Zen and the Martial Arts

The Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun, developed by the founders of the Nan Hua Zen Buddhist Society, was the first exclusively electronic ministry on the Internet. The priests of ZBOHY follow the ancient teachings of Hui Neng and Lin Chi and the modern teachings of Hsu Yun. The Sangha has no dues or fees of any kind. Precepts are given free of charge to correspondents who have demonstrated a sincere desire to follow the Buddha's EightFold Path.

The Poetry of Hsu Yun
In response to the many requests of our readers, ZBOHY is pleased to present the poetry of Hsu Yun in a one poem per week schedule.

This form of presentation will allow the reader to focus on the extraordinary ability of China's greatest saint to relate to everyman's problems and pleasures.

By savoring one poem at a time, we can better appreciate his insight and the delicacy of his poignant expression.

Here is our latest offering, with brief commentary by Yin Cai Shakya.

Heart Of The Buddha

No need to chase back and forth like the waves.
The same water which ebbs is the same water that flows.
read more

Latest Essays

CLAIRVOYANCE a poem by Robert Rhodes (Yao Xin)
EMILY LANTZ a poem by Robert Rhodes (Yao Xin)
KNOWING WHEN IT'S NO WE CAN'T by Ming Zhen Shakya

Past Essays
LETTER TO A ZEN GOLF BEGINNER by Abbot John
YOU ARE FREE TO APPRECIATE THE MIDDLE WAY by Yao Xiang Shakya.
THE COBRA SPIRIT by Yin Shan Shakya
A QUICK COURSE IN ZEN THEOLOGY by Ming Zhen Shakya
AIKIDO, THE WAY OF THE HARMONIOUS SPIRIT by Sensei Joe Canon (Chuan Shou Shakya)
SHAUN ELLIS: A MAN AMONG WOLVES by Yin Cai Shakya
THE CALL OF THE WILD ANSWERS A NEW DISEASE by Ming Zhen Shakya
NO ONE NOSE by Abbot John
GLOBAL WARMING, AL GORE, AND SYCOPHANT SCIENCE by Ming Zhen Shakya
THOUGHTS ON THE AVATAMSAKA (FLOWER ORNAMENT) SUTRA by Yao Xiang Shakya, Alaska
BUDDHISM IN THE TIME OF BLIZARDS THE FAILURE OF HANDICAPPED PARKING by Ming Zhen Shakya
FALL'S FIRST FIRE: A Halloween Story by Abbot John
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS by Yin Cai Shakya.
A SALUTE TO THE 82nd AIRBORNE by Abbot John.
THE BUDDHA'S FIRE METHOD by Yin Cai Shakya.
ERASERHEAD: a Commentary by Ming Zhen Shakya.
SINCE AUNT ADA CAME TO STAY by Yin Cai Shakya.
FALSE HOPE AND OTHER LIES OF SPRING by Abbot John.
REMEMBERING DAVID CARRADINE by Ming Zhen Shakya.
LISTEN FOR THE MASTER'S VOICE by Yao Xiang Shakya.
SILVER BLAZE by Ming Zhen Shakya.
THE DEATH OF A GOOD DOG by Yin Cai Shakya.
HIGH WATER EVERYWHERE (A WELCOME TO OUR NEW PRIESTS) by Abbot John.
THE MYSTERY OF THE TIBETAN MUMMY by Ming Zhen Shakya.
Goethe And The Indestructible Word by Ming Zhen Shakya
Kanzeon, The Goddess of Mercy, Remixed by Yao Xiang Shakya
SciQ's Judgment Day Via Nanotechnology by Ming Zhen Shakya

Visit the Archives for a complete listing of essays, poems, commentaries and more.

Click here to visit our original website which contains many fine features and previously published essays http://zbohy.zatma.org.

To contact a member of our clergy please visit the Clergy page.

Poetry
The Collected Poems of Zen Master Hsu Yun

ZATMA Dojo

There exists a myriad of different Martial Arts which are continually being studied, practiced, developed and refined all over the world. This is intended to be a resource pertinent to the study of Martial Arts, the living practice of Zen Buddhism, and how the two relate to one another.

