Monk Boshan’s Advice for Investigating Zen

Advanced Class Series 1: Practice Zen meditation in accord with the teachings of Monk Boshan (1575-1630)

Guided by Shifu (teacher or Zen master) Linda and Shifu Jeremy, you will be reading the Zen doctrine ‘Monk Boshan’s Advice for Investigating Zen’ and build up the right view (correct concepts) of Zen and Zen meditation in this course.

In preparing this course, Shifu Linda and Shifu Jeremy cited 70 sections from ‘Monk Boshan’s Advice for Investigating Zen’, translated the Chinese doctrine into English, and gave a new structure for reading the doctrine in class. Shifu Linda and Shifu Jeremy kindly give 40 lessons for this course, in the hope that practitioners can build up the right view of Zen, work on the right track of Zen meditation, and uncover the nature of self.

As the Advanced Class is designed for students who have completed Beginner’s Zen Class and Bridging Class in our physical Zen centers and Online Zen School, we strongly recommend that you complete the online Beginner’s Zen Class and Bridging Class before taking this course. You may find the information of Beginner’s Zen Class and Bridging Class and enroll here

None Zen Center is a small non-profit organization, providing tuition-free Zen classes and run entirely by donation. We sincerely ask for your giving to support a tuition-free Zen environment and help continually grow the Zen community. Please consider donating $5, $8, $12 or any generous amount monthly. Any one-time or recurring donations at less or greater amounts are truly and deeply appreciated. We thank you for your love, care, and generosity for the Zen community.


Your Instructor


Shifu Linda Huang and Shifu Jeremy Wei
Shifu Linda Huang and Shifu Jeremy Wei
Linda Huang and Jeremy Wei are the founding Masters of None Zen Center. Both of them are Dharma Heirs of Zen Master Guoru (1951- ), making them the 59th generation Master of Linji (Jpn. Rinzai), 53rd generation Master of Caodong (Jpn. Soto), and 3rd generation Master of Dharma Drum lineages.

Course Curriculum


  Lesson 0 - Monk Boshan - A brief introduction
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  Lesson 2 - Right view:
 Doubt to enlightenment
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  Lesson 3 - Right View: 
Doubt on your mind movements
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  Lesson 4 - Difficulties/mistakes: 
I don’t know how to do it…. 
I know, but…
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  Lesson 6 - Right View:
 Eagerness

 & Difficulties/mistakes: 
Being slack, unaware, drowsy...
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  Lesson 7.2 - Right View: Reaching the meditative level “the huatou emerges in front of you”
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  Lesson 8.3 - Difficulties/mistakes:
The intellectual mind
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  Lesson 8.4 - Difficulties/mistakes:
The intellectual mind
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  Lesson 9.1 - Right View:
 Investigating Zen until you have no doubt
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  Lesson 11.1 - Right view:
 Be tight, be right, be impermeable, and be able to fuse (with the world)
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  Lesson 11.2 - Right view:
 Be tight, be right, be impermeable, and be able to fuse (with the world)
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  Lesson 12 - Difficulties/mistakes: 
Losing the right view
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  Lesson 14.2 Difficulties/mistakes: Lightness and ease
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  Lesson 14.3 Difficulties/mistakes: 
Lightness and ease
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  Lesson 16 - Difficulties/mistakes:
 Suppressing your thoughts
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  Lesson 17 - Difficulties/mistakes: Visualizing or contemplating your body as the empty voids
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  Lesson 22.1 - Difficulty/mistake: 
Mistaking Zen meditation as requiring no work
. Loafing around
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  Lesson 22.3 - Mistaking Zen meditation as requiring no work loafing around
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Frequently Asked Questions


