Bodhidharma is also popularly regarded as the founder of Shaolin kung fu [2, 3, 4, 5], an idea popularized in the 20th century [2, 4, 5] and based on the 17th-century Yijin Jing and the Taoist association of taoyin gymnastics with Bodhidharma [2, 3, b, c].
I cut off my eyelids to stare at a wall.
Little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma exists, and subsequent accounts are layered with lofty [and often absurd] legend and unreliable details [6, d].
Bodhidharma is described as either a "Persian [IranianAryan] Central Asian" [7] or a "South Indian...the third son of a great Indian king" [8, e].
Aside from the Chinese accounts, several popular traditions also exist regarding Bodhidharma's origins [Note 1].
Throughout Buddhist art, [the idea, legend, or personification of] Bodhidharma is depicted as an ill-tempered, large-nosed, profusely bearded [often obese], wide-eyed non-Chinese man. The accounts also differ on the date of his alleged arrival. More
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵, circa 1583–June 13, 1645) [2] was a Japanese artist (who painted Hotei/Budai below watching a cockfight), swordsman, strategist, and writer who became renowned through Zen stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels [3, a].
He is considered a kensei ("sword saint") of Japan [4]. He was the founder of the Niten Ichi-ryū (or Nito Ichi-ryū) style of swordsmanship.
In his final years, Miyamoto Musashi authored The Book of Five Rings (五輪の書, Go Rin No Sho) and Dokkōdō (獨行道, The Path of Aloneness).
Both documents were bequeathed to Terao Magonojō, Miyamoto Musashi's most important student, seven days before Musashi's death.
On the one hand, The Book of Five Rings [b] focuses on the character of his Niten Ichi-ryū school in a concrete sense, his own practical martial art and its generic significance.
On the other hand, The Path of Aloneness deals with the ideas that lie behind it, as well as his life's philosophy in a few short aphoristic sentences. More
The Gateless Gate (Mandarin Chinese 無門關, Wúménguān, Japanese 無門関, Mumonkan), sometimes translated as The Gateless Barrier, is a collection of 48 Chan (Zen) koans ("public cases" popularly but mistakenly thought of as insoluble riddles).
It was compiled in the early 13th century by the Chinese Master Wumen Huikai (無門慧開, Japanese Mumon Ekai, 1183–1260) during the Song Dynasty.
The title has a double meaning and may also be understood as Wumen's Barrier because Wumen's name, which literally means "no gate," is the title's first two characters.
Then I knew intuitively, innately by instinct!
Wumen's preface indicates that the volume was published in 1228. Each koan is accompanied by a commentary and verse by Wumen.
A classic edition includes a 49th case composed by Anwan in 1246. Wuliang Zongshou also supplemented the volume with a verse of four stanzas composed in 1230 about the three barriers of Chan Master Huanglong Huinan.
Since the Southern Song Dynasty, the Chinese Buddhist canon has not included The Gateless Gate, but Wumen's disciples brought the work to Japan, where it has been reprinted many times.
It is collected in volume 48 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka [1]. Along with the Blue Cliff Record and the oral tradition of Hakuin Ekaku, The Gateless Gate is a central work much used in Rinzai Zen School practice.
Five of the koans in the work concern the sayings and doings of Zhaozhou; four concern Ummon. The common theme of the koans and Wumen's comments is the inquiry and introspection of dualistic conceptualization. (See Mahayana-Hinduism's nondualism or Advaita Vedanta).
Satori (Japanese 悟り) is a Japanese Zen Buddhist term for "awakening," "comprehension," "understanding" [1], or "insight" (an epiphany, a sudden moment of "clear-seeing" or vipassana, liberating insight). The word derives from the Japanese verb satoru [2, 3]. In the Zen Buddhist tradition, satori refers to a deep experience of kenshō[4, 5], "seeing into one's true nature" [that true nature being the Three Marks of Existence that lead to enlightenment/bodhiin Theravada Buddhist terms]. Ken means "seeing," shō means "nature" or "essence" [4]. Satori and kenshō are commonly translated as "enlightenment," a word that is also used to translate bodhi, prajñā ("wisdom"), and Buddhahood. More
To suddenly see clearly into the nature of things
Each koan epitomizes one or more of the polarities of consciousness that act like an obstacle or wall to theinsight.
The student is challenged to transcend the polarity that the koan represents and demonstrate or show that transcendence to the Zen teacher.
Structure and contents
The text was originally prepared by Wumen as a record of his teaching during a monastic training period held at Longxiang Temple (now Jiangxin Temple in Wenzhou) in the summer of 1228.
Wumen selected the 48 koans and commented on and added a verse for each koan. As was customary in China at the time, an edition might have additions of text inserted by a subsequent owner or publisher.
