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Teaching That Lasts a Lifetime (BCR14)

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KOAN:

A student asked Yunmen, “What is the teaching that lasts a lifetime?”
Yunmen said, “Say something in response.”

also:

A student asked Yunmen, “Would you summarize the Buddha’s teachings?”
Yunmen said, “Say something in response.”

—Blue Cliff Record, Case 14

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)
Tags
2022 Fall Sesshin, awakening, Boat Monk, body of reality, Daowu, Dharmakaya, falling, Jiashan, leaving, October 5 2022, teacher and student, traveler, Yaoshan, Yunmen
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