What is None Zen Center?
None Zen Center is a community to advance your Zen practice. At None Zen Center, Zen meditation is not about looking for relaxation, tranquility, or stillness; it is about knowing your self and your true nature. We are dedicated to Zen meditation, and we are approaching the way to uncover our self, to reveal our true nature. We started our first meditation center in Taipei, Taiwan in 2013. In 2015, we founded our San Jose Center in California, USA and, two years later, the third meditation site in Tainan, Taiwan in December 2017. From February 2020, we started to provide Zen classes in Manchester, UK. None Zen Center launched the Online Zen School in March 2018. We want to make Zen teachings accessible to students around the globe via online classes.
What will I learn from this course? What is the purpose this course designed for?
Guided by Shifu (teacher or Zen master) Linda and Shifu Jeremy, you will be reading the Zen doctrine ‘Monk Boshan’s Advice for Investigating Zen’ and build up the right view (correct concepts) of Zen and Zen meditation in this course. In preparing this course, Shifu Linda and Shifu Jeremy cited 70 sections from ‘Monk Boshan’s Advice for Investigating Zen’, translated the Chinese doctrine into English, and gave a new structure for reading the doctrine in class. Shifu Linda and Shifu Jeremy kindly give 40 lessons for this course, in the hope that practitioners can build up the right view of Zen, work on the right track of Zen meditation, and uncover the nature of self.
How do I prepare before this class?
The Advanced Class is designed for students who have completed Beginner’s Zen Class and Bridging Class in our physical Zen centers and Online Zen School, we strongly recommend that you complete the online Beginner’s Zen Class and Bridging Class before taking this course.
How often should I take the course?
In our physical centers, we have the Advanced class weekly. In our physical classes our Shifu Linda will always check that we have done our sitting meditation sessions at home between classes, and sometimes that can be scary if we haven’t done so! But in the online class you don’t have to worry about this as this is all at your own pace haha, but that means you have to be more self-disciplined! We recommend to set a regular schedule for taking this course, to build up the right Zen concepts and stay on the right track in your Zen meditation practice. For example, you can take one class every week on a set day and time. The most important thing is to keep coming back for the classes to establish your right Zen concepts and build up a regular sitting practice. You are also welcome to participate in our weekly Advanced class in person if you live near one of our centers, when you complete the Beginner's and Bridging courses.
What do I do after each session of this course?
Please practice Doubting meditation twice a week, and build your regular sitting habit by practicing your meditation on fixed days and starting from a fixed time. For example, you sit on Tuesday and Thursday mornings starting at 7am. We want you to sit one more minute every week to train your continuous concentration, and that’s why we want you to start at a fixed time. After completing your sitting session, spend 10 minutes to write your Zen diary and email your diary to Shifu Linda.
Who are the teachers of this course?
The None Zen Center inherits the Chinese Zen Lineages of Linji (or Rinai in Japanese), Caodong (or Soto in Japanese), and Dharma Drum Mountain. Our founding masters, and instructors of this course, Jeremy Wei and Linda Huang received Dharma transmission from Zen Master Guoru in 2012 and 2013 respectively, making them both the 59th generation masters of Linji lineage, the 53rd generation masters of Caodong lineage, and the 3rd generation masters of Dharma Drum lineage.
How much does this course cost?
We recommend a donation amount of $5, $8, $12 or any generous amount monthly for us. Any one-time or recurring donations at less or greater these amounts are deeply and truly appreciated. As a small 501(c)3 non-profit organization, we are able to provide tuition-free classes on the Online Zen School and in our four centers thanks to your donations. You may give your donation by clicking on the link below to our Paypal donation page. You do not need a Paypal account to donate. But if you consider giving motherly recurring donations, you will need a Paypal account. Link to donate - https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=SQU2FUA98SP4G&source=url
Do I get a certificate when completing this course?
You will be not be awared a certificate for the Advanced Course as it is an ongoing training.
What is the next course that I should attend?
You are welcome to join our annual Zen meditation retreat. A Zen retreat is intense training to help practitioners deepen their Zen experience, break through the forms of duality, and uncover the nature of self within a set time period. Due to the COVID-19 circumstances, our next retreat will be in 2021, you may email [email protected] or visit thenone.org for the latest information.
How do I get in touch if I have any questions?
Please contact us by email at [email protected] and we will reply as soon as possible. Any questions about Zen are welcome!

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