Christopher Keevil
@christopherkeevil.bsky.social
Zen practitioner. A daily Zen poem or insight. Interested in connecting with others in #Zen, #Buddha, #Meditation, #Spirituality, and related topics.
#Sangha website: www.gardenoaksangha.org
#Book:
https://www.findingzenintheordinary.com
#Book:
https://www.findingzenintheordinary.com
A ladybird wing
Is sufficient
To reach the moon
How many miles
Who knows
Bring some milk too
Overlooking
The impossible
Has perils
Gophers
Won’t go
Stuck in mud
And the ladybird
The gopher
The cow
Miss
The sunrise
Is sufficient
To reach the moon
How many miles
Who knows
Bring some milk too
Overlooking
The impossible
Has perils
Gophers
Won’t go
Stuck in mud
And the ladybird
The gopher
The cow
Miss
The sunrise
January 16, 2026 at 2:12 AM
A ladybird wing
Is sufficient
To reach the moon
How many miles
Who knows
Bring some milk too
Overlooking
The impossible
Has perils
Gophers
Won’t go
Stuck in mud
And the ladybird
The gopher
The cow
Miss
The sunrise
Is sufficient
To reach the moon
How many miles
Who knows
Bring some milk too
Overlooking
The impossible
Has perils
Gophers
Won’t go
Stuck in mud
And the ladybird
The gopher
The cow
Miss
The sunrise
You are it
🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏
🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏
January 15, 2026 at 3:04 PM
You are it
🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏
🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏
Gate
Gate
Paragate
Parasamgate
Bodhi
Svaha!
Gone
Gone
Gone across
Altogether gone across
Awake
Hurrah!
Gate
Paragate
Parasamgate
Bodhi
Svaha!
Gone
Gone
Gone across
Altogether gone across
Awake
Hurrah!
January 14, 2026 at 1:28 PM
Gate
Gate
Paragate
Parasamgate
Bodhi
Svaha!
Gone
Gone
Gone across
Altogether gone across
Awake
Hurrah!
Gate
Paragate
Parasamgate
Bodhi
Svaha!
Gone
Gone
Gone across
Altogether gone across
Awake
Hurrah!
The world
Is friggin’
Falling apart
Awful
Chilling
Something every day
Until Buddha tells me
It’s all happened
Before
You’re needed
Dear one, particularly
In times like these
Practice
And deep realization
Brings clarity
On how to act
When the time
Is now
Is friggin’
Falling apart
Awful
Chilling
Something every day
Until Buddha tells me
It’s all happened
Before
You’re needed
Dear one, particularly
In times like these
Practice
And deep realization
Brings clarity
On how to act
When the time
Is now
January 9, 2026 at 5:57 PM
The world
Is friggin’
Falling apart
Awful
Chilling
Something every day
Until Buddha tells me
It’s all happened
Before
You’re needed
Dear one, particularly
In times like these
Practice
And deep realization
Brings clarity
On how to act
When the time
Is now
Is friggin’
Falling apart
Awful
Chilling
Something every day
Until Buddha tells me
It’s all happened
Before
You’re needed
Dear one, particularly
In times like these
Practice
And deep realization
Brings clarity
On how to act
When the time
Is now
Gate
Gate
Paragate
Parasamgate
Bodhi
Svaha!
Gone
Gone
Gone to the other shore
Altogether gone
to the other shore
Awake
Hurrah!
May all beings accomplish whatever tasks they are engaged in and be fulfilled with all the Buddha dharmas
🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️
Gate
Paragate
Parasamgate
Bodhi
Svaha!
Gone
Gone
Gone to the other shore
Altogether gone
to the other shore
Awake
Hurrah!
May all beings accomplish whatever tasks they are engaged in and be fulfilled with all the Buddha dharmas
🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️
January 4, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Gate
Gate
Paragate
Parasamgate
Bodhi
Svaha!
