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What is Practice?
Practice is life, however, it’s not simply living life. Most humans live life with some level of success. In other words, we grow up, take care of ourselves, get some kind of job, pay our bills and survive. These activities are largely in the realm of the intellect. In Zen practice, we begin to look at ourselves in a more essential way. In other words, not what we think, not what we might feel, but what we truly are. It’s… More >
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Shikantaza & Koan Practice
If I tell someone that I practice Zen, they ask “Why? What do you get?” What I like to say is, “You get your true self.” But in truth, you can’t really get anything, because you already have it. It’s a matter of realization, and that’s what practice helps us to do. The most basic practice is meditation. The more you meditate, the more you realize. Some people want to have more equanimity, to be calmer, more able to relax… More >
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Zen Koan Study
Roshi James Kando Green is an unlikely Zen teacher. His tight smile, conservative demeanor, and slight Georgia drawl contrast with preconceptions of a Zen priest. Yet, behind these superficial layers rests a disciplined practitioner with decades devoted to realizing the essential mind. After a long career in plastic surgery and the recent passing of his master, Musai Roshi, James is working to continue the tradition of Zen practice. Zen practice is not easy. It’s hard. Countless hours of mindful meditation… More >