Books
In this accessible volume of Zen wisdom, Venerable Master Miao Tsan guides us on a daily pilgrimage toward enlightenment. Based on the length of traditional prayer beads, this beautifully illustrated book offers 108 inspirational quotes and poems that can be read and reflected upon again and again. Like all good kharma, Master Miao Tsan’s wisdom is simple enough to incorporate into our daily lives, yet provocative enough to provide the stepping stones for a spiritual transformation. This little book is perfect for bedside or desk or to carry everywhere, continually reminding us that the quality of our thoughts creates the quality of our lives, keeping us conscious of our mind and our surroundings. Once again, the Venerable Master illuminates that the journey to a better life begins with us, and that it is within our own power to achieve happiness and understanding.
In The Living Truth, Venerable Master Miao Tsan explains the cause of our problems and how to resolve them by living according to the universal Truth of life. Distilling the wisdom presented in his previous books and lectures, this book shows us, in simple and direct terms, how to overcome our self-imposed limitations and create a better life. Each of us possesses the mind, and we use the mind to create our reality. This mind is the formless source of life and the essence of who we are. Not realizing the fundamental Truth, we identify with our thoughts instead and isolate ourselves from the world we created. We become attached to habitual thinking that distorts reality and creates conflict and suffering. To solve our problems and find true happiness, we must first free ourselves from our habitual thinking in order to see realty as it truly is. Accepting life as our own responsibility and creation, we can then use our mind to create the change we desire and transform the world for the better.
In the fourth book in a series of contemporary Zen studies, Intrinsic Awakened Nature, Venerable Master Miao Tsan of the Vairocano Zen Monastery explores the manner in which many Western and Eastern religions share common principles, despite the distinct ways in which they spread their teachings. Intrinsic Awakened Nature provides an important perspective on the similarities in Western and Eastern pursuit of eternity, happiness, and the ability to understand the meaning of life. Beneath their religious, linguistic, and cultural differences lies a shared core value. The superficial differences have perplexed thinkers for centuries and left many modern people conflicted about which religion or ideology most deserves their loyalty. While it is impossible for any of us to completely assimilate the different aspects of another culture without inadvertently creating a third culture, Master Miao Tsan shows readers a clear path to understanding the most important aspect of any spiritual teaching: At the source of any sound religion or ideology lies the one and only Universal Truth.
In the fourth book in a series of contemporary Zen studies, Intrinsic Awakened Nature, Venerable Master Miao Tsan of the Vairocano Zen Monastery explores the manner in which many Western and Eastern religions share common principles, despite the distinct ways in which they spread their teachings. Intrinsic Awakened Nature provides an important perspective on the similarities in Western and Eastern pursuit of eternity, happiness, and the ability to understand the meaning of life. Beneath their religious, linguistic, and cultural differences lies a shared core value. The superficial differences have perplexed thinkers for centuries and left many modern people conflicted about which religion or ideology most deserves their loyalty. While it is impossible for any of us to completely assimilate the different aspects of another culture without inadvertently creating a third culture, Master Miao Tsan shows readers a clear path to understanding the most important aspect of any spiritual teaching: At the source of any sound religion or ideology lies the one and only Universal Truth.
In the third book in a series of contemporary Zen studies, The Origin Is Pure, Venerable Master Miao Tsan of the Vairocano Zen Monastery shares his insight and analyzes traditional Zen koans to explain how to live in accordance to the nature of the mind. He clarifies common misunderstandings about Buddhist teaching and provides readers with specific ways to create positive spirits and peaceful daily lives. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, people have increasingly turned to the pursuit of the pleasures of materialistic life. People caught up in the pursuit of power and products, the mark of modern success, lose their infinite innate creative force. When ego becomes the true God-or the true Buddha- people perceive reality in terms of inner and outer and create a variety of problems for themselves. Only by inwardly breaking through the ego can we truly access our ability to change.
In The Origin Is Pure, Venerable Master Miao Tsan of the Vairocano Zen Monastery uses traditional Zen koans to reveal how to live in accordance with the nature of the mind. He clarifies common misunderstandings about religious teaching and provides readers with specific ways to create peaceful daily lives. In the past, life centered around cultural, moral, and religious notions. Today, power and products define contemporary success, and many people find their feelings and ideas dictated by interactions with the world around them. They have lost their connection to the infinite creative force, the divine within. As globalization and the flood of information accelerate the breakdown of traditional systems, ego becomes the true God”or the true Buddha. With insight gleaned from the wisdom tradition of Zen and many other philosophical disciplines, Master Miao Tsan explains to readers of all religions that it is only by inwardly breaking through the ego that we can truly access our ability to change.
Zen training brings us back home to a place of deeper meaning. In this eternal home, mind and matter are one. Here is a spiritual home that isn’t about temples or traditions. It’s a place in your own pure mind where you become the master of your own thoughts. When you learn to follow the path of Zen with diligence and right understanding, you can break though old patterns in your life and become enlightened”at peace in your body, your mind, and your spirit. Once you have a clear understanding of the Zen path, all you have to do is begin following it. As you devote yourself to your practice, you’ll feel old burdens”old negative attachments”fall away. And when you awaken to the Way, you’ll understand that nothing surpasses the mind. The mind is all existence; it is the entire universe. Nothing happens outside the mind, and outside of what happens there is no mind.
You have within you the unlimited capacity for oneness with life: for love, for joy, and for freedom from suffering. Venerable Master Miao Tsan has spent a lifetime getting to the heart of the truth that will lead you there. In Just Use This Mind, he shares the essence of the universal truth as expressed by the collected wisdom of Zen masters reaching back to the original Buddha. Here is enlightenment, and it’s not just for Buddhists. Whether you seek mindfulness, mental health, or a more profound understanding of your own spiritual tradition, here is the truth about what really matters, an explanation of the deeper meaning that lies beyond the rules and rote of every religion. When you’ve looked everywhere outside yourself for the answer and haven’t found it, the only place to look is within your own mind. You can master your thoughts, and your life. Just use this mind.
Zen practice seeks the purification of the mind, and meditation is a very important part of the process. Through meditation, you will gain the ability to integrate your practice and life, and consequently the benefits of practice—purity and peacefulness of mind—can be achieved.
Venerable Master Miao Tsan introduces the fundamentals of meditation in a way that can enhance and deepen your spiritual practice. He describes the steps you will follow as you employ meditation to tame the mind and maintain clarity at all times. The practice of meditation, as taught by the Master, can help to elevate and transform your life.
La práctica Zen busca la purificación de la mente y la meditación es una parte muy importante en este proceso. A través de la meditación, ganarás la capacidad de integrar tu práctica y tu vida y por ende los beneficios de la práctica -pureza y paz de la mente- serán logrados.
El Venerable Maestro Miao Tsan hace una introducción de los fundamentos de la meditación de forma tal que puedas mejorar y profundizar tu práctica espiritual. Describe los pasos a seguir mientras empleas la meditación para domar la mente y mantener la claridad a todo momento. La práctica de la meditación, como la enseña el Maestro, puede ayudarte a elevar y transformar tu vida.
