Mazu's Make Yourself a Raft

In the Blue Dragon’s cave, everything is there. If you think you haven’t seen a dragon, you may be wrong. In fact, who says you’re not a dragon? And if you think you don’t know about koans, you may be wrong, too. Who says you’re not a koan? Transcript of a dharma talk in Summer Sesshin 2020.

One of the metaphors for awakening is spring. And don’t be afraid of how marvelous and powerful this thing is that’s carrying us, because it’s your nature and it’s a precious thing. And if we came here for anything, it’s that.

When we lead a group in the PZI tradition, we offer ourselves to something larger. Our small identity falls away to reveal a vessel that can ferry all beings deeper into the mystery of this life we share. This is no easy task. I’m pleased to offer an online 6-part training and support series for group facilitators. In the interest of maintaining focus, this series will be limited to those who are actively facilitating koan salons and cohort groups, or who plan to do so imminently.

For our second session, I’d like us to shine our light on the experience of sitting in the Leader’s Seat. I spoke briefly last time about the facilitator’s role in maintaining the vessel. In this next session, I’d like to dive deeper into the experience of doing that.