Zen Buddhism is a sect of Buddhism which emphasizes that life as it is, is boundless. It does not provide any beliefs or a structure to hold onto. Zen does not care what religion you are and cares even less about what you believe.

Through the right practice of Zen, life is experienced as it is, which cannot be expressed or brought down to words. Rather, words function within it. Through the practice of Zen, that which tries to gain, accomplish, and make things different is not followed. To be yourself as you are is one of the greatest and toughest challenges a human being faces. Why? Because as soon as you try, you have already gone down an incorrect path. But even no action is not good enough either. Why again? Because trying is built deep into our habitual patterns. So in Zen, we start at square one. Counting the breath. Seems like it should be simple and from a realistic perspective it is very simple. However shortly after we begin, we find it is not so simple. It is not simple because we follow that which wants to make things different.

To not want anything is almost impossible. The effort of no effort is the most difficult effort to make. When we focus on our breath we immediately expect a result (Wrong!). We think we can focus into some sort of enlightenment (Wrong!). We wonder what we are doing wrong and why are things not the way we expect them to be (wrong!). We wonder why we cannot focus correctly (Because we think our focus should be different than what it is.. Wrong!). Counting our breath exposes us directly to what our very problem is. Try it. And when you reach a conclusion, just be sure that you are stuck. Then just go back to counting your breath. After many years of doing so, you will leave the habitual expectations and you may even see life in front of your eyes without the contrast of your comparisons!

Meditation Retreats