John Lee Pendall is a featured columnist, editor, podcast host, and co-owner of the Tattooed Buddha. He’s also a poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist (He’s recorded five albums so far), an amateur photographer/graphic designer and pen & ink artist, and he has a B.S. in psychology. He currently lives between two cornfields in rural Illinois. His errant knowledge base covers astronomy, theology, philosophy, music theory, and quoting lines from movies.
John Lee practices Chan Buddhism as a Novice Chan Priest. He’s also a lay Buddhologist (Buddhist scholar), and frequently translates and writes commentaries on Buddhist texts.
Feel free to check out John’s Facebook page and his blog, “Salty Dharma.”
Zen, Sex & Rock’n’Roll: Stop Looking Outside Yourself for Stability
By John Lee Pendall I'd like to start this post with an ode to rye whiskey: Shining amber beneath a harvest moon My synapses crackling to life Each blade of grass is a field of treasures Buddhas smile, their golden breasts caressed by...
Practice As You Are, Not As You Want To Be
By John Lee Pendall There's a boundless sea that can't evaporate; there's a blazing fire that can't be extinguished. What happens when they meet? We get this (gestures broadly). We get the mind, which sees, hears and knows, but can't be...
The Truth is, Sh*t Helps the Flowers Grow: Dharma is not Always Pretty
By John Lee PendallBunny rabbits, unicorns, sprinkles and rainbows---no thanks.Maybe it's just me, but I generally find, "Don't be an idiot," more inspiring than, "Keep learning and growing!" For one thing, it increases my trust in the person. If...
What Does It Mean to be Awake?
By John Lee Pendall What's the first thing you do each morning? People answer that in a lot of different ways: get out of bed, open my eyes, go to the bathroom, check my phone, get dressed, eat breakfast, turn on the light, on and on. All of...
Why Were Zen Masters So Violent?
By John Lee Pendall Zen teachers were violent because people are dumb. We tend to get so stuck in our ways; the stick helps unstick us. Our minds get so clogged with BS that it can be difficult for things like lectures and studying to...
The Drifting: Accepting that Everything is Changing
By John Lee Pendall We all want the good stay. It's not just humans either, all living beings seem to be like this to some extent. We tend to have a “Just one more” mindset. Just one more bite, one more laugh, one more dance, glance, one...
Kindness is Enlightenment, Kindness is the Way
By John Lee Pendall Kindness isn’t something we develop along the way, kindness is the way. Kindness and compassion are the wisdom of emptiness, of shining silence. When you’re intimately aware of profound interdependence, what else is...
Shut the F*ck Up (The Meditation Method for the Masses)
By John Lee Pendall As a self-proclaimed writer, a busy mind is kind of a job hazard. Inner speech is always flowing, and always purposeful. Sometimes I get so involved in my mental chatter, that I can just tune out everything else for...
There is No Spoon: Zen & The Matrix
By John Lee PendallWhat inspired The Matrix? According to the directors, Buddhism and quantum physics both played a role.I'm not going to go into the quantum physics aspect, because I only have a window-shopper knowledge of it at best. So, I'll just stick...
Hold Your Horses, Eager Beaver! Zen Takes Time
By John Lee Pendall Mountains, farmlands and paths paved by feet and hoofs---that's where Zen came from. It came from wooden fishing boats on valley lakes, and small villages full of poor traders in ragged clothes. It was the hermit's...
Hero vs Anti-Hero: We are More Than One Thing
By John Lee Pendall "People can be more than one thing, Joel." - Gary West in Santa Clarita Diet Gary was kind of a creep. Then, after a traumatic event (I'll try not to spoil it for you in case you want to watch the show), he...
Adaptive Meditation: Using Your Whole Toolbox
By John Lee Pendall There are two schools of thought when it comes to sitting: 1) Only use one method 2) Adjust accordingly When we study Buddhist texts, it's clear that each method was created with a specific use in mind. The only one...
Doubt: The Heart of Rebellion in Uncertain Times
By John Lee Pendall "Almost unfailingly, innovative ideas, revolutionary ideas, ideas that are full of life don't survive within institutions. There's a reason why institutions rarely ever produce creative geniuses. It's because creativity thrives where life is...
Mindfulness isn’t About Being Present
By John Lee Pendall The past and future are alive in the present. There's a cult of presentism in a lot of Westernized Eastern schools of thought. But after talking to an old friend for an hour on the phone, it's clear that there's more...
Zen & The Anxiety Monster: Living in the Present
By John Lee Pendall Anxiety is as physical as it is psychological. It seems to rise up from the unconscious. And what is the body but part of that unconscious network of neurons? An imperceptible sensation or a vague sense of unease makes its...