The Four Stages of the Zen Circle explains the process of awakening in the clearest way I have seen. It is a process of progressively letting go of attachments to illusion. Often people, including spiritual teachers, become stuck in one of the stages and believe that is the end of the process. Hopefully, this simple video will clear up any confusion that seems to be so common today.
The Secret to Happiness
The secret to happiness is so obvious. It’s been staring you right in the face your entire life. And that’s why you don’t notice it. We all have many reasons to be unhappy. And sometimes we think we have reasons to be happy. But there actually is no reason to be happy. Happiness is our natural state of being. Although you may not notice it, it’s always right here.
We may think we are happy because of a certain person or situation, but that is never really true. When that person or situation is in our life, we’ve simply stopped looking for anything else. We have what we want and we don’t want anything to be different from the way it is. Not wanting anything to be different from the way it is IS happiness.
It’s not the person or situation. It’s that we are no longer resisting life at that moment and wishing it were different. That’s happiness.
When we resist life and want it to be different from the way it is, we are unhappy. When we stop resisting and wishing it were different, we’re happy. That’s it. It’s the most obvious thing there is, yet few people are aware of it. Because we’re not aware of it we search for happiness in people, things, events, and situations, usually things that are not present in our life right at this moment. And that is why we’re not happy.
If you want to experience the natural happiness that is ALWAYS present no matter what situation is going on, simply fully accept everything in this moment exactly as it is. Do it. You’ll see. That’s happiness. Happiness is always right here in this moment. And it is never anywhere else.
This video should help you experience the happiness that is always here.
The Secret to Happiness
The Secret to Happiness MP3
Here is an audio file you can download.
Secret-to-Happiness Audio Download
The Direct Experience of God
The Direct Experience of God
This video is about the direct experience of God. Many people have thoughts and beliefs about God, but what is God really? Here, through direct transmission, perhaps you too can experience God directly. Please share with me and others what experiences you felt during this video. I only know the power that I felt while making this video, but not what you experience. I will also include a video with a longer version of this silent transmission without words or titles on The Enlightened Way YouTube channel.
Thank you, My Friend. I hope you experience God speaking to God through this transmission and always.
What is God?
What is God?
There are so many misunderstandings of God. Many of them coming from various religious traditions. I hope this video will give you a better understanding and perhaps a direct experience of what God is, which is the only way you can truly understand God. There is a short silent transmission toward the end because God is far beyond all thoughts and beliefs. Perhaps in this silent transmission you can directly experience God beyond words and thoughts. If this transmission is too short for you, I’ve created another video with just the silent transmission that you can access on The Enlightened Way YouTube channel.
Realizing Truth
Can Truth be found in words or thoughts or is it something more? In this video I introduce the deep Truth that is always here beyond the limitations of words and thoughts. Enjoy.
The Moon Is Real
My teacher Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) is a very wise man. One year the monks and nuns had opened a new monastery in New Hampshire. It was the first monastery in the United States. New Hampshire gets very cold in the winter, especially compared to the Plum Village Monastery in France they had moved from. Most of the monks and nuns were from Vietnam. They had never seen snow. Nobody expected it to be so cold. They were unprepared. They didn’t have warm clothes.
Sister Annabel, the senior nun, was concerned they might not have enough money to pay for heat and food. She called Thay in a bit of a panic. He listened to her concerns and also the fear in her voice. Then he said simply, “Sister Annabel, put down the phone right now and go out and look at the moon.”
This is wisdom. Zen Masters have wisdom. They know what is real and what is not real. That is why they can always help us very much. Sister Annabel had fallen into the trap of believing her thoughts were real. Thoughts are never real. The moon is real.
Because Sister Annabel was a Zen nun, she could understand this simple and direct instruction. She knew how to look at the moon. Most of us when we look at the moon are only seeing our thought perceptions of the moon. We are really only looking at our thoughts. But Sister Annabel had been a Zen nun for many years. She knew how to really look at the moon. She knew how to be free of thoughts so she could really see the moon. It is only that in that moment she had forgotten. In that moment she believed her thoughts about the new monastery were real. That is why she was so worried. Thay simply reminded her of what is real and what is not. That was enough.
We also have many worries when we believe our thoughts are true. We may not always have a Zen Master around to remind us of what is real and what is not. But perhaps we don’t need one. Perhaps we can remind ourself. Perhaps we can be our own Zen Master. That’s all a true Zen Master ever wants for us. And there’s always the moon.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 8
- Next Page »