PZI Teacher Archives
-
Allison Atwill -
David Parks -
David Weinstein -
Eduardo Fuentes -
Jesse Cardin -
John Tarrant -
Jon Joseph -
Michelle Riddle -
Tess Beasley
Standing on the Point of a Needle (MK36c)
KOAN:
Why is it that someone who can dive into the sea and count the grains of sand is standing on tiptoe on the point of a needle?
—PZI Miscellaneous Koans, Case 36c
From Xutang Zhiyu’s Three Barriers:
a. How can an unenlightened person put on clothes made of emptiness?
b. If an enlightened person draws up the plan for a prison on the ground, why can’t they get out?
c. Why is it that someone who can dive into the sea and count the grains of sand is standing on tiptoe (or sitting?) on the point of a needle?
Fall Sesshin 2021: Koan Practice or Not? Going Beyond Form
David Weinstein gives a morning dharma talk on being captured by the mystery and the koan, “Things are not as they appear, nor are they otherwise,” and on the metamorphosis of Monarchs on his windowsill. Constant change and the constancy of who you are do not contradict each other. As recorded Wednesday, October 20, 2021, in Fall Sesshin.