Alex Carroll

In your practice, do not hope to be free of obstacles. Find liberation in the midst of them. -Chan Master Miaoxie, Treasure King Samādhi Treatise I would like to talk about a few things that happened at last Tuesday’s meditation. The first two things were comments from our regular participants. The first person said that they felt they weren’t making much progress. They were getting frustrated and thought about quitting. But despite that, they decided to just keep going. I think it’s...

Delivered to Dohasa Zen Group at their first hwadu meditation retreat on Saturday, 11 July in Oslo, Norway. In this retreat, we are exploring several closely connected themes. We're discussing the concept of non-duality – the true nature of reality – and its beautiful expression in Sengcan's poem Faith in Mind. We're also learning the basics of hwadu practice, the principal method of meditation in Korean Sŏn. This evening, I'd like to explore how Faith in Mind is an expression of the very...

When we experience discomfort, we look for the most obvious thing that will bring us relief. When we're hungry, we eat. When we're thirsty, we drink. When we're tired, we sleep. This is how we approach most of our discomforts in life. The same is true of our emotional lives. When we're stressed or overwhelmed, we reach for whatever seems most likely to restore a sense of calm. Everyone seems to be meditating these days, which is wonderful. For many people, that journey begins with a...