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In Zazen, it is thought that your body, breathing, and heart are all connected. Stress builds up in your muscles. A distorted body causes shallow breathing, and shallow breathing creates an irritated and depressed heart. In zazen, you first remove the distortions from your body and fix your posture. Your breathing will then naturally become deep and calm. And when your breath becomes deep and calm, your heart becomes peaceful.

During the construction of Senbon Shakadō — Kyoto's oldest temple hall, built 800 years ago — a carpenter accidentally cut one pillar too short. His wife offered an unexpected solution: rather than trying to lengthen the mistake, cut all the other pillars to match. The hall was built that way, and it still stands today. We all carry a short pillar inside us — some lack of talent, some mistake we cannot undo. We spend so much energy wishing it were longer. But everyone, if you

Zen is to quietly calm the heart and mind. Our hearts can be compared to water with waves of emotion (joy, anger, suffering and pleasure) on the surface. Quietly performing zen meditation (zazen) calms these waves. Samadhi (a sublime state of concentration or consciousness during meditation) is when the surface of the water becomes perfectly flat. The water will become clearer, and it will be possible to look deep into the bottom. After returning to life as usual, our minds

The sound of rain on the garden stones In winter, the temple garden holds a different kind of silence, one that is profound and enveloping, as if the very air is thick with contemplation and serenity. The chill in the atmosphere seems to quiet not only the sounds of nature but also the thoughts of those who wander through. Each step on the frost-kissed ground echoes softly, a reminder of the stillness that surrounds the sacred space. The moss, which thrives in the warmer mont