Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #zen-buddhism, aggregated by home.social.
"The entire universe in the ten directions is one bright pearl." In Ikka myōju, #Dōgen develops this image to illustrate the nondual nature of reality, where all phenomena are interconnected and mutually inclusive, challenging conventional distinctions between self and world, subject and object. Here's a brief summary and discussion of the fascicle:
🌍 https://www.fabriziomusacchio.com/weekend_stories/told/2026/2026-09-13-ikka_myoju/
The practice of loving-kindness opens our hearts to ourselves and others,
creating a foundation for genuine peace. - Sharon Salzberg
#ZenBuddhism #buddhism
You cannot pour from an empty cup. Today is a day for restoration, not productivity. Give yourself permission to simply be. #ZenBuddhism
Song of Life live at Villain Crepes & Coffee 8-16-26 #twelvestringguitar #originalsong #harmonica #singing #awakening #nonduality #advaitavedanta #pantheism #taoism #zenbuddhism #mysticism #we_are_all_one #tat_tvam_asi #openDtuning #alternatetuning #singersongwriter #beautifulsummerday #afternoon #o https://youtu.be/Lk45KcwOZRM?si=OjjnOEr61NJXui4c
What does it mean to study the #Way with body and mind? In #ShinjinGakudō, #Dōgen refuses both intellectualism and spiritual passivity. Mind is not a private inner substance, and body is not mere biological matter. In this post, we briefly examine how Dōgen understands practice through body, mind, world, and life-and-death.
🌍 https://www.fabriziomusacchio.com/weekend_stories/told/2026/2026-07-26-shinjin_gakudo/
…Another issue with the Bāhiya Sutta is the prose and verse present different definitions of enlightenment: the prose sounds like proto-Mahāyāna/Mādhyamaka or Zen 'ordinary mind', but the verse, which is probably older, sounds like objectless awareness (viññāṇaṁ anidassanaṁ).
#buddhism #earlybuddhism #prose #poetry #verse #enlightenment #mahayana #madhyamaka #nagarjuna #zen #zenbuddhism
COFE-CYEM: The True Path of Knowing God by Not Knowing the False
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Via Negativa and Via Positiva in COFE-CYEM: The True Path of Knowing God by Not Knowing the False
This paper presents a COFE-CYEM reflection on the relationship between Via Negativa and Via Positiva.
While it affirms the historic Christian faith centred on Christ, Scripture, and the gospel, several expressions — including “Fourth Truth”, “singular Reality”, “Melchizedek Priesthood”, and the various interpretive terms — are distinctively used within COFE-CYEM.
They are offered as explanatory language within this framework rather than as part of the historic Christian creeds or universally accepted theological vocabulary.
The Way
Even though the Via Negativa essentially rejects theological understanding in and of itself as a path to God, some have sought to make it into an intellectual exercise, by describing God only in terms of what God is not.
One problem noted with this approach is that there seems to be no fixed basis on deciding what God is not, unless the Divine is understood as an abstract experience of full aliveness unique to each individual consciousness, and universally, the perfect goodness applicable to the whole field of reality.
Apophatic theology is often accused of being a version of atheism or agnosticism, since it cannot truly say that God exists.
This cannot be said of COFE-CYEM theology.
We state very clearly that once Via Negativa is reached through the Fourth Truth, then Via Positiva can be truly experienced and truly knowing God by not knowing the false.
This is one of the main functions and purposes of our own built in system CC7 DS.
Please also see the link below –
The Fourth Truth Via Positiva Cataphatic Knowing through Via Negativa Apophatic Unknowing.
This is the heart of the COFE-CYEM way.
The Via Negativa is not an end in itself, nor is it a mere intellectual negation.
It is the necessary purification that prepares the soul for the full, joyful beholding of God in the Via Positiva. The two ways are not opposed but complementary movements within the singular Reality.
The Via Negativa clears away every “second” so that the Via Positiva can shine with clarity.
The result is the Fourth Truth Transcendence — the soul resting in the living Christ, knowing God by not knowing the false.