Gone
Gone
Gone to the other shore
Altogether gone
to the other shore
Awake
Hurrah!
May all beings accomplish whatever tasks they are engaged in and be fulfilled with all the Buddha dharmas
🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️
Gate
Paragate
Parasamgate
Bodhi
Svaha!
Gone
Gone
Gone to the other shore
Altogether gone
to the other shore
Awake
Hurrah!
May all beings accomplish whatever tasks they are engaged in and be fulfilled with all the Buddha dharmas
🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏 ❤️
Everything is going to be alright
Seems ridiculously pollyannaish
But truly
Everything is going to be alright
Seems ridiculously pollyannaish
But truly
Everything is going to be alright
December 26, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Everything is going to be alright
Seems ridiculously pollyannaish
But truly
Everything is going to be alright
Seems ridiculously pollyannaish
But truly
Everything is going to be alright
Endings
The year
The job
The life
Why must it
Be this way
How could it
Be otherwise
A holiday gathering
A grandfather
A newborn
Smiling
A cupboard
A cup
A plate
Overflowing
Why is it
This way
How could it
Be otherwise
The year
The job
The life
Why must it
Be this way
How could it
Be otherwise
A holiday gathering
A grandfather
A newborn
Smiling
A cupboard
A cup
A plate
Overflowing
Why is it
This way
How could it
Be otherwise
December 25, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Endings
The year
The job
The life
Why must it
Be this way
How could it
Be otherwise
A holiday gathering
A grandfather
A newborn
Smiling
A cupboard
A cup
A plate
Overflowing
Why is it
This way
How could it
Be otherwise
The year
The job
The life
Why must it
Be this way
How could it
Be otherwise
A holiday gathering
A grandfather
A newborn
Smiling
A cupboard
A cup
A plate
Overflowing
Why is it
This way
How could it
Be otherwise
Giving thanks and appreciation on this day of light. 🙏
December 9, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Giving thanks and appreciation on this day of light. 🙏
Heading to Huntsville, Alabama today for a four-day Zen retreat at the Green Mountain Zen Center hosted by my good friend Gary Beard, with the teaching led by our teacher, George Bowman.
www.gmzc.us
www.gmzc.us
Green Mountain Zen Center – Zen Buddhist Community in Huntsville
www.gmzc.us
November 6, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Heading to Huntsville, Alabama today for a four-day Zen retreat at the Green Mountain Zen Center hosted by my good friend Gary Beard, with the teaching led by our teacher, George Bowman.
www.gmzc.us
www.gmzc.us
Being with what is
Is the whole of Zen practice
With the breath
With the body
With emotions
With the passing of thoughts
Cut the gap
Between who I am
And my idea of who I am
Cut the gap
Between my situation
And my opinion about
My situation
Thus love and understanding
Opens
Is the whole of Zen practice
With the breath
With the body
With emotions
With the passing of thoughts
Cut the gap
Between who I am
And my idea of who I am
Cut the gap
Between my situation
And my opinion about
My situation
Thus love and understanding
Opens
October 31, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Being with what is
Is the whole of Zen practice
With the breath
With the body
With emotions
With the passing of thoughts
Cut the gap
Between who I am
And my idea of who I am
Cut the gap
Between my situation
And my opinion about
My situation
Thus love and understanding
Opens
Is the whole of Zen practice
With the breath
With the body
With emotions
With the passing of thoughts
Cut the gap
Between who I am
And my idea of who I am
Cut the gap
Between my situation
And my opinion about
My situation
Thus love and understanding
Opens
Sky high
Clouds
Under my feet
Magic carpet
Of activity
Whisking through
Days and decades
Still now
So still
The smallest
And the most grand
The particular
The absolute
Intertwined
Only
A certain set
Of years
Until this body
Crumbles and dissolves
What then to do
With today
Clouds
Under my feet
Magic carpet
