The Abbot's blog is a continuing series of essays and reflections by Richard Reishin Collins on Zen practice, poetry, literature, and life at Stone Nest Dojo in Sewanee, Tennessee. Posts range from dharma commentary to literary criticism to personal memoir, always rooted in decades of practice in the lineage of Kodo Sawaki and Taisen Deshimaru.
Latest from the Newsletter
[Placeholder — this block will list the latest posts from our newsletter feed once it is set up. Content and styling to be finalized.]
- Sample post title will appear here — short excerpt — date
- Sample post title will appear here — short excerpt — date
The Stink of Zen and the Return to Nature
Perhaps the most persistent theme in Collins's essays is the tension between institutional religion and direct experience. In “Stink of Zen, Poison Dragons” (Tricycle, Summer 2026), he distinguishes between the fragrance-accumulating temple and the source one finds in nature. True practice requires periodically leaving the temple to return to one's own nature: “Zazen does not need a formal ritual space but only a space at the source of one's own nature.”
Delusion, Dreams, and the Present Moment
Collins returns repeatedly to Deshimaru's teaching that “Delusion itself is satori.” His New Year's essay reflects on the joya no kane ceremony, where the bell rings 108 times to dispel the 108 bonnos, while the Four Great Vows remind us that delusions are endless — the vow is not to eliminate delusion but to keep turning toward clarity, moment by moment.
The Teacher and the Transmission
Robert Livingston Roshi appears throughout Collins's writing as a presiding spirit — mourned, dreamed of, carried. Collins's own relationship to Livingston, as disciple who left for five years and returned to eventually receive transmission, animates much of his writing on authority, autonomy, and what it means to inherit a practice.
Poetry and the Ancient Chinese Poets
Collins's literary background gives his writing unusual density and range. His Stone Nest collection (Shanti Arts, 2025) places him in conversation with Wang Wei, Han Shan, and others who chose mountain solitude as their practice ground.
Community Practice and the Sitting Life
Alongside the more literary essays, the blog documents the rhythm of collective practice: seasonal zazenkai, retreat announcements, and reflections on why sitting together differs from solitary practice.