In this episode I am joined by Muho, Sōtō Zen teacher, Youtuber, and previous abbot of Antai-Ji monastery in Japan.

Muho recalls the death of his mother when he was 6 years old, his childhood behavioural problems and time in boarding school, and initial contact with meditation.

Muho shares what he describes as his narcissism, which arose from the death of his mother and a subsequent yearning to be seen; how his desire to be seen has caused difficulties for those around him; and how his thirty years of discipleship under a Zen master in a Japanese monastery collided with these patterns.

Muho also observes that there is something missing in American Zen teachers, disambiguates good and bad reasons for teaching Zen, and explains why he believes sitting meditation is actually good for nothing.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep357-zen-is-good-for-nothing-muho

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro

00:54 - Death of Muho’s mother and the beginning of questioning

04:49 - Sent to boarding school

05:35 - First meditation at 16 years old

07:48 - Discovering a connection to the body

10:02 - Reading about Zen Buddhism

11:32 - Studying Japanese and moving to Japan

12:21 - Being the class clown

13:14 - Muho’s narcissism

15:10 - Trouble from describing himself as a narcissist

18:20 - Others’ suffering from Muho’s narcissism

19:31 - How Zen practice affected narcissism

22:01 - “It’s not about you”

24:35 - Vertical and horizontal axis of enlightenment

27:32 - Achieving Buddhahood

30:00 - Should you try to improve yourself?

34:37 - Student projections and exposing the teacher’s flaws

36:16 - Guru as father figure

38:02 - Looking for the perfect leader

39:00 - What is the role of the Zen teacher?

40:31 - Muho’s teaching activities

41:40 - The problem with American Zen teachers

42:21 - What example should a teacher set?

43:38 - Real teachers do not promote their enlightenment

45:11 - Using your teacher to promote yourself

47:14 - A teacher must first be a student

49:00 - Spiritual businessmen and teacher trainings

50:30 - 3 reasons to teach

56:05 - What is missing in Western teachers?

57:05 - Teaching as an expression of gratitude

58:15 - Minimum time before becoming a teacher

59:57 - Signs to become a teacher

01:00:26 - Tragedy of premature teaching

01:02:40 - Muho’s advice for shallow teachers

01:05:01 - Zen has become a game

01:06:25 - Zen is good for nothing

01:07:56 - Techniques, states, and stages

01:11:25 - Play a different game

01:13:48 - Is Zen true or just another method?

01:19:43 - Taking the result as the path

01:22:00 - Do other practices miss the point?

01:25:51 - From samsara to nirvana

01:28:46 - Muho’s Youtube channels

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To find our more about Muho, visit:

- https://www.youtube.com/@muho

- https://www.youtube.com/@MuhoZen

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- https://www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James