Why did Bodhidharma return to India? We don’t know, and we don’t have to know. But it was quite kind of him to leave a sandal behind. Join Jon Joseph Roshi for a koan, meditation, dharma talk and conversation. Register to participate. All are welcome.

Koans are a path of imagination, which means if you fall into the depths, you will be held and discover who you really are. At Pacific Zen we’ve developed ways to teach the koans that anyone can take up, even people who have never meditated before. Join John Tarrant & Friends for our Fall Retreat (Sesshin) in the PZI Digital Temple: Metamorphosis – The Sound of the Distant Temple Bell. Register to participate. All are welcome.

Here is a curation of sesshin dharma talks on a single page, for easy finding and listening. A sesshin is always more than the sum of its parts or its recorded talks. There are morning rituals, greetings, incense passed magically through the screen, changing light, rich silences, moments of humor, tech gremlins, tears, synchronicities, dogs barking, dreams and awakenings that we share. It is a precious moment of timeless play in the universe and with each other. As recorded in the PZI Digital Temple, June 22-27, 2021.

Our teachers reminded us in sesshin that we are still writing The Blue Cliff Record. How great it is to feel a part of that. It is no surprise that our meetings and encounters, wherever they occur, hold up a mirror to Yuanwu’s gathering. I want to thank all our ancestors and teachers for this generous, inclusive koan practice; not just bright but dark, not just dark but bright, always changing and allowing. 

Sunday Talk excerpt from John Tarrant’s Free & Easy Wandering Series. In uncertain times, Dalung’s koan is something to trust. The mystery of your life is endless, the mystery gives endlessly. As recorded May 23, 2021.