In this Zen teaching on Mayoku Thumps His Staff (Book of Equanimity Case 16), Sensei Michael Brunner explores how Zen challenges the mind’s need to label experience as right or wrong. The koan points to a deeper insight: wisdom appears when we stop interpreting life and meet it directly.

You keep waiting for life to calm down.

But what if this is the life you’re meant to appreciate?

What if fear isn’t something to push away…
…but something to examine closely?

You keep telling yourself:

“I’ll be okay when…”

But you’re already standing exactly where you need to be!

You’re waiting for the conditions to be right.

But what if this is the moment you’ve been waiting for?

Throughout your day, as you’re engaged in activity, there will be an occasional pause — an attempt to collect yourself and wait for the applause to come. Notice this is where your practice gets stuck.

You’re about to spend the day fixing things.

But what if you’re not seeing the whole picture?

Full reflection inside.

Your to-do list isn’t your life!

Full reflection inside…

You think if you give too much away, you’ll have nothing left. What if that math is wrong?

In this teishō on Book of Equanimity Case 21, “Ungan Sweeps the Ground,” Sensei Sōen Michael Brunner examines how our mental commentary replaces direct experience.

One of the most dangerous things on the spiritual path is blaming causes and conditions — or blaming other people — for our inability to practice. For our inability to function freely in our own lives.

You’ve been asked that question before —
usually as a correction.

But what if it’s the most important question you answer today?

You can think your way all the way to the edge — but you can’t think your way into intimacy with this moment.

You’re holding more than you think.
And it’s costing you.

What changes when you stop clinging — even for a breath?

What if nothing was ever missing? In this teishō on Mumonkan Case 9, Daitsu Chishō, Sensei Soen Michael Brunner examines the hidden assumption that practice leads somewhere—and what it means to come home to the non-attained Buddha here and now.

In this teishō on Mumonkan Case 8, Ketshū Makes Carts, Soen Sensei (Michael Brunner) examines how we mistake explanation for intimacy and why Zen practice collapses the distance between experience and understanding. What happens when the “wheels” are removed—and what still functions?

Practice begins by judging the current. By seeing clearly where it’s taking us. When we do that, we can become skillful oarsmen — using those same thoughts and assumptions consciously, steering the raft toward the actual current of lived experience.

You will never accumulate enough or exchange enough to make the created story of yourself feel substantial. But when you drop it—when you stop trying to secure it—you discover something else. As you respond directly to the suffering you encounter around you, your true nature appears. And it appears as compassion.

In this Dharma talk at One River Zen, Anzan Eric Mehon reflects on the opening verses of the Dhammapada, exploring how the mind shapes our experience of suffering and joy. Through everyday moments — from the frustrations of daily life to the challenges of meditation itself — he reveals the simple yet demanding practice of returning again and again to breath, intention, and presence.

See all the happenings and plan your week at One River Zen. Be sure to join us for meditation…