Art Gallery
See a selection of art from members of the Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun, as well as pieces from other wonderful artists.

Literature
Empty Cloud: The Teachings of Master Hsu Yun
The Seventh World of Chan Buddhism (Basic and intermediate Chan teaching)
Ruminations on Zen's Cows (On the Oxherding pictures of Zen and their relationship to the Corrida)
Assault On The Summit

Memorable Moments

In a move that might raise eyebrows in Fallujah, Mike adjusts his Menora beside his buddies' Christmas Tree.

Mike beats his chest in honor of his squad's first and so far only kill on foreign soil. His buddy Mays holds the weapon that "took out" one of the rodent terrorists that infiltrate every tent, helicopter, and MRAP. Mice running over your face when you're trying to sleep is not a pleasant experience; but the guys look on the bright side. It's better than camel spiders.

Yin Cai Shakya and Begonia, his new American Pit Bull Terrier puppy, enjoy an afternoon nap together.

This is Vitoria, capital city of Espirito Santo State in Brazil, home of our Reverend Yao Xin Shakya, who has been supporting the Centro de Dharma Transformacao, as an OHY monk.

A Patagonian sea gull from Bariloche, Argentina, caught in graceful flight by our own Reverend Yao Sheng Shakya of Buenos Aires.

Our very own Yao Xiang was treated recently with the very special opportunity to spend some time with a gray wolf, courtesy of the kind folks at the Alaska Zoo.

Here they are again, smiling for the camera!

Dharma in his guise as a faithful Romanian Sheepdog puppy guards the desk of our Fa Ming Shakya in Bucharest.

Videos and Photos
Karate action photos from the July 2004, New Orleans competition.
Tai Chi performance by Da Shi Chuan Sheng.
The prayer Suryanamaskar may be performed as a warm-up exercise.

Bluhum

Links
The Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun does not promote or endorse and is not responsible for any of the products or services offered.

Tendai Lotus (in cooperation with Mount Hiei, Japan)
Anyone interested in obtaining Yoga and dress clothing from India email Ms. Ruchi Chandra

Notice to our Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun sangha members and readers

There has been some confusion about which website is the site of the original Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun, a non-profit corporation, that has served the Internet community since November, 1997. We are that group and anyone who wishes to check with the Secretary of State's office in Carson City, Nevada, can confirm this.
The organization now located at the address www.zatma.org is a non-profit corporation chartered in the state of Utah on August 3, 2004, #5702081-0140. This Utah organization is not related to or affiliated with the original Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun, and Ming Zhen Shakya has likewise never been involved or affiliated with the Utah organization.
Anyone who received Buddhist Precepts from the Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun prior to that date has received them from our Order and is invited to consult with a priest through our ZATMA.org address.
On behalf of our corporate officers and board chairman Yin Zhao, Chuan Yuan, Chuan Chao, and myself, I invite you all to continue to visit our pages and to contribute your comments. If you have any additional questions, comments or concerns, please contact us at info@zatma.org.

In the Dharma,
Ming Zhen Shakya

Essays, Poetry and Talks

The "Eye of God" Photo credit: Hubble Telescope and Kitt Peak National Observatory

In Clairvoyance, bone-cancer survivor poet Robert Rhodes (Yao Xin) considers love and death and our inability to be aware of what each of them intends for us.

Amish Country: Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Photo credit: nnathoneyrun.com

"Plain and Fancy" blend poignantly together in acclaimed poet Robert Rhodes' encounter with an Amish girl in Emily Lantz. (Rhodes, Yao Yin, has been with ZBOHY since 1998. His work can be purchased from Amazon and soon Norton will be publishing a new volume of his poetry.)

Photo credit: www.skepticworld.com

Beliefs are usually based on emotion, and being so, often override rational thought. In Knowing When It's No We Can't Ming Zhen Shakya discusses how to curb enthusiasm.

Abbot John assists Yin Cai with his golf game, and enlightens him to several other important points, in Letter To A Zen Golf Beginner.

