Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi

Zen Mountain Monastery, Mt Tremper, New York, Sunday 01/11/2026

From Master Wu-Men’s Gateless Gate, Case 39: Yun-men Says You Missed It

Three core aspects of Zen practice are morality, calming the mind, and insight into the nature of reality. Without this third element, wisdom-insight, Zen isn’t truly a liberating practice. Shugen Roshi explains that insight differs from analytical or conceptual thinking; it’s a direct, lived experience. The path requires that these three aspects be cultivated together, so that a settled, unobstructed mind becomes capable of seeing more clearly and of realizing insight that is genuinely transformative.