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The Tea Masters’ Duel Zen Stories
The tea master didn’t fight. He didn’t flee. He prepared for death as he would prepare tea—and that presence disarmed the sword.
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Gudo and the Emperor - Zen Story
A Zen story retold through the Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens. Walk with Gudo and the Emperor as performance falls away, holiness dissolves, and your parts learn the freedom of “I do not know.”
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The Taste of Banzo’s Sword - Zen Story
The Taste of Banzo’s Sword (Zen Story) Today we enter… The Taste of Banzo’s Sword. This one is sharp. Not with cruelty but with presence. It’s about the kind of teaching that cuts through pretense… and wakes you up. Let’s step into the dojo together. Let the Story Unfold A young man came to the sword master Banzo and said, “I want to be your student. How long will it take me to master the sword?” “Ten years,” Banzo replied. “What if I train twice as hard?” “Then twenty years,
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The Last Poem of Hoshin
On the night of his death, Zen master Hoshin wrote one final poem… then left the last line blank. What he didn’t say became the deepest teaching of all.
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Tao Te Ching — Chapter 9
The Verse Fill a cup to the brim —and it spills. Sharpen a blade too fine —and it breaks. Amass treasure, invite theft.Cling to praise, court collapse. Complete something…and it begins to rot. This is the way of the world.Step back before the fall.Retire before the flame gutters. This is the Tao. Essence — What Laozi Is Actually Saying Laozi isn’t warning you.He’s holding you —just before the edge. He’s not moralizing.He’s murmuring a truthyou already know in your bones: Too
Tao Te Ching – Chapter 5
The Verse Heaven and Earth are not kind.They treat the ten thousand things like straw dogs. The sage is not kind.He treats the people like straw dogs. Between Heaven and Earth,is not the space like a bellows? Empty—yet never exhausted.The more it moves, the more it yields. Too many words lead to silence.Hold to the center. Essence — What Laozi Is Actually Saying This chapter is not cold.It ’s not cruel.But it is cutting. Laozi is naming a reality most of us spend our lives t
In Dreamland Zen Story VERSION 1
Today we enter… In Dreamland. This story doesn’t shout.It wanders.Between sleep and waking.Between illusion… and the soft ache of truth. Let’s walk inside the dream together. Let the Story Unfold A monk once came to the Zen master Gasan and said,“Last night I dreamed I was a butterfly.” Gasan looked at him and asked, “Were you a man dreaming of being a butterfly…or are you now a butterfly dreaming you are a man?” Sit With the Meaning It’s a question with no answer.Not becaus
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