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The Valley Spirit Never Dies (DDJ6)

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KOAN:

The valley spirit never dies,
it is the woman, primal mother.
Her gateway is the root of heaven and earth.
It is like a gossamer veil, barely seen.
Use it; it will never fail.

—Laozi, Daodejing Chapter 6

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Dharma Theme August 1, 2023

Dharma Theme: Great Silence

PZI Teachers

Koans
Bodhidharma and the Buddha-Heart Emperor and the Magical Duke (BCR1)(BS2), Bodhidharma's Vast Emptiness (BCR1)(BS2), Emperor Wu Questions Bodhidharma (BCR1)(BS2), Learning Speech & Silence (GG24), The Valley Spirit Never Dies (DDJ6), The Valley Streams Run Deepest Indigo
Tags
carried in the dark, darkness, emptiness, great silence, mystery, silence, stillness, the absolute, The Dao, uncertainty, Valley Spirit
Category
Dharma Theme, Text

Have confidence: just go into the silence. The absolute is always there. Inside it all, there’s freedom. There’s no situation where infinity is not there.

51 Words

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Dharma Theme July 26, 2023

Dharma Theme: Landscape as Teacher

PZI Teachers

Koans
A Thousand Mountains (MK13), Blue Dragon's Cave (BCR3), Changsha Wandering in the Mountains (BCR36), Dancing Mountains (MK5), How Do You Cross a Stream?, Ten Thousand Feet Down (MK27), The Coin Lost in the River (MK64), The Fire Across the River (MK2), The Valley Spirit Never Dies (DDJ6), The Valley Streams Run Deepest Indigo
Tags
being carried, brocade, cave, climate change, field, forest, home, journey, lake, landscape, mountain, river, stream, valley, Valley Spirit, wandering
Category
Dharma Theme

When we wake up and see our true place in the universe, it’s as if we have stepped out of a landscape and then we’re willing to step back into it. We appear and go back into the brocade. Then, we have our true place in the universe.

19 Words

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Dharma Theme June 9, 2023

Dharma Theme: Where Do We Go When We Die?

PZI Teachers

Koans
Doushuai’s Third Barrier (MK73c), Doushuai’s Three Barriers (MK73) (GG47), Huineng's Original Face (GG23), Luopu About To Die (BS41), Mazu's Purpose of Your Life, The Valley Spirit Never Dies (DDJ6), Where Do You Go When You Die?, Your Original Face before Your Parents Were Born (GG23)
Tags
ancestors, bardos, buddha nature, Daowu, death, Dharma Theme, Doushuai, dying, great matter, great questions, Huineng, last words, Linji, Luopu, Mazu, original face, poet Issa
Category
Dharma Theme, Text

Questions about death and the after-death are a part of the traditional Chan koan curriculum. Dignified by their antiquity, they are the primordial instance of that which cannot be negotiated with.

29 Words