The Twenty-Third Zen Patriarch Haklenayaśas, named as Little Saint and Little Bodhisattva by many, became a monk at the age of 20, and practiced diligently in the mountains forests for nine years but didn't attain anything. He didn't attain the Tao until he met an ..(more)

The Twenty-fifth Patriarch Vasiasita travelled around many countries in India to take refuge. He won all the 50 debates with people from outside school about Buddhist sutras and teachings, and he kept calm in face of reproaches and challenges from King Desheng. In this ..(more)

Do you want to know the interesting stories of the spiritual practice of the Twenty-Sixth Zen Patriarch Punyamitra and the Twenty-Seventh Patriarch Prajñātāra? They are fellow practitioners up there, and both could teach Prajna Paramita and sutras, but why was one of ..(more)

After reading the historical records of the Twenty-eighth Zen Patriarch Bodhidharma and seeing his pictures, do you think Bodhidharma is a cold-hearted and harsh person? He was not moved even when Huike waited in snow for a whole night for his teachings; he passed on ..(more)

Provincial Governor Yang Xuanzhi begged Bodhidharma not to leave the world and to continue to transform sentient beings universally; the Patriarch, however, did not want to stay in the mundane world and cause ordinary people to be jealous and hate him which would ..(more)

In order to search for the Truth, the Twenty-ninth Zen Patriarch Huike read all the Scriptures and looked for Masters everywhere when he was young. Later, he was guided by a celestial being to go south to the Shaolin Temple to get initiated into Bodhidharma’s lineage. ..(more)

Do you know the story of the Thirtieth Zen Patriarch—Sengcan? He was extremely sick with leprosy; moreover, he had little knowledge and didn't learn much about Buddha’s teaching. He knew nothing at all, nor did he have any grand family background. Why could even such a ..(more)

The Thirty-first Zen Patriarch Daoxin became a monk at the age of 14, after following and studying with Master Sengcan diligently for nine years, he was taught the ultimate Dharma. Since then, he practiced even harder day and night, often sitting for meditation instead ..(more)

Do you know what Maya’s work is? Maya likes very much to encourage people to argue, fight and commit suicide, to find others’ fault and to see only the shortcomings by covering all the good points. Whenever one is sad, upset, self-abased, tending to commit suicide, ..(more)

Do you want to know how the Thirty-Second Zen Patriarch—Hongren chose his successor? Why didn't he choose Shenxiu who was knowledgeable about the scriptures and why did he pass the legacy to Huineng who could not read even a word? Why did Supreme Master Ching Hai ..(more)

When Huineng came to follow Master Hongren, he was ordered to the kitchen to cut woods and husk rice for 700 monks. He was skinny, but he tied heavy rock to his waist to increase his weight and strength. During this period, the Master taught him nothing, but he always ..(more)

When we attain great enlightenment, we will clearly know that this world is like a dream. At that time, it will be as if we have just awakened from the dream. The dream we have every day is just a small dream, while this world is a big dream that is not easy to wake up ..(more)

Mulian, as one of the great disciples by the side of Shakyamuni Buddha, could not save his stingy and greedy mother from hell even if he had a great magical power. Buddha was able to transform and help her only when she longed from her heart and prayed for Buddha’s ..(more)

Shakyamuni Buddha talked about "the outside teaching apart from tradition". Since the teaching is not in the scriptures and the Buddha nature can't be found there either, where could we find the Buddha nature? Supreme Master Ching Hai points out: reading and reciting ..(more)

Why do we want to become Buddha? It's not because we want to deliver sentient beings or escape from this world of sufferings, but because we should become Buddha. It would be a pity if we forget our status after being born into this mundane world. Spiritual practice does ..(more)