Lectures and Articles by Nishijima Roshi

Gudo Wafu Nishijima is a very senior and well respected Zen practitioner in Japan. This link will direct you to a web page where you will find a number of articles written by him on various aspects of Zen practice.

Into a Cloudless Sky

my chest is bare

in the path of an arrow

with eyes affixed

i embrace this last breath

savoring sweet intrigue

before being struck

will you also be blinded

by the brightest of mirrors?

will we wobble together

with poor eyesight

drunk on romance

near the cliffs at lovers cove?

if so, let us fall in unison

yet not towards the beach

covered in shells

but away from our bodies

into a cloudless sky

Naked and Free

as i lay on grains of sand

near tide pools by the shore

my looking glass is cracked

the sun has proved its patience

and left all yearning bleached

i hear a gentle call

not from saviors made of stone

for their touch is but skin deep

but from a gentle pulsing

past the center of my bones

telling me to rise and meet the sea

to let each step find its stone

with equal balance and grace

while creatures scurry

remembering my march

oceanic and wild

i reach the door

let me pause to salute her beauty

to greet her shimmer with my own

and praise her dynamic nature

the time has come to jump

and sink in these salty depths

naked and free

Anarchy and Order

zen fire, zen wind
carry this ash far away

past all vulnerable notions

of social right and wrong

so we may revel unclad

attuned with the cosmos

dancing in complete contrast

with confident vibration

to telegraph authentically

both cacophonous discord

and notes of harmony

to illuminate the relativity

of anarchy and order

Zen Breath Counting Meditation

On the subject of Zen Breath Counting Meditation:

"Following the breath while counting (breath-counting) is simply counting 1 to 10, which can be exhalations (most typically), inhalations, or even both (1 on inhalation, 2 on exhalation, 3 on inhalation, etc.). The idea is to keep returning to 1, and notice where you mind was. If you get to where you can't remember whether it was 5 or 6, return to 1. If you get to 35 or 47 (the mind having gone off on its own parallel track)—return to 1. Again, that noticing is the point of perfect awareness."

—Genko Rainwater

This quote is taken from an interview with Genko Rainwater at MeditationHow.info.


This six part meditation testimonial and interview features Genko Rainwater who speaks on Shikantaza Meditation, Breath Counting Practice in Meditation, Following the Breath, Kindness and Compassion, Meditation Teachers, and Zen Buddhist Meditation Experiences.