With all the journals there are always one or two sentences that jump out at us. They seem to be what the piece turns on for us here and now. This is a very ancient work, and it is interesting how much is conveyed in this excerpt.

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At times it seems like a deluded mind dominates us as past tendencies recur to test us. At some point, these become almost entertaining as they burn themselves out vying for our attention.

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Whether we think of ourselves as average, superior, or inferior students, we all share zazen as a practice, and probably for most of us we don't think of our “level” as students at all.

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Each teacher of the Way has their own style to help students break through stubborn attachments and confusion. Each master exemplifies approaches that sometimes are easy to digest and other times pull the rug out from under us. Ajahn Chah has a more gentle and matter-of-fact style using ordinary language and examples that are easy to relate to.

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We can learn something from every teacher we meet through the journals. Some may be difficult to understand because their style seems archaic or the translator’s choice of words may lead to some confusion, but there are kernels of wisdom in every piece.

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For those of us who entered the doorway of Zen through “just sitting,” koan practice has always seemed a bit mysterious. Not that there isn’t a technique involved in sitting meditation but concentrating on a certain phrase or word is not part of that approach.

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Many of us have longed at one time or another to retreat to a hermitage in the mountain wilds, to follow the way of the sages, thus shedding our distractions and focusing on a life of practice.

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Once again, the classic student and teacher dialogue we have all heard at one time or another. True teachers can be and should be, difficult to pin down an “answer” to questions that in reality wind up limiting us. What else, and how else could Huang Po answer?

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The essence of Taoism and Zen emanates from the same source, and many qualities of Taoist sages sound like what you could hear from a Zen master in China. At times the dividing lines seem quite blurry.

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One of the core teachings in Buddhism is that of “co-dependent origination,” that nothing exists independently; rather, everything exists on the condition that its existence relies on all other entities.

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