Liu, Old Cow
The nun Iron Grinder Liu came to visit Guishan.
Guishan said, “Oh, you old cow! So you have come!”
Iron Grinder said, “Tomorrow there will be a great charity meeting at Mount Tai. Will you be going?”
Guishan sprawled on the ground.
Iron Grinder went away.
—Book of Serenity, Case 60
New to Pacific Zen Institute? Welcome!
After twenty years of teaching koans in a classical way, John Tarrant discovered ways of teaching koans that can orient anyone, including people who have no experience with meditation or Zen, towards a rich, full engagement with their own lives and towards awakening.
Explore and connect in PZI Zen Online events, our extensive Koans and Liberation Project Archive, and more.
The Pacific Zen Institute is a community that embraces koan practice, creativity, and real life. Our mission is to create a culture of transformation through meditation, koans, conversation, and the arts. Join us
Happening Now at PZI
SUNDAY ZEN with John Tarrant & Friends
In the PZI Online Temple
10:30 am–12:00 pm Pacific Time
April 19th
ON BREAK. Returns on April 26th!
Meditation is not a task with a known goal.
It’s something you can’t do wrong, a chance for the things of this world to come towards you and to meet you, for doors to open by themselves, and for us to see where the ancient paths lead.
Waking up is something we do together, in the online temple on Sunday.
We love it when you join us.
—John Tarrant Roshi and all of us at PZI
Most Recent Sunday Talk:
Every Day Is a Good Day
Yunmen asked the assembly, “I don’t ask about before the time of the full moon. What about after the full moon?
He himself replied, “Every day is a good day.”
This koan is like a bowl; the emptiness inside is what makes it beautiful. If you don’t hold onto things, you will see that this life now is what you were born for; your kitchen is a palace, and your hallway is a palace, and you move around with a blessing on your head, a blessing that you can pass on to everyone you meet.
The universe notices us—we’re included, too. The grass, the trees, the animals notice us.
We’re all caught up in this beautiful dream.
In heaven and earth there’s no place to hide.
The person is empty, things, too, are empty.
—John Tarrant, Allison Atwill, & Tess Beasley on April 12th, 2026
Most Recent Podcast:
Ending the Project of Suffering
To end this project of suffering that many of us take on, we need first to identify the types of suffering. Only then can we begin to look past the suffering to the root causes.
We can learn to make use of our suffering by reaching for the light. What does reaching for the light look like? Why does the mind manufacture misery?
This episode features stories of awakening to what was always already here and on our side.
Most Recent Luminaries Guest:
Choreographer & Dancer Denise Fujiwara
Denise Fujiwara, Zen Luminaries guest and longtime PZI member, is a highly acclaimed choreographer and performer of Japanese Butoh and contemporary dance.
Creating a dance is very much like the process of contemplating a Zen koan; it is difficult to learn because vocabulary is foreign to the dance experience.
If you want to do Butoh, the first thing you must do is kill the self. Of course, you can’t kill the self because there is no self but you must figure out what no-self means, not by words but through physical research.
Within dance, what do notions like emptiness and no-self mean?
(Denise Fujiwara)
—Pacific Zen Luminaries Series on February 23rd, 2026
Upcoming Events
Online & In Person
Join Us in the Mornings
Online Koan Meditation
Spring Open Temple Pass: Weekday morning meditations, FREE for PZI Members. Your cushion awaits!
Check Out PZI YouTube
Sesshin, Luminaries, and Sunday Zen videos live here!
Explore the PZI Library
Here you’ll find clips, full length dharma talk videos and audios, transcripts, koans, art, and more.
Listen to Our Podcast
Meeting the Inconceivable with PZI explores Zen koans, dreams, and the creative life.
John Tarrant’s latest book!
The Story of the Buddha
Now available in the PZI Online Store.
Prefer to listen? The audiobook is also available with narration by John himself.
PZI operates from the simple yet profound discovery that awakening can happen in this very life, at this very moment, rather than in some other life at some other time. We use Zen koan meditation, art and conversation toward this end. Join us
Upcoming Retreats at PZI
Open Temple Pass: Weekday Morning Meditations
MARCH 16–MAY 8
Weekday Mornings
PZI Online Temple
Say A True Word & I Will Stay The Night: Open Mind Retreat at Bolinas On the Sea
MAY 7–10
Commonweal Center
Bolinas, CA
Dragons & Tigers, Oh My! Our Great Summer Sesshin
JUNE 8th–14th
Mount Madonna Center
Watsonville, CA