Jiashan's State of Mind (EV99)

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KOAN:

A student asked Jiashan, “What is Jiashan’s state of mind?”
Jiashan answered, “Monkeys, clasping their young to their breasts, return beyond the green peaks: a bird with a flower in its beak alights before the blue grotto.”

—Entangling Vines, Case 99

Text June 28, 2023

Falling Into the Well of Sesshin

John Tarrant

Koans

Baling's Falling into a Well (MK74b), Jiashan Meets the Boat Monk, Jiashan's State of Mind (EV99), Knock on Any Door (BCR), Teaching That Lasts a Lifetime (BCR14)

Category

Text, Transcript

The nice thing about falling is it’s already happened, you know? It started already; there’s not much you can do about it. So you’re kind of free, in a way. It’s sort of like being condemned: Knowing you’ll die tomorrow—well, you can do anything you want tonight.

4081 Words

Dharma Theme October 24, 2022

Dharma Theme: Door After Door Opening Inside – Fall Sesshin 2022

John Tarrant, PZI Cantor & Musicians, PZI Teachers

Koans

Baling's Falling into a Well (MK74b), Jiashan's State of Mind (EV99), Just This Is It, Say a Word of Zen (GG3)(BCR19)(BS84), Say Something in Response (BCR14), Zhaozhou's No (GG1)(BS18)