Published Works Excerpts

A buddha is someone who sees the way things really are. When we see the way things really are, we see that we’re all in this together, that we are all interdependent. A great surpassing love arises from that wisdom, and that love leads a buddha to wish that all beings would open to this wisdom and be free of the misery that arises from ignoring the way things are.
from “Why the Wheel Turns” (2012)

“Shikantaza demands our full self-expression, … , and this can only be realized when we meet intimately with others. But can we stop living by our own willpower, and have faith in the way of the Buddha, which we can’t practice by ourselves?”
from “Not By Ourselves” (2005)

“The five lay precepts are more than a set of simple moral edicts: they serve as practical guidelines on the path to buddhahood. In the following section, six teachers, including Tenshin Reb Anderson, discuss the precepts and their application in our daily lives.”
from “The Precepts: A Special Practice Section” (2003)

“I’ve been told–but I don’t know for sure–that you’re like me. If I could speak for you, I would say that you have a deep longing for oneness, a deep urge to return to your original face before your parents were born.”
from “In It Together” (1999)

“In a discussion moderated by Gil Fronsdal, senior teachers Jack Kornfield and Reb Anderson exchange insights into the differences and similarities between vipassana and zazen.”
from “Stillness and Awareness: A Dialogue on Zen and Vipassana between Tenshin Reb Anderson and Jack Kornfield” (1996)

“Reb Anderson took the Inquiring Mind on a delightful journey through tales and reflections, leaving us engaged and wondering.”
from “Full Expression, Full Recognition: A Conversation on Zen and Stories with Reb Anderson” (1994)