PZI Teacher Archives
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Tess Beasley
Hermit of Lotus Flower Peak (BCR25)
KOAN:
The hermit of Lotus Flower Peak held up her staff and said to the assembly,
“When the ancestors got here, why didn’t they stay here?”
There was no answer.
She said, “Because there was no power for the path.”
And again, she said, “In the end, how is it?”
And again, she herself responded, “With my staff across my shoulders, without a backward glance, I go straight into the myriad peaks.”
—Blue Cliff Record, Case 25
Beyond Clarity & Confusion
Jesse Cardin gets a phone call about a warrant for his arrest and enters the realms of clarity and confusion. Who can wait quietly till the mud settles? It’s not our business if we’re clear or confused. Whatever arrives carries us through. Stories and koans from the Odyssey, Daodejing, Yunmen, and a hermit who enters the jumbled mountains without a backward glance. As recorded April 24th, 2022.