The best-known version of the text is from the Japanese woodblock edition made from the 1246 manuscript edition that contains the following sections. More
Why doesn't Zen Buddhism teach a path to enlightenment like the historical Buddha did? They are of the opinion that we are "already enlightened," so there's no need to speed up the process of realizing or remembering that, as in Hindu teachings of lila ("divine play," awakening to itself). It seems the Buddha would have mentioned that if he agreed with the Brahmin priests and their Vedas; yet, he took an adversarial position and presented a superior vision of what "awakening" (bodhi) and "nirvana" (moksha, "liberation," vimutti, "freedom") are. Below are the remainder of the instructions for those not content to believe they are already awakened beings who sit shikantaza just to sit because that's what sitters (zazen practitioners) do.
If Buddhism is the marriage of wisdom and compassion, then the historical Buddha's path-of-practice is calm and insight. To gain calm, let go (no effort required). To gain insight, practice vipassana ("clear seeing") by the fourfold setting up of mindfulness (sati), a practice called satipatthana.
Insight into what? Mind-and-body to see three personally verifiable marks of existence
The historical Buddha Gautama
In Early Buddhism, the Pali term dhamma vicaya (Sanskrit धर्मविचय-) has been variously translated as "keen investigation of things" (Wisdom Quarterly), the "analysis of [various] qualities" [1], "discrimination of dhammas [phenomena]" [2, Note 1], "discrimination of states" [3], "investigation of [the] doctrine [the Dharma]," [4, Note 2], and "searching [for] the [ultimate] Truth" [5].
The meaning, which may seem tricky to translate, is clear and not ambivalent in context. In the two Four Foundations of Mindfulness sutras (MN 10, DN 22). It is the systematic investigation of physical-and-mental phenomena (dhamma, "things") -- "body and mind" in terms of their ultimate constituents, which are "form particles" (rupa kalapas) and "mind moments" (cittas).
Pa Auk student, American Shaila Catherine
It would be wonderful if scholars stop disputing and practiced instead. Why? Practitioners who read and follow the two sutras can see the meaning very easily; however, in real practice, it is far better to seek out a competent teacher who has known-and-seen these things. In that way, there is no speculation, interpretation, or arguing. The path is already known and handed down, not in books, but in meditation halls.
Meditation Master at Pa Auk
The scholar-monk and master practitioner Pa Auk Sayadaw (Ven. Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa) is all about the practical: How will one ever be able to "see" a particle (kalapa)? By purifying (visuddhi) the heart/mind, one is suddenly able to make use of all its powers. But particles move far too fast and live far too briefly to ever be discerned or analyzed by the mind's eye because the mind/heart has a speed limit due to the number of impulsions (javanas) in a mind-moment.
So here's the trick. Locate the "mind door," which is a green light near the physical heart. This door is a mirror of sorts reflecting everything in consciousness. It records. And the recording can be played back in slow-motion so as to see the life of the kalapa (form particle, which has three distinct phases that can be observed directly: arising, turning, passing). It does not stand even for a single moment, but rather passes through these three submoments.
How can anything composed of form (materiality, the mahabhuta or Four Great Elements, which are actually four qualities of matter, not matter itself, which come in pairs as outlined in Pa Auk Sayadaw's book Four Elements Meditation) be real if everything "form" is made up of is particulate matter, countless particles that are constantly arising, changing, and passing away -- always hurtling towards destruction? This is not a belief; for it to be effective, one must directly and literally know-and-see it happening all the time, everywhere, but particularly in this fathom-long body many call my "self." Most people can quickly comprehend that the body is, of course, not the "self." But nearly everyone gets stuck believing that the "self" must therefore be the mind (the watcher, the doer, the knower) or consciousness (awareness through the six senses, the interplay of cittas and cetasikas or mind-moments and mental concomitants, which is an impersonalprocess, not a thing in and of itself).
The "Four Elements"? At a Pa Auk Meditation Center, in Burma, California, Georgia, or elsewhere, discern in this very body: 1. The "earth element" as hardness, softness, roughness, smoothness, and heaviness, lightness; 2. the "water element" as flowing (saliva), cohesion (stickiness); 3. the "fire element" as heat, cold (relative temperature variations, including the burning chemical "digestive fire" of the stomach or coolness of the outbreath); 4. the "air element" as pushing, supporting (dhammawheel.com).
The Buddha searched for a self that was not be found and went into very great detail to catalogue that process masquerading as a "self" (soul, atman, atta, ego, personality, true self, higher self), which is recorded in the very dense collection of sacred texts, the Abhidhamma, and Buddhaghosa's meditation manual The Path of Purification. See A Guide Through the Abhidhamma for a comprehensive introduction to the details. It will be impossible to ever believe there is, ultimately speaking, no self until one does a systematic search of mind, of which consciousness is but one component.
Wait, why would anyone in his, her, or their right mind ever want to find out that there's no self? Surely that would mean annihilation, oblivion, falling into the void, the vast emptiness, utter destruction, the loss of everything?!
