Daniel Scharpenburg
Daniel Scharpenburg lives in Kansas City. He’s a Zen Priest and Teacher in the Dharma Winds Zen Tradition. He regularly teaches at the Open Heart Project and he leads public meditations.
He believes the path is really about opening ourselves up and becoming more genuine and real. He has been called “a great everyman teacher” and “really down to earth.” He believes in meeting people where they are and sharing teachings as widely as he can.
His writing has appeared in Lion’s Roar, The Secular Buddhist, Patheos, and Elephant Journal.
He has given public teachings at the Rime Buddhist Center and at the Heartland Pagan Festival.
We Chase Happiness but We Already Have It | Video
By Daniel Scharpenburg I've recently been reading the text, Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, and I wanted to share this story. A student goes to Master Ma and says, "I want you to teach me" Master Ma says, "What a fool you are! You already have...
True Charity, Helping Others Without Worrying about if We Think They Deserve It | Video
By Daniel Scharpenburg "If a poor man comes begging from you, give him what he needs, according to your means. Have great love and great compassion, considering him as if he were part of your own body. This is True Charity, True Sharing, True Giving."-So...
Metta: Kindness to Cure Fear | Video
By Daniel Scharpenburg Fear. We all feel it. Fear of heights, fear of small spaces, fear of getting up in front of an audience and speaking, fear of telling someone how you feel. Fear is a normal emotion, but it can spiral out of control into...
A Need for Clarity
By Daniel Scharpenburg Our journey doesn’t transform us, it invites us to transform ourselves. The path doesn’t really give us anything, the path only cuts things away. Even that’s not right. The path doesn’t cut things away, it inspires us...
Starting a Meditation Practice? Here are a Few Types You Can Try:
By Daniel Scharpenburg Meditation used to be done by only a select few people. Long ago it was limited to monks and nuns. When this new branch of Buddhism arose in China, they named it Chan (later Zen). It just means, "Those Buddhists over...
Starting a Meditation Practice: Group or Solo?
By Daniel Scharpenburg Meditation with a group is easier than meditating alone. It's easier because when you have a group there's a sort of accountability. If you're alone there's no one to hold you accountable but yourself. That's tough;...
When We are Faced with the Uncomfortable
By Daniel Scharpenburg It’s snowing in Kansas City. I don’t like snow. Sure, I liked playing in it as a kid, like everyone else. But since growing up…well, I think it’s beautiful. It’s nice to look out the window and see the trees and the...
How Much of Your Time Will You Waste Today Worrying?
By Daniel Scharpenburg “Take all the courage you have left Wasted on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head.” -Mumford and Sons We waste a lot of mental energy; we are wasting it all the time. I only use the word "waste"...
Zen Stories & Paying Attention to the Little Things
By Daniel Scharpenburg What we call the Zen school is really a conglomeration. It includes the original teaching of the Buddha, which I call First Turning Buddhism, and the spirit of Chinese culture at the time. What we call “Zen meditation”...
Why Do Some Buddhists Wear Robes?
By Daniel Scharpenburg I have a set of robes that I don't like to wear. To me putting on robes feels kind of like playing dress up. Why would I dress up like a Chinese or Korean Zen teacher? I'm an American Zen teacher. Also they remind me a little too...
How the Netflix Show Atypical Reminds Me of the Metta Sutta
By Daniel Scharpenburg I started watching this show on Netflix called Atypical. When I say “started watching” I mean I watched all 18 episodes in this month (I like Netflix a lot). It’s a coming of age tale about a teenager named Sam who is...
You are not Alone: Finding a Spiritual Community
By Daniel Scharpenburg Buddhism was created because a guy sat under a tree by himself. Prior to that he studied with some spiritual teachers, but he didn't find the relief from suffering that he was looking for. Then he practiced asceticism...
Faith in Buddhism?
By Daniel Scharpenburg In Buddhism there was a development called Pure Land. This movement started around the year 100, so…700 years after the life of the Buddha. It began in India but it really took off in China, and was a teaching that had...
People Ask, Why are You Buddhist? This is Why:
By Daniel Scharpenburg “I seek to cure what’s deep inside, frightened by this thing that I’ve become.” -Toto I'm often asked by people, "Why are you Buddhist?" The Buddha felt the unease of life, the same unease that we often feel today....
Deshan, the Food Truck & the Importance of Practice
By Daniel Scharpenburg “All the profound doctrines are but a speck of dust In a vast void. All the great affairs of the world are but a drop Of water cast into a bottomless chasm.” Deshan was a Buddhist monk in southwest China. He...
