PZI Events Calendar
W E L C O M E to the PZI Events Calendar! Here you will find all upcoming events and registration links for PZI Zen Online retreats, sesshins, and weekly meditations & talks. Search by individual event, day, or month. Save to your Google Calendar or iCal Calendar. No experience required to participate. All event times are Pacific Time. Questions? Contact Lucas at PZI Support.
F E A T U R E D
April 26: What Is This Light That Everybody Has? – Deep Sit Sunday Zen with John Tarrant & Tess Beasley
May 7–10: Say A True Word & I Will Stay The Night – Open Mind Retreat with John Tarrant, Tess Beasley, & Allison Atwill
June 8–14: Dragons & Tigers, Oh My! – Our Great Summer Sesshin with John Tarrant & PZI Teachers
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TUESDAY ZEN with David Weinstein: Fayan’s Boat or Land
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Fayan asked the senior student Jiao, “Did you come by boat or land?”
Jiao said, “I came by boat.”
“Where is the boat?”
“It’s on the river.”
After Jiao had left, Fayan asked a student who was standing nearby,
“Tell me, that student who was just here, could he see into reality or not?”
—Book of Serenity Case 51
There are many cases in which teachers ask, “Where have you come from?” Fayan’s question in this koan feels like that. Confronted with a question like that, another question comes to mind, “Is this a regular question or a Zen question?” Either way, knowing the difference or not knowing the difference, tells the teacher something.
Dongshan did not know the difference when he encountered Yunmen:
Yunmen asked him, “Where were you most recently?”
Dongshan said, “At Chadu.”
Yunmen said, “Where were you during the summer?”
Dongshan said, “At Baozi Monastery in Hunan.”
Yunmen said, “When did you leave there?”
Dongshan said, “August 25th.”
Yunmen said, “I spare you sixty blows.”
In our koan we and the student are asked by Fayan whether we think Jiao knows the difference or not. In Hongzhi’s verse on the koan the first two lines are,
Water cannot wash water, gold cannot be turned into gold.
Did Hongzhi think Jiao knew the difference?
Do you?
—David Weinstein
COME JOIN US on Tuesdays for koan meditation, dharma talk and conversation.
Register to participate. All are welcome.
David Weinstein Roshi, Director of Rockridge Meditation Community
