Naksansa H(e)aven

A temple by the sea. Waves crash to the shore. Wind gushes shake trees and lanterns. Free noodles are offered for lunch. The sea is blue and wide. So is the sky. And a zen nerd is in bliss.













In 2005, a fire ravaged Naksansa and destroyed almost all the centuries-old buildings and pine tree forest. Turned into ashes overnight. As our teacher once said, if you look closely at this life, you'll see no meaning, no reason, and no choice... But, he continued, if you truly attain what this realization is about, you'll get great meaning, great reason, and great choice. So the temple was destroyed. Then, reconstruction started and is continuing.

A zen student's spare time

A student once asked Suzuki Roshi, "What should a zen student do with his spare time?" Suzuki first looked perplexed and repeated the phrase, "spare time?" He then began to smile and repeated again, "spare time", and started laughing uproariously.

That's what it means!

Concert pianist Vladimir Horowitz played a dissonant contemporary composition at a private gathering. When he had finished, someone asked, "I just don't understand what that composition means, Mr. Horowitz. Could you please explain?" Without a word, Horowitz played the composition again, turned to his questioner, and announced, "That's what it means!" in Philip Kapleau, Awakening to Zen

The truth about food and zen retreats

"... I will opt for a more modest regimen: three weeks of tea and miso broth.

I am not trying to be macho. I am genuinely curious about the nature of desire. My whole life has been spent chasing one desire after another. Where does it come from and how does it control me? What happens if i don't follow each desire that comes into my mind? What happens if i don't eat for a short period?

What happens is what any idiot could have guessed would happen: i am ravenously hungry. ...There's no way to get around this feeling of hunger. No way to avoid the pangs in my stomach and the intense desire for a taste of bread, of butter, of anything. I make many cups of miso broth and tea each day. My mind is almost exclusively on food-related topics. I alternate between the mantra and visions of lasagna, pumpkin pie, and chocolate honey-dipped crullers. I write a few imaginary cookbooks and open an imaginary Zen restaurant called Cafe Joju.

What happened to all those other desires? Love, enlightenment, adventure, fame... All leveled to nothing. All extraneous. I only want food. Food in my tongue, taste in my mouth. I don't care what taste it is.

Food is life.
Why am i alive?
What is this life for?
What will i do with it?"
Jane Dobisz, The Wisdom of Solitude

Burn burn burn

"The only people for me are the mad ones,
the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved,
desirous of everything at the same time,
the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing,
but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles
exploding like spiders across the stars."
Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Always a full moon

It's always a full moon: it's always a good day.
Even though just a crescent shows, it's there.
It's just not lit - there's a shadow.
Eido Roshi

It will never die

"This body is no more stable than a bubble: it will soon disappear.
But any efforts made for the sake of truth will never die."
Zen Master So Sahn, The Mirror of Zen