Matt Stone and Trey Parker Interview with Charlie Rose Reveals Zen Buddhism at the Heart of South Park

I really enjoyed this interview between Matt Stone and Trey Parker and Charlie Rose.  Not only was it fun and interesting, but Trey Parker said something that vindicates the very title of my book. The Zen of South Park.
He said:
“The people screaming on this side, and the people screaming on that side are the same [...]

Zen Talk: Spill The Cup of Your Life So That the Beauty Runs Out

We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled.
The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over
and let the beautiful stuff out.
- Ray Bradbury
Now, I know that Ray Bradbury is no Zen Master, but this quote had a nice Zen-y essence, and I thought it would be appropriate to share it on Zen Talk day. Plus, [...]

Zen Talk: The Before and After of Understanding Zen

Learning Zen is a phenomenon of gold and dung.
Before you understand it, it’s like gold; after
you understand it, it’s like dung.
- Zen master
It’s hard to know what to do with a quote like this. Should we be disillusioned? I don’t want to hunt for gold and end up with a fistful of dung!
Of course, this [...]

Zen Talk: Do A Person’s Friends Tell You About His Character

“When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.”
I found this to be a particularly fascinating quote to stumble upon because I am also a part time SAT teacher. As such, I teach students how to write a persuasive essay in 25 minutes by using good examples and by [...]

Zen Talk: What’s the Point of Seeking to Understand?

“If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are.”
Ha! That sucks. Sort of. It’s also nice to know. Our understanding of something and something being so are independent of one another. Whether or not you know or don’t know, nothing different is happening outside [...]

Zen Talk: For How Long Will I Be a Fool?

He who asks a question is a fool for a minute; he who does not remains a fool forever.
- famous Chinese proverb
I consider myself to be a very curious fellow. I have lots of questions, and I’m always reading a dozen books and learning whatever I can. Does that make me a life-long fool or [...]

Zen Talk: A Reminder to Live in the Moment

“When walking, walk. When eating, eat.”
Everyone needs a good ol’ reminder to live in the present, and that is just what this quote is. Be in the moment of what you’re doing.
It’s very hard to pay attention to the things that you’re doing because our lives are inundated with stimuli and distractions, whether from television, [...]

Zen Talk: Our Words Don’t Do Reality Justice

“The instant you speak about a thing, you miss the mark.”
There’s little I find as frustrating as writing the same post twice, and though apparently I can’t possibly capture that frustration in words, I’m going to ask your forgiveness on the skimpiness of this post as it pains me to write it again.
I love this [...]

Zen Talk: Watts’ Words are Twisted For Us to Unravel – Or Leave as They Are

“Nothing is exactly as it seems, nor is it otherwise.”
- Alan Watts
A lot of people like to knock Alan Watts as being a westernized form of eastern Zen Buddhism and of fetishizing the hell out Zen. I can’t really disagree with that sentiment, but I can say that, despite this, I still enjoy a lot [...]

Zen Talk: The Illusion of Purity

“Water which is too pure has no fish.”
- Ts’ai Ken T’an
How right you are Ts’ai Ken T’an. I recently started a very small aquarium in my home, and the first thing I learned from my very smart local aquarium store owner (Ocean Aquarium) is that the success of the aquarium and the happiness of the [...]