Of activity
Whisking through
Days and decades
Still now
So still
The smallest
And the most grand
The particular
The absolute
Intertwined
Only
A certain set
Of years
Until this body
Crumbles and dissolves
What then to do
With today
October 27, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Sky high
Clouds
Under my feet
Magic carpet
Of activity
Whisking through
Days and decades
Still now
So still
The smallest
And the most grand
The particular
The absolute
Intertwined
Only
A certain set
Of years
Until this body
Crumbles and dissolves
What then to do
With today
Clouds
Under my feet
Magic carpet
Of activity
Whisking through
Days and decades
Still now
So still
The smallest
And the most grand
The particular
The absolute
Intertwined
Only
A certain set
Of years
Until this body
Crumbles and dissolves
What then to do
With today
Zen
The way of love and understanding
🙏
The way of love and understanding
🙏
October 22, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Zen
The way of love and understanding
🙏
The way of love and understanding
🙏
Early in the morning
After meditating
All night long
He touched the Earth
And gazing
At the Morning Star
Said
I and all beings
Are awakened
Simultaneously
The roll
Of his thunder
Reaches us
Even today
Great gratitude
For his offering
🙏 #Zen
After meditating
All night long
He touched the Earth
And gazing
At the Morning Star
Said
I and all beings
Are awakened
Simultaneously
The roll
Of his thunder
Reaches us
Even today
Great gratitude
For his offering
🙏 #Zen
October 21, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Early in the morning
After meditating
All night long
He touched the Earth
And gazing
At the Morning Star
Said
I and all beings
Are awakened
Simultaneously
The roll
Of his thunder
Reaches us
Even today
Great gratitude
For his offering
🙏 #Zen
After meditating
All night long
He touched the Earth
And gazing
At the Morning Star
Said
I and all beings
Are awakened
Simultaneously
The roll
Of his thunder
Reaches us
Even today
Great gratitude
For his offering
🙏 #Zen
How did that orb
Glorious, mysterious
Get such beauty
Painting the hemlock
Beyond my window
With nighttime colors
Soaring wide
In this precious moment
This gift of
The whole cosmos
With its kind embrace
Brings me here
Profound thankfulness
For being alive
Amid such riches
Glorious, mysterious
Get such beauty
Painting the hemlock
Beyond my window
With nighttime colors
Soaring wide
In this precious moment
This gift of
The whole cosmos
With its kind embrace
Brings me here
Profound thankfulness
For being alive
Amid such riches
October 9, 2025 at 9:27 AM
How did that orb
Glorious, mysterious
Get such beauty
Painting the hemlock
Beyond my window
With nighttime colors
Soaring wide
In this precious moment
This gift of
The whole cosmos
With its kind embrace
Brings me here
Profound thankfulness
For being alive
Amid such riches
Glorious, mysterious
Get such beauty
Painting the hemlock
Beyond my window
With nighttime colors
Soaring wide
In this precious moment
This gift of
The whole cosmos
With its kind embrace
Brings me here
Profound thankfulness
For being alive
Amid such riches
So see this fleeting world
A star at dawn
A bubble in a stream
A flash of lightning
In a summer cloud
A flickering lamp
A phantom and a dream
—The Diamond Sutra
A star at dawn
A bubble in a stream
A flash of lightning
In a summer cloud
A flickering lamp
A phantom and a dream
—The Diamond Sutra
October 7, 2025 at 10:32 AM
So see this fleeting world
A star at dawn
A bubble in a stream
A flash of lightning
In a summer cloud
A flickering lamp
A phantom and a dream
—The Diamond Sutra
A star at dawn
A bubble in a stream
A flash of lightning
In a summer cloud
A flickering lamp
A phantom and a dream
—The Diamond Sutra
I’ve often wondered if the Buddha illuminated the path to awakening 2500 years ago why it’s still so hard for us humans to wake up.
With all that time, why didn’t the human race figure it out?
I’m interested in your response to this question.
#Zen 🙏
With all that time, why didn’t the human race figure it out?
