Book: Chan Master Miao Tian’s Book of Wisdom (3rd Edition)

Thanks to the help from our friend, who is a writer of a published book and a creative writing major, we have further improved the 2nd edition of the book by correcting some grammatical things. The result is this 3rd edition. (I don’t think there will be further editions!) The content itself remains largely unchanged, [...]

Daily Wisdom — Taking Exams with a Peaceful Mind

– Chan Master Wu Jue Miao Tian
For students, taking exams is a challenge. In our life journey, we face various challenges — from the environment, relationships, and obligations. If you can overcome those challenges, you will gain strength and experience. But first you must have the will of overcoming.
The essence of Chan is balance. Its [...]

Daily Wisdom — Sutra-opening Verse

– Chan Master Wu Jue Miao Tian
In the beginning of all our formal sessions, we recite the Sutra-opening Verse. Sutra-opening Verse is a poetic verse or stanza that is taken from the Buddhist scriptures, and is a summary of the Buddhist teachings. In our Chan School, which teaches without words and formalities, reciting the Sutra-opening [...]

Daily Wisdom — Fruitful Realization

– Chan Master Wu Jue Miao Tian
We can apply the wisdom of Chan to our everyday life. Over a decade ago, there was a period of time when I was on fruit diet. One day, when I was meditating, the image of a papaya appeared in my mind. I then realized that it was because [...]

Daily Wisdom — Anti-aging: Reconnecting with Nature

– Chan Master Wu Jue Miao Tian
Sometimes it may appear that we are completely independent of Mother Nature as human beings. This is however not true. For example, when we go to the mountains or the beach we feel more open and energetic. This is the energy of the nature manifested on the working of [...]

Daily Wisdom — Chan Is the Totality of Your Life Experiences

– Chan Master Wu Jue Miao Tian
Chan is in everyone’s everyday life. The first step to fundamental Chan is to do your job well with complete concentration. An example to this statement would be the following.
If you own a noodle restaurant, your heart and goal would be to please your customers. You want the customers [...]

Book: Chan Master Miao Tian’s Book of Wisdom (2nd Edition)

We are done with the 2nd Edition. In this new edition, we fixed errors, improved clarity and presentation, changed essay titles and orders, etc. We also included the website and contact information to allow feedbacks. The new edition also has a new back cover, so you can easily tell the new edition from the old [...]

Review: Chan Master Miao Tian’s Book of Wisdom

It would be funny that I “review” this book myself — being the player and referee at the same time. No, I am not going to do that. Instead, my friend Zen wrote a worthwhile review on this book which I shall share. It gives a more in-detail and personal account on the contents of [...]

Group Meditation in Monterey, California

Group Meditation in Monterey, California
Sponsored by American Zen Association — A California registered Non-Profit Organization

Time:     10:00am – 11:30am
Every other Sunday, starting Feb. 22
Dates:    Feb-22, Mar-8, Mar-22, Apr-5, Apr-19, May-3, May-17, May-31
Place:    Lighthouse Ave., Monterey, CA 93940
Fee:       $40 for all eight sessions (Pre-registration required)
Seat:      20 seats only
Contact: Please contact Jessica at mtrychan92@gmail.com for registration
and [...]

Book: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

You can only fear death if you have died before.
– Sri Swami Satchidananda
The Yoga Sutras that I read was, of course, not in Sanskrit but the English translation. There are many versions of English translation available, plus various commentary by the modern sages and teachers. The one I read is a widely acclaimed one with [...]

Book: Chan Master Miao Tian’s Book of Wisdom

[Note: This post refers to an older version of the book. The new version can be seen here.]
I have been working intensively on bringing out this book. After about a month of translating, editing and proofreading, finally it’s here! The joy of accomplishment fills me now…
I got it printed through Lulu.com. Currently its status is [...]

Zen Crossword Puzzle (4)

Across
1 Calmness of mind in difficult situations
5 To focus one’s mind on
7 One of the three energy paths in Heart Chan meditation
9 The feminine aspect of the driving force of all changes
10 The Bodhisattva of Compassion
11 Spiritual credit earned by charitable acts
12 Zen Teacher is not an ____ to worship
Down
1 Something according to Heart Sutra [...]