23 min
Talk · Shodo Harada Roshi
Mumonkan Case 17: The National Teacher Calls Three Times
A teisho on case 17 of the Mumonkan given at Tahoma One Drop Zen Monastery, delivered in Japanese with DaiChi Zenni's consecutive English interpretation.
Overview
What does buddhism point to?
Buddhism spans a wide range of lineages, Theravada, Zen, Tibetan and many others, united by an interest in the causes of suffering and the possibility of its release, rather than by a single fixed doctrine.
Practice usually combines ethical conduct, meditation and the cultivation of wisdom. Some traditions emphasise gradual training over many years; others point to a more immediate recognition available in ordinary moments.
Suffering arises from clinging to what cannot stay the same. What happens when we stop holding on?A central teaching within Buddhism
Explore Buddhism
Explore Buddhist Paths.
The full history is complex. The browse experience does not need to be. Start with a recognizable living tradition and discover its deeper context naturally.
Living tradition
Theravada & Insight
Early Buddhist monastic traditions alongside the modern Insight movement, related, but kept distinct in the underlying data.
Context may includeThai ForestInsight Meditation
Explore Theravada & Insight↗
Living traditionZen
Direct meditative practice, zazen and everyday awareness in traditions rooted in Chinese Chan and its later forms.
Explore Zen↗
Living traditionTibetan Buddhism
A diverse family of Vajrayana traditions combining philosophical study, meditation, ritual and lineage transmission.
Context may includeSakyaKagyuNyingmaGelug
Explore Tibetan Buddhism↗
Teachers
Voices within this path.
Buddhism holds many schools and lineages beneath it. Its teachers are gathered below.
Retired
Buddhism
Adyashanti
American-born spiritual teacher who has taught for over 30 years, offering teachings free of any single tradition or ideology; founder of Open Gate Sangha, now retired.
TraditionZen
Buddhism
Ajahn Amaro
Theravada monk in the Thai Forest tradition; co-founder of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England.
LineageThai Forest
AD
Buddhism
Ajahn Dtun
Thai Forest monk and abbot of Wat Boonyawad in Chonburi province, Thailand, known for direct, practical instruction on meditation and the abandoning of unwholesome states of mind.
LineageThai Forest
Buddhism
Ajahn Jayasaro
British-born Thai Forest Tradition monk, a direct student of Ajahn Chah, teaching from a hermitage near Khao Yai National Park, Thailand.
LineageThai Forest
Buddhism
Ajahn Sucitto
British Theravada monk in the Thai Forest tradition, long associated with Cittaviveka (Chithurst Buddhist Monastery) in the UK.
LineageThai Forest
Buddhism
Ajahn Sumedho
American-born elder of the Thai Forest tradition, founder of Chithurst and Amaravati monasteries in England and the most senior Western monk in the lineage of Ajahn Chah.
LineageThai Forest
Artists
Musicians and singers.
Devotional music and chant from within this path, alongside its teachers.
Buddhism
Ani Choying Drolma
Nepalese Buddhist nun of Tibetan origin from the Nagi Gompa nunnery, who brought Tibetan Buddhist chants and feast songs to audiences far outside the monastery.
TraditionTibetan Buddhism
Buddhism
Dechen Shak-Dagsay
Swiss-Tibetan singer who sets traditional Tibetan Buddhist mantras and prayers in contemporary arrangements, among them a double album on Arya Tara.
ReligionBuddhism
Buddhism
Imee Ooi
Chinese-Malaysian composer, producer and singer who sets classical Buddhist chant, mantra and dharani in Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan and Mandarin, with more than fifty albums to her name.
ReligionBuddhism
KY
Buddhism
Kanho Yakushiji
Japanese Zen Buddhist monk and musician whose sung settings of the Heart Sutra have been watched more than a hundred million times.
ReligionBuddhism
Buddhism
Lama Gyurme
Bhutanese-born lama of the Tibetan Buddhist Kagyu lineage, living in France since 1974, whose chanted mantras reached far beyond the meditation hall.
ReligionBuddhism
Buddhism
Nawang Khechog
Tibetan flute player and composer, a monk for eleven years and a hermit for four of them under the guidance of the Dalai Lama, and the first Tibetan nominated for a Grammy.
ReligionBuddhism
Upcoming events
Gatherings across buddhism.
Events attached to unpublished lineages still roll up to the nearest public path, so this hub remains complete.
20SEP
Three Principal Aspects of the Path and the Four Opponent Powers
Kensington, Australia · Day of teachings
See event pageDay of teachings
20SEP
Fully Being Q&A with Tsoknyi Rinpoche's Facilitators
Online · Online Q&A
See event pageOnline Q&A
20SEP
Online Teaching — Upaya 2026 Series
Online · Online talk
See event pageOnline talk
21SEP
Mountains and Rivers Sesshin
Mount Tremper, New York, United States · In-person sesshin
See event pageIn-person sesshin
Talks & videos
Watch across buddhism.
Documentaries, interviews and talks connected to this path and its lineages.
22 min
Talk · Shodo Harada Roshi
Mumonkan Case 1: Joshu's Mu
A teisho on the first case of the Mumonkan, Joshu's "Mu," given in Japanese with ShoE Zenni's consecutive English interpretation.
59 min
Interview · Shodo Harada Roshi
The Way of the Buddha: A Conversation with Michael Lerner
In conversation with Commonweal's Michael Lerner, Harada Roshi discusses the Buddhist path and performs a calligraphy demonstration, his Japanese remarks interpreted into English by his longtime translator.
127 min
Talk · Shodo Harada Roshi
Wash Your Bowls: Public Talk for Enso House
A public talk in which Harada Roshi opens up Joshu's koan "wash your bowls" to show how everyday life itself is Zen practice; he teaches in Japanese with English interpretation by Chisan.
Listen
Recordings from across buddhism.
Talks, guided meditations and podcast conversations from the teachers within this path.
Tara BrachInsight Meditation
A Apple Podcasts
A Path with Joy — A conversation between Tara Brach and James Baraz
From the podcast Tara Brach
Listen on Apple PodcastsTara BrachInsight Meditation
A Apple Podcasts
Tara BrachInsight Meditation
A Apple Podcasts
Listening to the Song: The Transformative Power of Deep Listening - Part 2
From the podcast Tara Brach
Listen on Apple PodcastsTara BrachInsight Meditation
A Apple Podcasts
Reading Room
Source texts
The source texts beneath this path, free to read.
Theravada & Insight
The Dhammapada
Translated by F. Max Müller
The standard free translation, from the Sacred Books of the East — formal but clear.
Buddhism
The Diamond Sutra
Translated by William Gemmell · 1912
A foundational Mahayana text on emptiness and non-attachment, read across Buddhist schools.
Theravada & Insight
The Questions of King Milinda
Translated by T. W. Rhys Davids · 1890
A Greek king's dialogue with the monk Nagasena — Buddhist philosophy made through conversation.
Buddhism
The Heart Sutra
Translated by F. Max Müller · 1894
The shortest and most recited Mahayana text, distilling the Prajnaparamita teaching on emptiness.
Discernment
Clarity should include the human context.
Meditation instructions can surface difficult material. A teacher's training and access to appropriate support matter as much as the technique itself.
Ask about contextIs a statement philosophical, meditative, relational or practical?
Notice powerHow are authority, money, intimacy and complaints handled?
Include embodimentDoes the teaching make room for emotion, the body and nervous-system limits?
Keep agencyA useful teacher supports clear choice rather than demanding surrender of judgement.