Episode 1: Guanyin’s 84,000 Hands & Eyes of Mercy
By John Tarrant
Today’s episode centers on awakening as a practice of intimacy. Roshi John Tarrant takes up koan Case 89 from The Blue Cliff Record: Guanyin’s 84,000 Hands & Eyes of Mercy:
Yunyan asked Daowu, “How does Guanyin use all those hands and eyes?”
Daowu answered, “It’s like feeling behind you for a pillow in the middle of the night.”
“I understand.”
“What do you understand?”
“The whole body is hands and eyes.”
“That’s very well expressed, but it doesn’t say it all.”
“What would you say, older brother?”
“All through the body are hands and eyes.”
Tarrant speaks of koans as companions for learning to move in the dark, learning to embrace the uncertainties in our lives and in life itself.
Listen to hear more about the secret kindness of the world and the unexpected help we receive when we take up the real journey.
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I want the teacher to take everything away except my delusion.
— John Tarrant
Show notes:
- What is an inquiry koan
- How does a bodhisattva use all those hands and eyes
- What is love
- Does intuition lead to enlightenment
- What can the universe teach us about our bodies
- How can koans help us understand intimacy
You are moving in the dark because the delusion has already colonized the areas that are light.
— John Tarrant
Links mentioned:
No answer is as interesting as a question.
— John Tarrant