Photo credit: bp.blogspot.com

We do not have to be hostage to foolish preferences. Balance is the answer Yao Xiang Shakya finds in You Are Free To Appreciate The Middle Way

The naga kindly spread his hood and kept the Buddha dry as the rains poured down. Yin Shan Shakya discusses The Cobra Spirit, in this perennial favorite.

Guan Yin in Royal Ease, photo credit: www.amtbweb.org/

What is it that we're acknowledging when we enter a Zen Temple? In A QUICK COURSE IN ZEN THEOLOGY Ming Zhen Shakya follows a direction given by Paul Reps in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.

Aikido offers the greatest protection with the least strength necessary. Sensei Joe Canon (Chuan Shou Shakya) gives explanations and photos in AIKIDO, THE WAY OF THE HARMONIOUS SPIRIT.

photo credit: Bernard Walton

In his latest essay, Yin Cai Shakya reviews the documentary film A MAN AMONG WOLVES, about Shaun Ellis and his life's work.

photo credit: oncetold.blogspot.com

In COMMENTS ON THE HURT LOCKER by a soldier's father, Abbot John gives a personal view of men at war.

photo credit: www.outdooroddities.com

In THE CALL OF THE WILD ANSWERS A NEW DISEASE Ming Zhen Shakya comments on the dangerous failures of federal agencies to solve the problem of Prion diseases.

photo credit: sacramentohi.com

In No One Nose Abbot John reiterates Hsu Yun's warning to a ball that is definitely trying to penetrate the cup.

A 52-foot-long female Humpback whale (Cetacean - Baleen Whale) and her newborn calf filmed in the South Pacific atoll of Moorea (Polynesia). Calves are nursed by their mothers for the first six months of their lives, then are sustained through a combination of nursing and independent feeding for up to another 6 months. Credit: Franco Banfi for 3D Entertainment Ltd. photo credit: www.bigmoviezone.com

Religion and politics rarely mix with science. Ming Zhen Shakya discusses the dangers in Global Warming, Al Gore, and Sycophant Science.

In "Buddhism In The Time Of Blizzards," Yin Cai Shakya discovers that a problem is 1% circumstance and 99% perspective.

photo credit: travelpod.com

This week we are pleased to present a commentary on the Avatamsaka (Flower Ornament) Sutra, written by our Dharma brother, Yao Xiang Shakya

photo credit: www.northamptondiocese.org

An illuminating practice observed at a year's end Dharma meeting is given by Yao Xin Shakya in "A few words..."

An oak tree damaged by lightning, Gloucestershire ? TopFoto.co.uk

In "Detachment and The Metastatic Need" Ming Zhen gives Zen's advice on avoiding and ending troublesome situations.

Are we running out of space for the truly handicapped to park in their reserved section? Ming Zhen Shakya comments on the increasing problem.

Photo credit: www.ericscheske.com/blog/?p=4977

Is it true that ritual brings cosmos to chaos? Abbot John explores the possibility in FALL'S FIRST FIRE.

Yin Cai discovers that there's no intrinsic difference between the judged and he who passes judgment in SRANGE BEDFELLOWS.

Photo credit: Abbot John's son Michael in a MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle); somewhere in the Middle East.

In A Salute to the 82nd Airborne, In the midst of great pride, Abbot John discusses "Acquiring Humility" and shows off some of the guys in his son's unit.

In THE BUDDHA'S FIRE METHOD, Yin Cai Shakya offers a suggestion to those who battle frustration in their practice.

David Lynch insists that Eraserhead is a spiritual work. Ming Zhen Shakya examines this claim from a Zen perspective.

Yin Cai Shakya finds the entire Adhyatma Upanishad in a single sentence from the Buddha in SINCE AUNT ADA CAME TO STAY.

Did our reptilian ancestors play golf? Is this green iguana on its way to the tee-box? In FALSE HOPE AND OTHER LIES OF SPRING Abbot John meditates on reptiles, rashes, knee caps and capons.

