Dharma

“The Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices” is a short essay attributed to Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen school of Buddhism.

Entrance by Principle

To enter by principle means to realize the essence through instruction and to believe that all living things share the same true nature, which isn’t apparent because it’s shrouded by sensation and delusion.

• Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
• Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice by Kōshō Uchiyama
• Living By Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts by Shōhaku Okumura
• How to Cook Your Life: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment by Kōshō Uchiyama (commentary on Dōgen's Tenzo Kyōkun - "Instructions to the Cook")

Entrance by Practice

To enter by practice refers to four all-inclusive practices: Suffering injustice, adapting to conditions, seeking nothing, and practicing the Dharma.

After reading the first chapter of Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, which is simply instructions for Zen meditation (zazen), I watched these two videos to learn more. Shodo Harada Rōshi is a Rinzai Zen teacher.  Gudō Wafu Nishijima Roshi was a Sōtō Zen teacher. Coincidentally, he was my jukai teacher's teacher and appears on my lineage chart.