One would want to because that is the entrance into the stream that leads inevitably to full awakening, enlightenment, and liberation from all suffering here and now in this very life. It is on account of not seeing this, not comprehending Dependent Origination, that we have all been lost and wandering, life after life, through this interminable and miserable (unfulfilling) samsara, seeking for pleasure now here, now there, existence after existence, state after state, world after world until there's nothing new that we have not already experienced many times over only to be disappointed and misled yet again.
This, of course, will be impossible...until the meditative absorptions (jhanas) purify and intensify the heart/mind to make that investigation, discrimination, analysis.
In the meantime, the practice of Four Elements Meditation and the application of discernment (by wise reflection or yoniso manasikara, which includes seeing things as they really are, including their repulsive aspect or patikula-manasikara that we normally work so hard to ignore) to body-mind phenomena in the application of right effort, so as to gain entry into the first absorption (jhana, the first "meditation") if "mindfulness of in-and-out breathing meditation" (which is the first practice in the setting up of the first of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness) has failed to bring one there.
ETYMOLOGY: According to Rupert Gethin, "Dhamma-vicaya means either the 'discrimination of dhammas' or the 'discernment of dhamma'; to discriminate dhammas is precisely to discern dhamma"[6].
But, again, this is the confusion of something very simple and straightforward. One does NOT study Dharma (capital D Dhamma) during mindfulness meditation. What one DOES do is analyze, discern, and discriminate the "things" (phenomena, dhammas) the sutra specifies:
2. feelings (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, whether corporeal or spiritual);
3. mind states (lustful or free of lust, angry or free of aversion, deluded or free of delusion, contracted or expansive, exalted or mundane, surpassable or unsurpassable, samādhi or not-samādhi [still and coherent or not], released or bound);
1. The first foundation is the body, and the body is usually known through parts of the body or more deeply by knowing the Four Great Elements in their tangible expressions as hard, soft, wet, dry, hot, cold, smooth or rough, heavy or light, and so on. (See Four Elements Meditation for details). More: dhamma vicaya (Wikipedia)
Yeah, I thought I made that pretty clear.
Rest assured, Bodhidharma has an excellent point to make. Striving, struggling, muscling, forcing, pushing, thirstily struggling is NOT the way. Let go of all that [waste]. Just be. Just observe the becoming that is going on all by itself. There is nothing to do or change for the heart/mind to come to the first absorption. It's just that we needed to stop caging ourselves in "trying" or "needing" it to be this way or that. It is far better to practice allowing and accepting, wakefulness and dispassionate mindfulness.
Dedicated to our UCLA MARC (Mindful Awareness Research Center)-trained teacher, bonsai enthusiast, and Angeles National Forest docent Tod (rest in peace), who not only led us in meditation in the foothills of Monrovia but also gifted me an authentic handcrafted Native American shakuhachi-style flute to meditate with, which unfortunately was consumed by the Great Spirit of the mountain during the Eaton Fire. Thank you, Tod.
Let the heart (mind) settle here: Japanese Zen music for peace and stillness | shakuhachi and koto
(Yamato Zen Relaxing) June 24, 2026: Let the heart settle here, in this Zen garden of contoured (raked) sand. 🍁 A red maple tree stands alone in the mist, where the world grows still.
This Japanese ambient track is inspired by gassho (the Japanese act, inspired by India's añjali mudrāand namaste-greeting), which is the bringing of the palms together near the heart in reverence.
It is a calm state where any fragmented noise of the day softens into something whole.
Shakuhachi (flute) and koto (harp) unfold in a still, unhurried flow, supported by a quiet and continuous atmosphere that allows thoughts to float away as the mind/heart settles and remain at ease.
Human bowls beat AI tools
(Aurabowls) Nervous system calm with raw Himalayan singing
bowls | no artificial effects, just pure resonant sounds
That black metal bowl can make all that sound?
Namaste. This 5-hour sound bath is the raw, untouched sound of Tibetan Buddhist singing bowls, no effects or music added, just pure, natural resonance recorded as is. These deep tones carry a timeless quality that helps calm the nervous system and bring the mind to a place of rest. Listen for hours or simply set a timer for 15 to 20 minutes. Use it however it feels right. The background is peaceful, like sitting under a tree while a gentle breeze moves through the leaves. Let that image hold. Sounds rise and fade like waves, no need to catch every one of them. Just follow whatever is heard and return to it whenever the mind wanders.
This track is suitable for:
🍁 deep focus and inner stillness
🧘 meditation and mindful presence
😴 quiet rest and gentle relaxation
🌿 inner balance and tranquil harmony. Use it to create a quiet space to slow the breath, soften the edges of a harried life, and rest in the stillness that already lives inside us all.
