This is a classic exchange between one sincere student trying to finally get a grasp on what this One Mind is all about and how the experience of truly Being changes one's experience of the world.

Here is a refreshing and direct expression of something many of us make into a very complicated and abstruse issue. Bankei brought Zen to ordinary, everyday people along with the monks and nuns that he taught.

Po Shan gives us a few guidelines to help steer this wandering path we are on. For those who have never been given a koan or hua tou to investigate, how do you proceed?

This theme is one we return to repeatedly, that being the difference between thinking we understand versus having the direct experience.

In each reading, there will be a phrase, or several, which stand out for you. Sometimes they carry over into your meditation practice; sometimes they are like koans you can’t seem to let go of.

The simplicity and clarity of the commentary are delightful. In these lengthening nights, who can't appreciate the ability to stretch out our experience of time, and for those in the Southern hemisphere, who cannot feel the expansive days of summer?

The Platform Sutra is unique among the sutras which are considered to be the direct teachings of the Buddha.

Recognizing that teaching in itself has pitfalls for the teacher and the students, if one can keep one’s lights on, this is still a widely accepted way to practice.

This piece contains some clear instructions on meditation. It is uncommon to find much direct advice given in ancient times. These instructions were given to monks training with him, and the basis of this treatise consists of questions and answers.

Just like the heart of Zen is a teaching beyond words and letters, the teaching of the garden, the wisdom of inanimate objects, is a direct passage beyond the intellect.