On Practicing Without a Temple

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For many years I have practiced without a temple, without a sangha of robed monks, without any of the traditional supports. Some say this is not real Zen. But I ask: did the Buddha have a temple when he sat under the Bodhi tree? The sky was his roof, the earth was his cushion. Wherever you sit with sincerity, that place becomes a temple. Wherever two or three gather to investigate the great matter of birth and death, that is a sangha. Do not wait for perfect conditions. Sit now, just as you are.

license: fair_use

Attribution

• Attributed To
  Nyogen Senzaki

Lineage: Rinzai

By Nyogen Senzaki

• No Temple Neededproverb
• No Followersproverb
• The Mentorgartensaying

From Like a Dream, Like a Fantasy

• No Temple Needed
• No Followers
• The Mentorgarten

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Like a Dream, Like a Fantasy, on temple-less practice

  Like a Dream, Like a Fantasy: On Practicing Without a Temple