Few actors ever change the world. In REMEMBERING DAVID CARRADINE Ming Zhen Shakya comments on one that made a difference.

Photo credit: RCA Records logo. "His Master's Voice"

In LISTEN FOR THE MASTER'S VOICE Yao Xiang Shakya advises us to listen to the voice that comes In the midst of chaos.

Affirmative Action did a lot of good, but not necessarily for the people for whom the legislation was intended. in SILVER BLAZE Ming Zhen Shakya examines the problems of not considering all aspects of a problem.

Shi Yin Cai offers a eulogy for his dearly departed in THE DEATH OF A GOOD DOG.

Abbot John gives a warm welcome to our recently ordained Dharma Brothers with "HIGH WATER EVERYWHERE (A WELCOME TO OUR NEW PRIESTS)"

Shrine of the Miracle Tortilla (the tortilla is in the smaller frame) Lake Arthur, New Mexico.
Photo Credit: roadsideamerica.com
(The shrine was closed in 2006 after the accidental destruction of the tortilla.)

Ming Zhen Shakya reviews The Science Channel's aversion to the Scientific Method as demonstrated in THE MYSTERY OF THE TIBETAN MUMMY.

Personal Information and photographs sent into cyberspace have the life span of diamonds and the destructive ability of Staphylococcus aureus. Ming Zhen Shakya examines Goethe's solution to his indiscreet publication of personal information.

Our Art Director Yao Xiang Shakya brings us Kanzeon, The Goddess of Mercy, Remixed, in which she elaborates upon the many facets of our Bodhisattva of Compassion.

The Bible reproduced on a pinhead size chip by Israeli nanotechnologists. Photo credit: Associated Press

TV's SciQ program on science fraud sensationalizes nanotechnology and invites Fundamentalist interference. Ming Zhen Shakya reviews The Dark Secret of Henrik Schon.

"Mind Without Marks" In this essay Abbot John offers a line of thought based on the Lankavatara Sutra that we can pursue with our best friends after dinner one evening or with our very best friends during a long walk.

Photo credit: victoryrecords.com

In "Sympathy For The Devil", Yin Cai Shakya deconstructs humanity's favorite scapegoat.

Want to Help needy creatures? In "One Way To Help", Pastor Yao Xiang has a recommendation.

Are we only truly alive in the spiritual realm? In "Science of the Dead" Ming Zhen Shakya comments on the morbidity of atheism.

Photo credit: kerismith.com

Abbot John reflects on the new addition to his family and the reality of impermanence in "Strange Arrivals in a Stranger Town".

Photo credit: Movie poster

Creating idols can lead to nothing but trouble as Ming Zhen Shakya points out in "FLUKES OF CLAY: Deconstructing the Heroic Dolphin Image."

Photo credit: http://www2.umassd.edu/temath/
TEMATH2/Examples/ModelNautilus
ShellSpiral.html

In a personal autobiographical account and in an instructional letter sent to a student, Master Yin Zhao adds "Introduction to Sexual Mysticism" to the meditation lore for men in Assault on the Summit. (Updated: 08/29/2008)

Shi Yin Zhao, O.H.Y. 1957 - 2008

A tribute to our Dharma Brother, Da Shi Yin Zhao, In Memoriam.

VM Fo Yuan shares a pleasantry with Ming Zhao

Venerable Master Ming Zhao (xin Jue) In My Eyes Barry Tse (Shi Yao Hui) writes affectionately about his master VM Ming Zhao.

Dawn on the lake near Jiang Jun Si, Chi-Bi (Red Cliff) City, Hubei Province. Yao Hui Shakya gives details of the restoration of the old Tang Dynasty Buddhist Temple.

Map of China showing Hubei Province, famed location of Wu Dang Martial Arts development. The Yangtze River forms its southern boundary line. Jiang Jun Si is located near Chi-Bi (Red Cliff) City, down in the dip in the lower right of the province. This is also the location site of the movie, Battle of Red Cliff which is currently being filmed by Director John Woo.

Last Update: 10/02/2008