and clarify. Zen can be grasped.

 

KPFK Public Radio - Online Archives Archive

Watts says the problem with understanding Zen is that unless one were raised Japanese -- very punctilious, rigid, formal, ritualistic, deadly afraid of a faux pas, losing face, or doing things incorrectly -- one will not be able to appreciate what Zen (Taoism) offers as relief.

Zen promotes spontaneity, naturalness, flow, being at ease, comfort, and relaxing into a kind of "just being" present and mindful (of the moment) without so much thinking (premeditation).

• FREE THURSDAYS: Zen Meditation Community, LA

• Buddha's Wisdom, Feb. 2026; cartoonist Brad Warner, Angel City Zen, 4/15/24; Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Hel (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

How to Train the Mind the Samurai Way

Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵, circa 1583–1645) was a Japanese Samurai swordsman, strategist, artist (who drew Hotei Watching a Cockfight shown above), and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in 62 duels [3][a].

Musashi is considered a kensei ("sword saint") of Japan [4]. He was the founder of the Niten Ichi-ryū (Nito Ichi-ryū) style of swordsmanship, and in his final years authored The Book of Five Rings (五輪の書, Go Rin No Sho) and Dokkōdō (獨行道, The Path of Aloneness). More

• Buddhism — A Method of Mind Training (Bodhi Leaves 24)
• Mind Training in Buddhism and Other Essays (Buddhist Publication Society, BL 101)

How to train the mind to obey | MM Method

(Presence & Blade) Samurai swordsman Miyamoto Musashi trained the mind to follow commands instead of emotions.

• Miyamoto Mushashi: Samurai legend
• Mastery of the heart-mind: 21 Rules for Life from a Legendary Master Samurai | HighExistence
• Psychology | Musashi, as both a warrior and philosopher, understood that mastery of the self is greater than mastery of the sword | Facebook
• No-mind (Wikipedia)
• Resistance is Futile

Scholar holds magnifying glass

This method comes from Japanese philosophy about life and works by reshaping the power of the subconscious mind, where resistance, excuses, and hesitation are born. Learn:

• How to stop negotiating with the mind
• Why most people fail at self-control despite motivation
• The real strength and weakness of discipline in mental training
• Simple Japanese meditation techniques that build inner authority
• How this approach reflects the eight Japanese habits that can change life
• A practical way to understand how to maintain discipline in life consistently.

This is not about forcing the mind. It is about training it so that obedience becomes natural.

• 

  Miyamoto Musashi 宮本無三四

  Taming the Mind: Discourses of the Buddha (Wheel 51, BPS)

• 00:00 – The hidden reason the mind refuses to obey
• 00:45 – When we realize our mind is in charge (David’s awakening)
• 04:10 – Musashi’s core revelation: We are not our mind
• 07:40 – Forging obedience the Samurai way (training through resistance)
• 12:10 – Why big commands fail and small commands win
• 15:30 – Cutting off escape routes before the mind rebels
• 19:10 – Training immediate action (no delay, no debate)
• 22:30 – Ending the civil war inside our head
• 26:00 – What a fully obedient mind looks like in real life
• 28:40 – Retraining disobedience into absolute control
• 31:18 – The path forward: Command or be ruled.

When Buddhists Attack (Mann)

Some scholars like D.T. Suzuki see the term wu-nien (無念, "without thought," "without recollection," with nien possibly rendered as smṛti, "mindfulness," "memory") as being synonymous to wu-xin [2, 12].

Furthermore, while wunien is common in the texts of the Southern School of Zen, the texts of the Northern School prefer the term "freedom from thought" or "freedom from conceptualization" (離念) [13].

#MiyamotoMusashi #SelfDiscipline #JapanesePhilosophy #PowerOfSubconsciousMind #PresenceAndBlade

 

💬 COMMENT: Where does your mind disobey you the most right now?

 

Just do it (without paralysis by analysis)

No-mind (Mushin calligraphy/cathexis-life)

NO-MIND: The term 無心 contains the Chinese character for negation, "not" or "without" (無), along with the character for heart-mind (心).

Likewise, in Sanskrit, the term is a compound of the prefix a- (negation) and the word citta (mind, thought, consciousness, heart).

In China, the term came to mean a state in which there is no mental activity, or a mind free of all discrimination and conceptualization, making it similar to the Buddhist Sanskrit term nisprapañca [9] and the Sanskrit term nirvikalpa [10].

The Zen zero is the enso.

Another similar Sanskrit term is amanasikāra ("non-thinking," "mental non-engagement"), which is found in the works of the 11th century tantric Yogi Maitripa [11].

Some scholars also offer other Sanskrit terms as being the source of the Chinese term wunien, including: a-cintya, a-vikalpa, or a-saṃjñā [2]. More

• Presence & Blade, Jan. 9, 2026; CC Liu, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Sex, loneliness epidemic, Buddhist Japan

Lost in Translation (with Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray

Alan Watts: self-will. Jiriki vs. Tariki

55 Zen quotes to calm the mind

It might be good if Ananda's student, the struggling American meditator "Doggone," not to be confused with Ven. Dōgen, could learn from former soldier in the U.S. military Ven. Scott, who has found peace through Zen practice, which includes a lot of Taoist philosophy (and probably a sizeable amount of Confucianism and Shinto, too).

It's hard if not impossible to get a "pure Buddhism" as the Dharma is always steeped in a culture colored by shamanic and other preexisting spiritual traditions and philosophies.

