Inconceivable freedom
The past no longer exists, the future does not yet exist. What exists is the present moment, even if this present moment has no temporal duration; for this reason it is said to be elusive. Ultimate reality, even if we can't grasp it, manifests…
Take a step back and turn the light inwards
Master Dôgen presents zazen as a universal practice. He explains that this practice of awakening requires us to ‘take a step back and turn the light inwards’. This attitude concerns all human beings, without exception. Step back from our…
Making the decision
Bodhisattvas pray before the suffering of human beings. They pray before those who have no other way out of suffering than to burn their lives. Some even commit suicide. The artist Serge Gainsbourg, who smoked three packets of cigarettes a day,…
The two muddy bulls fighting
No Buddha conceived by human thought is a Buddha, only an illusion. Seeking truth through thought only leads to confusion. Buddha is beyond any fixed form, impossible to enclose in concepts. Unfortunately, this is what we do most of the time.…
No opinion!
Zazen 6 h 30 To turn towards the path of awakening is to turn our gaze inwards and shed light on our illusions. Too often we look outside. We are for this team, against the other, we are on the side of this group rather than the other... Master…
A taste for simple things
In our societies, we devote a lot of energy to the pursuit of pleasure, to satisfying our desires, to constantly improving our well-being, our comfort. But as Einstein said: “It is only good for cattle.” The slightest disagreement, the slightest…
Buddha’s children
Zazen is no ordinary practice. In fact, Zazen requires great humility. Humus means earth, returning to the earth of the mind, returning to the mind in its most original form. Zazen requires us to let our thoughts pass, not to identify with our…
The universe is a shining pearl
Open your eyes, open your ears, open your hands to reality. As Bodhidharma said: “Don’t dig the cave of the daemons of the black mountain.” Don't close yourself off from reality to pursue your flights of fancy, your imaginations, your…
Don’t let brambles obstruct the way
"Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto…", sings Mercedes Sosa: Thanks to life that gives me so much, that has given me so much. Some people cannot resolve to enter life without any weapon or armour, just as they are. We could say that Buddhism…
An invitation to receptiveness
Influenza is infectious, but karma, on the other hand, is not. Each one of us has our own karma. In the case of influenza, something substantial is transmitted. But within the Dharma, nothing substantial is transmitted. Our mind uses excuses.…