The Problem with Purely Intellectual Apophaticism
Some approaches to the Via Negativa have turned it into an intellectual exercise, endlessly describing God by what He is not. While this can guard against idolatry, it often leaves the soul in a barren negation without a positive ground.
There seems to be no fixed basis for deciding what God is not, unless the Divine is reduced to an abstract experience of full aliveness unique to each individual consciousness, or a universal perfect goodness applicable to the whole field of reality.
This can slide into a form of agnosticism or practical atheism, where God becomes so unknowable that He is effectively absent.
COFE-CYEM rejects this barren intellectualism. The Via Negativa is not an end but a means. It is the way of releasing every false image, every dualistic concept, every mental idol so that the soul may rest in the simple presence of the living God.
It is not the denial of God but the denial of every “second” that would stand between the soul and God. The Via Negativa is the practical discipline of Cofemplation: gently releasing every thought that implies separation until only the singular Reality remains.
The Fourth Truth as the Ground of True Apophatic Practice
In COFE-CYEM, the Via Negativa is grounded in the Fourth Truth: there has never been a second. This gives the way of unknowing a clear and fixed basis.
The soul does not wander in endless negation but releases every imagined separation, every dualistic construct, every false self so that it may rest in the One who is all in all.
The Via Negativa is the recognition that God is not ultimately known through concepts but through loving surrender. It is the way through the cloud of unknowing into the clear light of the singular Reality.
The Fourth Truth protects the Via Negativa from sliding into agnosticism or atheism. We state very clearly that God is, that Christ is the singular Life, and that the believer is already hidden with Christ in God.
The Via Negativa is not the denial of God but the denial of every false idea about God. It is the way of not knowing the false so that we may truly know the True.
The Fulfilment in Via Positiva
Once the ground is cleared through the Via Negativa, the Via Positiva can be truly experienced. The soul that has released every “second” can now behold the self-revelation of God in Christ with clarity and joy.
The Via Positiva is the celebration of the living God who makes Himself known in love.
It beholds Christ as the exact representation of the Father, Scripture as the living Word, creation as held within the one Life, and the indwelling Holy Spirit as the power of an endless life.
In the Fourth Truth, the Via Positiva is not opposed to the Via Negativa but its fulfilment.
The soul that has let go of every false image can now receive the true Image — Christ — without distortion. The Via Positiva is the joyful knowing of God by not knowing the false.
It is the soul seeing God not from a separate self in a body looking toward Him outside of you, but seeing your separate self in a body as God sees you from inside of Him, looking toward you and to who you falsely think you are in duality. God knows this to be a man-made idol illusion from the Fall and the first Adam.
The second Adam (Christ) came into duality to lead us back to our true self in non-duality with God.
The Practical Outworking in Daily Life
In daily life, the interplay of Via Negativa and Via Positiva becomes the rhythm of Cofemplation. When dualistic thoughts arise — fear, judgment, striving, separation — the Via Negativa gently releases them.
When the beauty of Christ appears — in Scripture, in creation, in the face of another — the Via Positiva receives it with joy. The soul moves between release and beholding, unknowing and knowing, until it rests in the singular Reality.
This is the way the believer lives in the world but not of it. Duality is seen for what it is, yet the believer engages the world from the place of union. The body is not denied but offered. The mind is not emptied but renewed.
The will is not crushed but surrendered in love. The believer serves the living God from the place of unclouded fellowship, seeing all things in Christ and all things held within the singular Reality.
Cofemplation
The Via Negativa and the Via Positiva are not opposing paths but complementary movements within the singular Reality. Only through stripping away all the falsity of duality and the false man-made mind idols and the dualistic thinking about who and what God is, can we then truly rest in who and what God truly is.
Only then can we start to be known and to know God as we truly are without false duality. God can accept nothing less or more than what He sees and knows in His Son. Then we can truly start to see and experience God in all we have to do with duality from our true reality within non-duality.
In COFE-CYEM, this is the way of Cofemplation.