Look, Everybody, I'm being mindful and Zen.

The West is a good example. We color the heck out of Buddhism to make it understandable, not realizing how much we're distorting what the Buddha taught. Early Buddhism was colored by Saka/Scythian (Central Asian) and Vedic proto-Indian (Brahminical, Magadhi, subcontinental views) customs and cultural baggage.

• What happened to Doggone? Zen koans (TED)
• Who is Amida Buddha or Amitābha?
• MANTRA: Namu Amida Butsu ("Homage to Amitābha Buddha")
• Pure Land Buddhism (tariki vs. jiriki)

Not all forms of "Buddhism" are alike.

Instead of muscling through everything, efforting and straining, there's a better way that bends with the wind, goes with the flow, and thereby follows "The Way," the Tao.

Western translator and spiritual entertainer Alan Watts speaks of a great divide in outlook in Japan that developed in Buddhism: self-power (jiriki) versus other power (tariki).

Can we do the impossible and pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps? Or must we rely on some higher power, an outside source, to pull us out of the mire?

In practice, the latter may make more sense or seem much easier. The former may work, but it will take subtlety and great mindfulness (sati-patthana) so that ego is not just leading ego around, self-willed as it has so long been, thinking it's getting anywhere worth going.

Let's shut up and stop talking to ourselves to see

Is Pure Land Buddhism even still Buddhism?

Will faith in something outside ourselves us save us? Yes, there are the Three Treasures, the Three Jewels to whom we can go for enlightened guidance: the historical Buddha, the early Dharma, and the noble Sangha.

• It is important to qualify these words as nowadays there are lots of buddhas or alleged "supremely enlightened teachers, and many latter-day interpretations of the Dharma (the Buddha's Teaching or Doctrine), and it is not the monastic Sangha ("spiritual community") that serves as this ultimate guide but rather the "noble" (Aryan/Ariya) or enlightened community, which refers to these eight people, who may or may not be Buddhist monastics.
• It is NOT "going for refuge" but for "guidance"
• Sarana means "going for guidance" not "refuge"

Can we just worship Goddess Guanyin instead?

Or must we take responsibility for our behavior and cultivate our own direct wisdom? (Of course we must do this, but the former may help in doing it).

Two Buddhisms have developed in Japan over this vital question of tariki versus jiriki. Shall we follow the example of the historical Buddha or the later (possibly make believe) "Cosmic Buddhas," who seem more like old time Vedic/Hindu gods (brahmas and devas) than the buddhas the Buddha talked about as having taught in the distant past.

There is Amitabha, Ksitigarbha, Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin, Kwan Yin, Kwannon), Budai, or whoever. It is the Kali Yuga (the "Decadent Age") after all, as Hinduism's holy books, the Vedas, tell Mahayana Buddhists. In these dark times, blind faith will seem far more attractive to faith-types full of attachments than the letting go asked of us by wisdom, confidence (saddha, reasoned and verifiable faith, conviction), and a persevering-practice.

Sit a little every day; that is far more powerful thana marathon effort every so often. Practice is key. Even trying to sit once will make this tariki vs. jiriki debate suddenly make sense. In the meantime, listen to Alan Watts. He, though irascible with an irreducible rascality, knows a thing or two.

• Alan Watts via Art of Zentrification | Discovering the Depths of Shinshu Buddhism; Dhr. Seven, Pfc. Sandoval, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Where is the Western Pure Land?

Self-power versus other-power

Amitabha: Infinite Light (Alamy)

"Amida Manifesting in the Dharma-body of Expedient Means," Japanese painting, at The Met.

"Self-power" (Chinese zìlì 自力, Japanese jiriki) and "other-power" (Chinese tālì 他力, Japanese tariki) are key terms used to explain and define Pure Land practice in East Asian Buddhism [179].

• Main article: Other-power

It was Shandao who first argued that Amitabha's power helped take people to the Pure Land after death (previous authors having held that Amitabha created the Pure Land and it was up to an individual's own effort to make it there).

This other-power relationship was compared to how a lowly man who is accompanied by a king can enter previously inaccessible places [180].

Did Christianity just steal this idea of tariki in whole, or is it a natural devolution of religion?

.

Whose power, my own or a magic Cosmic Buddha?

Chinese Pure Land Buddhism never denied the importance of self-power. Instead, according to Jones, Chinese Pure Land generally holds that "Rebirth in the Pure Land results when the two powers work together, an idea that the modern Taiwan Pure Land master Zhiyu (Zhìyù 智諭, 1924–2000) captured with the phrase "the two powers of self and other" (zì-tā èr lì 自他二力)" [179].

Thus, in Chinese Pure Land, rebirth in the Pure Land arises from a cooperation of the practitioner and the Buddha [179].

方便法身尊影: Amida's Dharma-
body of Expedient Means (The Met)

Yúnqī Zhūhóng argues that the practitioner's efforts connect with the Buddha's power through "sympathetic resonance" (gǎnyìng 感應) which links them with the Buddha, attuning their mind with that of the Buddha, much like one plucked string in a lute can make another string nearby resonate in sympathy [181, 178].

According to this view, the more that one practiced nianfo, the stronger and more enduring this bond with Amitabha became [182].

However, Chinese Pure Land masters also argued that one certainly cannot rely on self-power alone, which they denigrated as a futile effort [183]. More