Amil Khanzada brings meditation and tech together at one of Japan's Zen landmarks
Japan's rural towns have mainly been facing the same big challenge for the past decade: A migration to urban centers for work has left them with declining populations, which leads to a further decrease in job opportunities that makes them less attractive places to ...
A master of Zen wisdom and dad jokes
Among Sengai's many depictions of tubby old men enjoying themselves is one outlier titled "An Old Man's Excuse," which shows a crotchety grump saying, "If it comes time for you to die, then it's good for you to die, but it's even better if ...
Dirt and difficulty: Life as the wife of a Buddhist monk
Tracy Franz's poignant memoir, "My Year of Dirt and Water," is full of carefully observed details. Organised by the season and dated like a diary, Franz delves into the solitary year she spent in Japan while her husband was cloistered in a Zen monastery.
The Grand Sengai Exhibition: Spirit of Zen Assembled
Oct. 1-Nov. 13 Who says Zen is all about meditation? Zen Buddhism also has a lighter side that this Tokyo exhibition aims to highlight through the calligraphy and paintings of Sengai Gibon. Known for his works that use a sense of humor to convey the deeper ...
A spiritual high in the temples of Takayama
Isolated from the pulsating sounds of pachinko parlors and the neon lights of Tokyo, the small, laid-back city of Takayama in the mountains of Gifu Prefecture offers something that visitors to Japan's urban hubs don't typically find: quiet. Caught in the bustle of the modern ...
Hakuin's picture of Zen Buddhism
Zen, traced to the ancient teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni, took root in China via India around 1,500 years ago through the first Zen patriarch, Bodhidharma. Spread there by the priest Linji Yixuan (Rinzai Gigen, died 867), it was transmitted to Japan in the ...
Collection of American Zen koans for quiet contemplation
American Zen Koan No. 96: A student once asked Zen teacher Steve Allen, "If you were given a wish-fulfilling jewel, what would you wish for?" ONE BIRD, ONE STONE: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories, by Sean Murphy. Hampton Roads Publishing, 2013, 288 pp., $17.95 (paperback) "To stop ...
Hakuin: The sight of one hand clapping
Most people know the famous riddle, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" Many are also aware that it is connected with Zen Buddhism, and some will even know that it is a famous koan by the 18th-century monk Hakuin. A koan, of course, ...