It pairs well with Zen kinhin or "walking meditation." Walk at a slow, deliberate pace, letting each step fall like a stone into still water, and feel the ground rise gently to meet the body.
Let the hands come to rest, palms together, in a moment that belongs only to the stillness.
TRACKLIST
00:00:00 1. Raked in Mist
00:02:20 2. Still Roots
00:04:51 3. Crimson and Fog
00:08:55 4. Bamboo Mist
00:12:01 5. Veranda's Edge
00:15:55 6. Red Bough
00:19:39 7. Quiet Bearing
00:23:50 8. Circled Sand
00:28:03 9. Veiled Canopy
00:30:53 10. Solitary Maple
00:35:24 11. Sword's Repose
00:39:21 12. Settled Deep
00:42:36 13. White Sand
00:46:53 14. Worn Reverence
00:51:27 15. Soft Enclosure
00:55:56 16. Fog's Return
00:59:29 17. Repeat
🎨 This video's visuals and audio are produced by real humans with artificial AI tools. If any of this resonates, consider subscribing for more original Japanese ambient and Zen-inspired compositions. 🙏 💿️ Zen music, relaxing music, meditation music, focus music, sleep music, background music, Japanese music, flute music, stress relief, Japanese ambient sounds, healing music, calming music
Wisdom Quarterly: Gramma Kinoe, should Lana Del Rey keep obsessing about love, relationships, men, lesbian summer crushes...
Grandma Kinoe: What's a summer crush?
WQ: It's like when, you know how sometimes at the all-girl schools in Japan you get carried away admiring the little uniforms they make us wear, and two students get, um, carried away?
WQ: Yes, exactly. Look, you're living the "Zen" life. What's it like? Shouldn't you move to a temple nunnery-monastery (zendo) where everyone practices proper form, slows down, and goes the Way of the Tao, with the flow and wu-wei (noninterference)?
GK: You mean seppuku (切腹, harakiri [ritual suicide])?!
GK: Oh, you mean go to the senbutsu-jō (選仏場)? I can do that in the comfort of my own home...if my darn grandkids didn't keep filming me for these silly YouTube videos. What is a you tube anyway?
Editor/translator Allison Markin Powell (shown here smiling) and author Shunmyo Masuno have 4.6 out of 5 stars (with 3,688 reviews) for this handy little guide. Relax and find happiness amid the swirl of the modern world with this internationally bestselling guide to simplifying life by a Japanese Buddhist priest who embodies the wisdom of Zen.
Drawing on centuries of wisdom, renowned Zen Buddhist Shunmyo Masuno applies the essence of Zen to modern life in clear, practical, easily adopted lessons -- one a day for 100 days. Discover how:
lining up our shoes after we take them off can bring order to our lives
putting down our forks after every bite can help us feel more grateful for what we have
spending time barefoot can strengthen our bodies
planting a flower and watching it grow can teach us to embrace change
going outside to watch the sunset can make every day feel celebratory.
Author Zen Priest Shunmyo Masumo
In Zen: The Art of Simple Living, readers will learn to find happiness not by seeking out extraordinary experiences but by [moments of appreciation and] making small changes -- to what we do, how we think, how we interact with others, and how we APPRECIATE the present moment (yes, this one right NOW).
[This is what the historical Buddha called sati or "mindful awareness," diligence, vigilance, conscientiousness, wakefulness, and MINDFULNESS].
With each task, we open ourselves up to a renewed sense of peace and inner calm. More
Maybe centenarians are what they eat?
(PhytoWise) 21 foods that make Japanese people virtually immune to any illness for longevity
UNSEEN JAPAN | The Secret and Incredible Places in Japan | Travel Video
(World Travel Doc) May 16, 2026: This documentary is a guide through the most extraordinary places in Japan, perfect for planning a trip. Discover wonderful Buddhist Japan through spectacular images and fascinating stories for an unforgettable journey through unseen places that will leave viewers breathless.
I think it's very wabi-sabi. Good work!
01:48 - Yakushima. 04:20 - Ishigaki and Yaeyama Islands. 07:09 - Shirakawa'go. 09:46 - Koyasan. 12:44 - Ise. 15:29 - Hakone. 18:15 - Nikko. 20:59 - Kanazawa. 23:42 - Takayama. 26:37 - Japanese Alps/Nagano. 29:28 - Mount Fuji. 33:14 - Kamakura. 36:12 - Yokohama. 39:03 - Tokyo. 43:12 - Kyoto. 47:09 - Arashiyama. 49:54 - Outro – Japan Beyond the Postcard.
Is this "hardcore" enough for you, American Zen Priest Brad Warner, the punk-monk?
Grandma Kinoe; Lana Del Rey (as young Lizzy Grant); Shunmyo Masumo, Allison Markin Powell; Healing Zen Sounds; PhytoWise; Dan Martin; World Travel Doc; Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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