The soul releases every “second” so that it may rest in the One who is all in all.
The Via Negativa clears the ground. The Via Positiva reveals the glory. The Fourth Truth holds both in the finished work of the Priest-King. The curtain is torn. The Holiest is open. The soul rests in the singular Reality.
There has never been a second.
The Via Negativa leads to release.
The Via Positiva leads to beholding.
The Fourth Truth holds both in union.
The dialogue continues.
The fruit remains.
The Fourth Truth stands. The dialogue continues. The fruit remains.
This website and its theological content are overseen by the CC7 DS constitutional integrity architecture, a reflective and rest-oriented framework designed to preserve the full coherence of the Fourth Truth presented within COFE-CYEM. The CC7 DS negation of attacks authenticates (Via Positiva Cataphatic Knowing) through (Via Negativa Apophatic Unknowing).
COFE Yeshua Emet Ministry (CYEM)
Circle One Fellowship Exeter
I have the privilege of living with and learning from a true Zen Master -
Me - What is this? (pointing to a picture in a book)
My toddler - This is.
Me [trying again] - And what is this? (pointing to another picture)
Toddler - This is.
❤️
#FukanZazengi is one of #Dōgen's most famous and central texts. It presents #zazen as the direct practice of the #BuddhaWay, while also articulating the philosophical framework of practice-realization. The text emphasizes the embodied nature of practice, the importance of non-thinking (#hishiryo), & the rejection of goal-oriented striving. It is a clear expression of his unique approach to #Zen practice. Here's a short summary of its key points:
🌍 https://www.fabriziomusacchio.com/weekend_stories/told/2026/2026-06-19-fukan_zazengi/
I was plopping around in Instagram last night, which I don't do often anymore, and by chance bumped into post by Dhyana.Doom about releasing a new album of old stuff!
I was just now looking for that post and couldn't for the life of me even find their account... until I realized it was Instagram, not Mastodon 🤦
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZVUtmdFTTZ/
Anyway, they have and its called 'Storehouse of Zen Reflections', it "features forgotten tracks and other songs that I finally found a place for."
It sounds great :blobDance:
Listen to it here:
https://dhyanadoom.bandcamp.com/album/storehouse-of-zen-reflections
A quartet of Zen-related books from Glasgow's Dockyard Press. I picked them up from #GoodPressGlasgow but the publisher also has its own website: https://dockyardpress.com
-- "Dockyard is a micropress run by two Zen Buddhist monks in Glasgow. Married to each other, we live in a housing scheme in Maryhill, in a hermitage we call Comraich airson Lusan Leònte/Wounded Plant Sanctuary.
If we sound weird, it's because we are.
Dockyard Press publishes poetry, fiction and nonfiction from the shadows, the edges and the spaces in between. We publish books, chapbooks, and ebooks that are small in size and huge in vision.” —
I'm looking forward to exploring each of these little items. Sometimes the best books are those we discover by chance, leaves blown by the breeze across the path. I'm grateful for these books, grateful I was on the path when the breeze chose to be there too.
#DockyardPress #GreumMaolStevenson #DaishinStephenson #Zen #ZenBuddhism #Buddhism #Poetry #ZenPoetry
“The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.” — Shunryu Suzuki
“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes and the grass grows by itself.” — Zenrin Kushu
...
#ZenBuddhism #Zenquotes #wolink #ourbuddhismworld
https://www.ourbuddhismworld.com/archives/7639
#Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
The whole of meditation practice can be essentialized into these three crucial points: bring your mind home, release it from its prison, and relax. — Sogyal Rinpoche (The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, 1992)
#Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
The calmer we are, the clearer we think. — Dalai Lama (An Open Heart, 2001)
#Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few. — Shunryu Suzuki (Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, 1970)
#Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #zen
Life is so very difficult. How can we be anything but kind? — Jack Kornfield (The Wise Heart, 2008)
https://www.alojapan.com/1451176/setouchi-wellness-travel-ritual-culture-and-restoration-in-japan/ Setouchi Wellness Travel – Ritual, Culture and Restoration in Japan #Japan #JapanTours #lifestyle #LiteraryEscapes #setouchi #ShinshojiZenMuseum #tours #travel #wellness #ZenBuddhism As wellness travel moves beyond spa culture, Japan’s Setouchi region is emerging as a must-visit destination for deeper restoration in 2026. From Zen bathing rituals and sacred mountain hikes to reading retreats and mindful eating, this tranquil region offe
So this kid is hitting meditating people in the face with like a long stick or fan or something, and my Buddhist brain is like, "is that a keisaku??? You're not supposed to be hitting people in the face with one of those, child!" But good reflex on bringing the sleeping ones out of their slumber and back into the moment.