I’m interested in your response to this question.
#Zen 🙏
October 6, 2025 at 2:31 PM
I’ve often wondered if the Buddha illuminated the path to awakening 2500 years ago why it’s still so hard for us humans to wake up.
With all that time, why didn’t the human race figure it out?
I’m interested in your response to this question.
#Zen 🙏
With all that time, why didn’t the human race figure it out?
I’m interested in your response to this question.
#Zen 🙏
The many beings are numberless
I vow to save them
Greed, hatred, and ignorance rise endlessly
I vow to abandon them
Dharma gates are countless
I vow to awake to them
Buddha’s way is unsurpassed
I vow to embody it fully
🙏 #Zen
I vow to save them
Greed, hatred, and ignorance rise endlessly
I vow to abandon them
Dharma gates are countless
I vow to awake to them
Buddha’s way is unsurpassed
I vow to embody it fully
🙏 #Zen
September 28, 2025 at 11:09 AM
The many beings are numberless
I vow to save them
Greed, hatred, and ignorance rise endlessly
I vow to abandon them
Dharma gates are countless
I vow to awake to them
Buddha’s way is unsurpassed
I vow to embody it fully
🙏 #Zen
I vow to save them
Greed, hatred, and ignorance rise endlessly
I vow to abandon them
Dharma gates are countless
I vow to awake to them
Buddha’s way is unsurpassed
I vow to embody it fully
🙏 #Zen
Jiko
Whole self
How to live
All in
Engaged
Invested
Open-hearted
Exchanging self
For other
You are me
I am you
Enacting from within
Aware of all
🙏 #Zen
Whole self
How to live
All in
Engaged
Invested
Open-hearted
Exchanging self
For other
You are me
I am you
Enacting from within
Aware of all
🙏 #Zen
September 26, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Jiko
Whole self
How to live
All in
Engaged
Invested
Open-hearted
Exchanging self
For other
You are me
I am you
Enacting from within
Aware of all
🙏 #Zen
Whole self
How to live
All in
Engaged
Invested
Open-hearted
Exchanging self
For other
You are me
I am you
Enacting from within
Aware of all
🙏 #Zen
What is it
Really
A cat
Stalking in the grass
A nest of herons
A water buffalo
Coming up for air
Thunderheads
Approach
And I am drenched
Clean
Until
The next time
My chain is pulled
The sun
Also rises
Really
A cat
Stalking in the grass
A nest of herons
A water buffalo
Coming up for air
Thunderheads
Approach
And I am drenched
Clean
Until
The next time
My chain is pulled
The sun
Also rises
September 23, 2025 at 5:36 PM
What is it
Really
A cat
Stalking in the grass
A nest of herons
A water buffalo
Coming up for air
Thunderheads
Approach
And I am drenched
Clean
Until
The next time
My chain is pulled
The sun
Also rises
Really
A cat
Stalking in the grass
A nest of herons
A water buffalo
Coming up for air
Thunderheads
Approach
And I am drenched
Clean
Until
The next time
My chain is pulled
The sun
Also rises
When teaching Zen, say less. There’s no need to convince anyone of anything. We have the practice, and a deep lineage tradition. Come from your heart, and your direct experience. The rest will take care of itself.
— Guidance on teaching from my teacher Bo Mun
#Zen 🙏
— Guidance on teaching from my teacher Bo Mun
#Zen 🙏
September 22, 2025 at 12:31 PM
When teaching Zen, say less. There’s no need to convince anyone of anything. We have the practice, and a deep lineage tradition. Come from your heart, and your direct experience. The rest will take care of itself.
