Lindsey Thompson

Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom

Paula

Running Springs, CA, USA

Veronica

Perth WA, Australia

Cam Collins

Stuart, FL, USA

Loic

Budapest, Hungary

Rodrigo Sotolani

Richmond, VA, USA

Amy Berg

Fishkill, NY, USA

Linda

New Jersey, USA

Lisa 

Beverly

Seneca, SC, United States

Luna Jaffe

Portland OR

Adriana

Portland, OR, USA

George Karavis

Nairobi, Kenya

Shawn

Cantley, QC, Canada

Mark Swales

England

steph

Colorado, USA

Torie Spanz

Long Neck, DE, USA

Marina

Los Angeles

Liz 

Northampton, MA, USA

Christopher

Stony Plain, AB, Canada

Take a five-minute step on the Zen Path, returning to the present and awakening your inner Buddha.

The Two Doors

Beginner's Mind

A Hand Is Not A Hand

What's That?

Show Me Your Mind

Kimpu's Lesson: Part 1

Kimpu's Lesson: Part 2

Care & Quality

The Proof

Mondō

The Veil Of Normalcy

The Moon Of Truth

Mind Water

The Circle Of Awareness

Siddhartha

Kenshō

Boundary Experience

Second Life

With Bare Hands

Re-Union

A Good Archer

Mara Mind

Touching Earth

Buddha Mind

The Current

Seeing A Chair

Drawing A Chair

The Diagnosis

The Prognosis

The Root Problem

This Arising | This Subsiding

Samsāra | Nirvāna

Skillful | Unskillful

To Be a Flower

The Sound of Rain

Skillful Desire

Zazen

Micro-Zen

Wordless Awareness

Unbroken Focus

Natural Healing

The Empty Cup

Being Who You Are

Mind Moves

The Dharma Eye

The Flower Sermon

Koan Practice

The Pointless Point

The Right Spot

Heart-Mind

How Much Longer?

A Flower Falls

Stone Buddha

The Daily Mountain

Wave Arising

Ocean Subsiding

Mu Mu Mu

The Bridge

Seeds Of Buddha

Can You Here Me?

Permission To Just Be

I Am

What is Pain?

A Mind Inverted

The Circle Flip

Spiritual Gravity

The Hammer Strikes

The Will To Do Nothing

Doing-Not-Doing

Wu Wei

Shikantaza

Tathāgata

The Second Arrow

Heaven And Hell

Prisms And Prisons

The Karma Suit

A Real Person

The Eightfold Path

Right Understanding

Right Purpose

Right Speech

Right Action

Right Occupation

Right Effort

Right Attention

Right Meditation

Samādhi

Enlightenment

Mala Beads

The Other Shore

Your Original Face

The Lie

Forget Your Self

Nothing More Than This

Are You Ready?

Why?

An Empty Boat

None Can Do Me Harm

English

"To know yourself is to forget yourself. 
And to forget yourself is to be awakened by all things." 
- Dōgen

Welcome to The Zen Path. 
A journey of 111 small steps. 
Each one, just this one.

1) What is this, and why is it so long?:
You could view this course as something like an experiential audiobook with 111 chapters, each one just 5 minutes long. This format allows for a deep and lasting experience, while still fitting practically into your daily life.

2) Why am I fit to offer this course?:
I believe my unique blend of Western and Eastern training (a PhD in Clinical Psychology alongside Zen monastery experience and many years of dedicated meditation practice) allows me to present challenging spiritual topics in clear and simple language without reliance on spiritual jargon that can be unnecessarily confusing. But of course, you'll have to be the judge of that.

3) What are the main benefits of The Zen Path?:
- Enhanced presence in daily life
- Deepened confidence and authenticity in relationships
- Strengthened attention and focus
- Rejuvenated creativity
- Lessened self-consciousness
- Lessened reactivity
- Lessened judgment of self and others
- Increased compassion
- Increased sense of playfulness
- Increased sense of wonder and awe
- Clarified sense of self and reality

4) What will be covered?:
Over 111 sessions, you'll move progressively through:
- The spirit and foundations of Zen Buddhism
- The story of Siddhartha, who became the Buddha
- The Four Noble Truths
- Zazen (focused attention meditation practice)
- Classic Zen stories of awakening
- Koan practice
- Stories from my own Zen monastery experience
- Shikantaza ("just sitting" practice)
- The concept of karma
- The Eightfold Path
- More stories, proverbs, and quotes (not limited to Zen)
- And finally, the Three Jewels of Buddhism: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha

5) Pro tip:
You're also welcome to leave comments as you make your way through the course with questions, insights, journal reflections, or whatever you might like. I read and respond to every comment with a voice response. This way, the course can become interactive and I can help customize it specifically to you.

6) Final words of encouragement:
Like the experience of a good book, your understanding and enjoyment will deepen the further you go, and by the end I do believe you will understand the true meaning of Zen, not as a theory, but as a way of being. This way of being has enhanced my life in essentially every way possible. It has ended my sense of anxiety, increased my confidence and authenticity, and opened my mind to the endlessly fascinating mystery of existence. Life is now a constant discovery rather than a problem to be solved.

Now, I invite you to join me on The Zen Path. Let's take the first step together.

This path leads here.

Understand the true meaning of Zen with this 111-day journey of bite-sized stories, koans, practices, and more.

The Zen Path: 111 Small Steps To Awaken Your Inner Buddha

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Welcome to The Zen Path. The format of this course is both long and short, 111 sessions, each one just five minutes in length. And this can offer a deep and lasting experience while also fitting easily into your daily life. The Zen Path is one that leads you back here. And when you come back here, life becomes clear and simple. You become grounded, flexible, organized, resilient, focused, non-judgmental. These are the qualities of Zen, of what I call in the course Buddha mind. You will learn about Zen Buddhism in detail, but mainly each five minutes are meant to serve just as a consistent gravitational pull back here. When you stay here for long enough, you will know everything there is to know about Zen. You already do. And I'll mention in the course you can also leave comments where you can share questions, insights, or even just say hi. And that way I can help customize the course specifically for you. So now, if you're ready, let's take the first step, the only step, together. I'll see you there.