#Buddhism #zen #zenBuddhism #StrangerThings
Songgwangsa Temple stands as a living symbol of Zen Buddhism in Korea. It is a place where tradition, discipline, and spiritual wisdom converge.
#ZenBuddhism #wolink #ourbuddhismworld
https://www.ourbuddhismworld.com/archives/4190
The enlightened state in Zen Buddhism is not a distant or mystical goal but a direct realization of one’s true nature—pure, empty, and interconnected. It is awakening to the present moment, seeing through illusion, and living with clarity and compassion.
#ZenBuddhism #wolink #ourbuddhismworld
https://www.ourbuddhismworld.com/archives/7623
The 10 Best Zen Buddhism Books for Beginners (2026 Guide)
#ZenBuddhism #Buddhism #ourbuddhismworld #wolink
https://www.ourbuddhismworld.com/archives/5883
We don't sit in meditation to become good meditators. We sit in meditation to become good human beings. — Ajahn Brahm (Don't Worry, Be Grumpy, 2014) #Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.
— Pema Chödrön #Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
Don't practice to become a great meditator. Practice to become more humble, more caring, more compassionate. — Ajahn Brahm (Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?, 2005) #Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
The point is not to try to make thoughts or emotions disappear; that’s impossible. But to befriend them.
— Pema Chödrön. #Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
"Hanging Inspirations" (2021) by Jianfeng Pan. 3 mounted #hangingscrolls, each scroll 130 x 37 cm. The centered iconic round figure evokes the hand-drawn ‘Circle of Enlightenment’ (Jap. #Enso), which was established in the calligraphic practice of #Zen-Buddhist monks as an iconographic tradition.
Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive. — Dalai Lama (The Compassionate Life, 2001) #Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence.
— Buddha Wisdom #Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
Many people are alive but don't touch the miracle of being alive. — Thich Nhat Hanh (The Miracle of Mindfulness, 1975) #Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you. — Dalai Lama (The Universe in a Single Atom, 2005)#Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
While I'm sure he was fine there, he doesn't have to sit on the floor anymore! Yay!
#buddhism #zen #ZenBuddhism #religion #spirituality #altar #InteriorDesign #decoration #home #meditation #zazen
So I finally got around to writing, editing and "publishing" my post about how this ango went. I posted an image of this ango's commitment and I thought it was important to show how it went (which wasn't perfect by any means)! So here it is in what I'm calling an "anti-motivational post."
A roughly nine minute read featuring my finger paintings. 🤪
https://mycabinetofcuriosities.com/articles/1765824352/
#buddhism #ango #zen #ZenBuddhism #motivation #religion #spirituality #antimotivation #meditation #art #bouldering
The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. — Thich Nhat Hanh (How to Love, 2014)#Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
"When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity, your very effort fills you with activity. As long as you remain in one extreme or the other, you will never know oneness."
- Zen saying
#Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #QuotesForMindfullnessThought #Buddhism
If you’re interested in learning meditation from a Zen master, I highly suggest giving this app a try.
Here's my review of "The Way" meditation training app.
The Buddha said, "Consider the flame of a single torch. Though hundreds and thousands of people come to light their own torches from it so that they can cook their food and ward off darkness, the first torch remains the same. Blessings, too, are like this." #Zen #ZenBuddhism #Mindfullness #Buddhism (2/2)