— Guidance on teaching from my teacher Bo Mun
#Zen 🙏
— Guidance on teaching from my teacher Bo Mun
#Zen 🙏
“Exchange self and other”
“We’re in this together”
“It’s a deep democracy”
“There’s no need to force feed the Christmas goose”
“Trust emergence”
—Sayings of my teacher Zen Master Bo Mun
#Zen 🙏🪷🧘♂️
“We’re in this together”
“It’s a deep democracy”
“There’s no need to force feed the Christmas goose”
“Trust emergence”
—Sayings of my teacher Zen Master Bo Mun
#Zen 🙏🪷🧘♂️
September 20, 2025 at 11:44 AM
“Exchange self and other”
“We’re in this together”
“It’s a deep democracy”
“There’s no need to force feed the Christmas goose”
“Trust emergence”
—Sayings of my teacher Zen Master Bo Mun
#Zen 🙏🪷🧘♂️
“We’re in this together”
“It’s a deep democracy”
“There’s no need to force feed the Christmas goose”
“Trust emergence”
—Sayings of my teacher Zen Master Bo Mun
#Zen 🙏🪷🧘♂️
My teacher’s teacher would say, “Just don’t make anything.”
Dogen says, “Refraining from.”
Rather than observing oneself from the outside, we jump wholly into life
Just this. Moment by moment.
🙏 #Zen
Dogen says, “Refraining from.”
Rather than observing oneself from the outside, we jump wholly into life
Just this. Moment by moment.
🙏 #Zen
September 19, 2025 at 12:10 PM
My teacher’s teacher would say, “Just don’t make anything.”
Dogen says, “Refraining from.”
Rather than observing oneself from the outside, we jump wholly into life
Just this. Moment by moment.
🙏 #Zen
Dogen says, “Refraining from.”
Rather than observing oneself from the outside, we jump wholly into life
Just this. Moment by moment.
🙏 #Zen
Impermanence
Is happening
Everywhere
In everything
Thoughts
Come and go
Food is
Digested
Sound
Light
And even matter
Are merely vibrations
How
To live
In this wild
Impermanence?
I too
Am a process
A host of vibrations
Nothing fixed
Soaring
Tumbling
Through
Life
🙏 #Zen
Is happening
Everywhere
In everything
Thoughts
Come and go
Food is
Digested
Sound
Light
And even matter
Are merely vibrations
How
To live
In this wild
Impermanence?
I too
Am a process
A host of vibrations
Nothing fixed
Soaring
Tumbling
Through
Life
🙏 #Zen
September 18, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Impermanence
Is happening
Everywhere
In everything
Thoughts
Come and go
Food is
Digested
Sound
Light
And even matter
Are merely vibrations
How
To live
In this wild
Impermanence?
I too
Am a process
A host of vibrations
Nothing fixed
Soaring
Tumbling
Through
Life
🙏 #Zen
Is happening
Everywhere
In everything
Thoughts
Come and go
Food is
Digested
Sound
Light
And even matter
Are merely vibrations
How
To live
In this wild
Impermanence?
I too
Am a process
A host of vibrations
Nothing fixed
Soaring
Tumbling
Through
Life
🙏 #Zen
Enlightenment
Can happen
To anyone
Not that
There is “someone”
Who gets enlightened
We are a process
Like all creation
There is no static being
Entering this process
Wholly and wholeheartedly
Enlightenment is already there
Welcome
Peace and
Joy
🙏 #Zen
Can happen
To anyone
Not that
There is “someone”
Who gets enlightened
We are a process
Like all creation
There is no static being
Entering this process
Wholly and wholeheartedly
Enlightenment is already there
Welcome
Peace and
Joy
🙏 #Zen
September 9, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Enlightenment
Can happen
To anyone
Not that
There is “someone”
Who gets enlightened
We are a process
Like all creation
There is no static being
Entering this process
Wholly and wholeheartedly
Enlightenment is already there
Welcome
Peace and
Joy
🙏 #Zen
Can happen
To anyone
Not that
There is “someone”
Who gets enlightened
We are a process
Like all creation
There is no static being
Entering this process
Wholly and wholeheartedly
Enlightenment is already there
Welcome
Peace and
Joy
🙏 #Zen