Every moment is bountiful, even if the moment is just a wall. Realize this and you are totally free to stare at walls and live your life in complete contentment, knowing that the horn of plenty is always there, providing what you need most in the ordinary, moment to moment.

Beginner’s mind is foundational to Zen. How do we approach the world without obscuring it with the stories we tell ourselves? So we may be free to enjoy the world as it really is. The trick is, there is no trick, but this is tricky. Sit back and listen to a story about the Story.

How did evolution build a prison for our minds, and how do we escape it? Zen Buddhism shows us we were never imprisoned in the first place, freeing us by helping us realize we are free.

This is your brain on hammers. We explore how our narrow conventional thinking (the hammer) leads us on a never-ending hunt for nails and non-nails. Zen meditation and practice in everyday life gives us a chance at freedom, a chance to put the hammer in the toolbox for when we need it again.

Who are your other ancestors, what will your descendants be like? We look at the idea of Buddha ancestors and find that our parents and children are a hair’s breadth away, yet will never meet us directly. Come share an offering of future noodles and enjoy the crackle of the finest wrapper you have ever known.

Noodles made with reverence. Proper respect paid to them. These are your lives and each is perfectly defined by a single noodle. Everyday Zen practice with a fair helping of nudges and winks.

What is less than nothing, but more than everything? Why is this Emptiness the most important no-thing you’ll never meet, but is as close as your breath? Zen Buddhism teaches a life grounded in Emptiness, a full life in this very moment. Believing in nothingness readied for fullness, that is the art.

Compassion for coffee machines runs deep at the Café One Bright Pearl. Zen’s message here is simple, enlightenment is everyday mind. There are a myriad beings with you, and you are one of them. And together … You, in the greater sense, the one bright pearl. Are you open for waffles?

We review the first posts on Blanket Theory and reprise the wild ride including questionable practice, the Blanket Truth, the Dharma Police, deer paths, a mirror graced with dust, a guide to just sitting, and some guy talking to all the animals at a forest pool. Where will the existential detective’s case lead him next? Everywhere, and nowhere. Which is exactly where we need to be.

A forest pool where many strange and wonderful creatures come to drink. A Zen practitioner with a head in the clouds, full of noise. Where do we find rest? Come on an interfaith journey connecting Christian and Zen Buddhist imagery of our need for a respite from a chaotic and painful world. This journey takes us through scorching desert and bitter tundra. We find the outstretched hand of God rescuing us, or compassion waiting in our very being. Because of this compassionate outstretched hand, we can let go and be guided home, like one of the strange creatures drinking their fill at the pool. We acknowledge the suffering of many for many reasons, including depression. But, we see that, even if our practice falters, faith and no-faith can also be beautiful creatures guiding us home. Clinging to neither, treating them with a light hand the possibility is there to be the pool. Join me for a swim?