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: Iron Grinder Liu
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The nun Iron Grinder Liu came to visit Guishan.
Guishan said, “Oh, you old buffalo! 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 Equanimity, Case 60
A couple of things came up immediately as I began spending time with this koan and vice versa. First was a koan involving Yunmen in which someone asks, “What is the essence of all of the teachings?” And Yunmen replies, “Speaking in tune with any occasion.” Other translations have Yunmen saying, “Say something in response.” I like the “in tune” version.
Sometimes it feels to me like I have an internal pitch pipe that lets me know if I’m in tune or out of tune with the situation or another person. Iron Grinder and Guishan are completely in tune with each other. It’s not the kind of being in tune like a barbershop quartet, it’s more like two jazz musicians riffing. They’re not reading from sheet music; it is completely speaking without moving their lips or tongue.
The other thing that came up was Qingtan (Ch’ing T’an), or Pure Conversation. It was something popular in China between the 3rd–6th centuries CE. It featured discussions on merging Daoist dark learning with Confucianism. It emphasized abstract, anti-mundane conversation—focusing on the Zhuangzi and I-Ching.
There is an account of two practitioners of Pure Conversation that I was reminded of by Iron Grinder leaving at the end of this koan. According to the story, a practitioner of Pure Conversation walks some distance to another town where another practitioner of Pure Conversation lived. Upon arriving at the door of the other practitioner’s house, without knocking on the door, he turned and went home. I was told this is an example of the purest of Pure Conversation. At some point Buddhists also got involved in these kinds of conversations and it’s hard not to wonder about the influence of Pure Conversation on koan practice.
See you on Tuesday for some not so pure conversation.
—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
