COURSE

Zen Stories: 10 Gates Of Awakening

Zen is something that is not a thing, so it’s hard to talk about. Rather, it is a certain feeling. Stories have been used for thousands of years to help provide the feeling. They’re like the experience of a joke, and here the punchline is the feeling of enlightenment. In this course, I present a collection of 10 Zen stories, each just a few minutes long, some ancient and some from my own experience at a Zen monastery. Time to wake up.

Meet your Teacher

Charles Freligh, PhD

Northfield, MN 55057, USA

Charles has a PhD in clinical psychology, is a published author, and leads several spiritual retreats each year in addition to his individual therapeutic work. He has spent significant time at Zen monasteries and deeply enjoys sharing ancient Zen wisdom in a simple and easy to understand manner.

10 Days

3.6k students

5.0 stars

4 min / day

Awakening

English

Lesson 1

The Empty Cup

Here is a famous story related to what you might call Beginner’s Mind. In order to grasp the meaning of Zen, which cannot be grasped, you must be willing to empty your mind of what it’s already full of.

Lesson 2

Moon Water

This story presents a classic visual metaphor for the enlightened mind. This is the first example of a mōndo in this course, which is a dialogue between a teacher and a student. You are both the teacher and the student.

Lesson 3

Mind Moves

Here’s my son’s favorite of the classic Zen stories (he’s 4, and he’ll request “the one about the flag” sometimes). This one touches on relativity and the implicit distinctions made by the thinking mind. What is behind all these distinctions?

Lesson 4

Kimpu's Lesson

Here’s a story from my own experience at a Zen monastery, Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. In the story, I have a brief and seemingly simple interaction with a resident monk, Kimpu, that changed my mind forever.

Lesson 5

Show Me Your Mind

This story references a classic Zen figure, Bodhidharma, the originator of Zen Buddhism, which was created when this figure moved from India to China. In this way, Zen Buddhism is at least as much Chinese as it is Indian.

Lesson 6

Why?

We experience another story in reference to old Bodhidharma, that trickster. This one articulates a question used in Zen throughout the ages: “Why did Bodhidharma move from India to China?” The teacher always responds to the student’s question unexpectedly. And that’s the answer.

Lesson 7

The Mind Thief

Here’s another one of my son’s favorites. It’s full of symbolism, playfulness, weirdness, and beauty. In this one, we encounter Ryokan, an old Zen master living in a small hut at the foot of a mountain. And he meets a thief. Let’s see what happens.

Lesson 8

A True Word

Here’s another story from my own experience at a Zen monastery. In this one, the main teacher (the roshi) asked us a question out of nowhere following a meal. These unexpected questions are great opportunities for awakening.

Lesson 9

The Background

In this one, we have an old mōndo between a teacher and student looking out at the ocean. A snapshot of nature witnessed directly always offers the whole truth encapsulated in all of Zen Buddhism. What is behind what’s looking?

Lesson 10

The Final Answer

Here we come to the deepest answer provided by the school of Zen as it relates to how to live a Zen life. It is deep but not complicated. In fact, it might just be too simple for the thinking mind to grasp. And so we return to the empty cup.

Ask your teacher

This course includes 177 community questions and 169 audio replies from Charles Freligh, PhD. The community classroom and teacher audio replies are only available via the app.

177

5.0 (447)

Recent Reviews

Fabian

September 19, 2026

Great!!!

HELEN

September 17, 2026

This extraordinary course provides Zen stories that are direct, profound and cause meaningful reflection. The presentation is simple and engaging with each story beginning and ending with the singing bowl. Charles has a deeply grounded presence and a soothing, peaceful voice. I remember each story and reflect on them periodically. I begin my day with these stories and highly recommend the course. The lessons are each under five minutes and can easily fold in to even the busiest days.

Sherry

September 17, 2026

Wonderful stories

Jane

September 17, 2026

Thank you for sharing this short course. I appreciate that each day was short but profound and thought provoking. 🙏

Claire

September 17, 2026

Really gentle introduction to Zen. Very easy to listen to and short enough to stay really present. I enjoyed this

Barbara

September 17, 2026

Love these…more please!🙏🏻☸️🪷

Joey

September 17, 2026

Absolutely wonderful. I listened every evening before bed and it was an exquisite way to end my day. Thank you Follow up - I just finished listening a second time through. I’m sure it won’t be my last.

Bev

September 16, 2026

Thoroughly enjoyed this course. It gave me food for thought... especially day 10, eat, then wash your bowl, then go onto the next thing. I'm always 2/3/4 steps ahead of myself. I love that you start/end each session with the singing bowl and let it ring til it naturally fades away. At the end of day 10 I heard the frequencies change as the dynamic faded, ending with a much higher frequency than I had heard before. Namaste 🙏🧘‍♀️🕉️

MaryAnn

September 16, 2026

Thought promoting out of the box

Sylvia

September 15, 2026

I very much enjoyed this series.What I realized is that I make life more difficult and complicated with my questioning mind. I look forward to listening to 111 day series. So much to learn. I just have to let it be, let go amd allow.

Glenn

September 15, 2026

Thank you thank you 🙏🙏

Helen

September 13, 2026

Loving all these courses, thank you Charles 🙏

Pauline

September 11, 2026

Very thought provoking. Thank you Charles

Betsy

September 11, 2026

Wonderful teachings. Charles has such a calm presence

Christina

September 11, 2026

I enjoyed

Helena

September 11, 2026

I really enjoyed these zenstories. I keep thinking about the oaktree and the garden. Thank you!

Pat

September 10, 2026

I loved everything about this course except it ended too soon. Please do more like this with the video format.

CHRISTINE

September 10, 2026

So peaceful I shall listen to them all again

Cathy

September 8, 2026

Short sessions but profound. Thank you! 🙏 Cathy

Donna

September 8, 2026

Thanks, Charles, for this little audio library of Zen stories. Back in the early 70s, when I first got interested in Buddhism, the Tao, and the Indian religions, Zen koans drove me crazy. I just found them annoying! Now after about 20 years of learning Buddhism, practicing mindfulness and seeking to incorporate Buddhist values into my life, I enjoy reflecting on these stories! And that’s my Zen story! Thank you, Charles! Donna

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