The Zoom Quilt

This really has nothing (directly) to do with Zen, but it's cool anyway. [Uses Flash, via Metafilter]

Beginning Meditation - A Zen Primer

Includes a section called "What's the Point?" Another good basic guide.

The Benefits of Zen Meditation in Addiction and Recovery

Starts as a good basic guide to meditation and Zen, then focuses on the uses of Zen in dealing with addiction and recovery. Pretty cool.

Shikantaza

From The Wanderling's amazing Awakening 101 site, this is one way into this web of knowledge. It all starts here.

Maximum Bliss

Interesting Zen site with sections devoted to Zen stories, meditation techniques, and more

The Buddhist Channel

"The Buddhist Channel (BC) was officially launched on October 25, 2004. . . . Using the latest web technologies on content publication, the BC remains the world's only dedicated Buddhist news servcies, providing daily updates and in-depth coverage."
Buddhist news on the web with an RSS feed.

Daily Zen

A new Zen quote on the front page every day. The illustrated Zen Legends is also interesting.

University of Virginia's Zen Buddhism page

A brief description of the basics of Zen Buddhism, and some good links (although many of them are dead), including one to Essentials of Buddhism which is a sort of Zen Buddhism cheat sheet, and itself has more links. And on it goes.

Scans of Monks' Brains Show Meditation Alters Structure, Functioning

"scientists have begun to wonder whether the brain can change in response to purely internal, mental signals. That's where the Buddhists come in. Their centuries-old tradition of meditation offers a real-life experiment in the power of those will-o'-the-wisps, thoughts, to alter the physical matter of the brain."

'Of all the concepts in modern neuroscience, it is neuroplasticity that has the greatest potential for meaningful interaction with Buddhism,' says neuroscientist Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The Dalai Lama agreed, and he encouraged monks to donate (temporarily) their brains to science."

Cool article with links to more information.

Zen Koans

"These koans, or parables, were translated into English from a book called the Shaseki-shu (Collection of Stone and Sand), written late in the thirteenth century by the Japanese Zen teacher Muju (the "non-dweller"), and from anecdotes of Zen monks taken from various books published in Japan around the turn of the 20th century."
101 Zen koans, yours for the clicking.

web zen

This site isn't about Zen, but might appeal to Zen types. Nice simple design on the front page, links to various oddities.

Frequently Asked Questions from alt.zen

Topics include What is Zen? (the simple question), What is Zen? (the real question), Instructions for the practice of zazen (sitting meditation), Glossary, some terms related to Zen Buddhism briefly defined, and Introductory reading list. The background graphic is a bit distracting, but the site has useful info.

Zen Buddhist Texts

"In these pages you'll find texts about Zen Buddhism, Zen meditation (zazen) and other Zen sitting practices (samu, kinhin), sayings and talks (teisho) of Zen masters and Zen Buddhist ritual and chants of interest to both novices and those with years of practice."

Zen Gardens

Nicely designed website with pictures of Zen gardens. "The web site is dedicated to the gardens of Japan, and more specifically to the historic gardens of Kyoto and its environs."

Do Not ZZZ

"Enter into the world of Zen" with this fun interactive website.
[requires Flash]

Cybermonk

"Cybermonk is a senior monastic available through e-mail to answer your Dharma questions."
You can email questions to the Cybermonk. Also some good information on the site, including good beginner's info on meditation.

Zen Buddhism WWW Virtual Library

"The Internet Guide to Zen (Ch'an, Son, Thien) Online Resources"
Lots of links. Catagories include Zen Buddhism General Resources, Schools of Zen Buddhism, Daily Zen Sutras, and Zen Documents & Writings

zenspace...

A list of zen related links, plus book reviews, and a copy of the Heart Sutra formatted as a Palm OS doc.

Zen Stories to Tell Your Neighbors

"This web site is a collection of stories from the Orient, mostly Zen and Taoist tales."
The stories are short and followed by comments from visitors to the site.

Getting Beyond GOOD vs. EVIL: A Buddhist Reflection on the New Holy War

"In his autobiography Gandhi writes that "those who say that religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion means." Perhaps this is more obvious to us after September 11th, but it should always have been obvious: religion is about how we should live, and politics is about deciding together how we want to live."

This Is What War Looks Like

"The abuse at Abu Ghraib prison is what happens when we abandon compassion and allow our animal nature to take over."
Interview with Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh.

How it is that we have come to Invade Iraq

Previously titled: Why We Are Invading Afghanistan, by Sensei Sevan Ross
"So on my way to give a talk on Zen at a local college I stop for gas." Find out what happens.