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Buddha Has No Country

View All Koans

KOAN:

A student asked Jiashan, “What if you sweep away the dust and see the Buddha?”
Jiashan said, “You have to wield your sword. If you don’t, you’ll be like a fisherman stuck in a tangle of reeds, unable to catch a single fish.”

The student then asked Shishuang, “What if you sweep away the dust and see the Buddha?”
Shishuang said, “The Buddha has no country. Where will you meet her?”

The student reported this to Jiashan. Jiashan stepped up to the rostrum and said,“As far as gardening tools go, Shishuang is inferior to me, but for discourse on the
deepest reality, he’s a hundred steps ahead of me.”

—Book of Serenity, Case 68

Audio July 21, 2020

Green Glade: Held by Emptiness

John Tarrant

Koans
Buddha Has No Country, Ikkyu's Well (MK22), Nothing Holy (BCR1)(BS2), Vast Emptiness (BCR1) (BS2)
Tags
Bodhidharma, Duke Zhi, emptiness, July 19 2020, Mazu, Poet - Machado, Poet - Takahashi, Shishan, the valley spirit never dies, the wind blows hard through the pines, well
Category
Audio

Green Glade of Meditation: There is a framework in our practice for relying on emptiness and freedom, not holding pre-set views. Blessing things beyond approval and disapproval. I am you = emptiness. In Zen we shift to “before” the demons grabbed our ankles. You can’t rely on what you believe. We accord with the Dao, we can’t fall out of the dream. PZI Zen online, as recorded July 19, 2020.

94' 45"