Description
These dharma talks and texts, like Dongshan’s First Rank, wander in the hours before moonrise when anything can appear. Being lost, or in the dark, is a necessary condition on the Way.
Past Midnight – Discoveries in the Dark
Links to Audio, Video, & Text on the topic
These dharma talks and texts, like Dongshan’s First Rank, wander in the hours before moonrise when anything can appear. Being lost, or in the dark, is a necessary condition on the Way.
What is it like when it is suddenly dark?
How will you navigate?
What becomes clear?
Does something loom or endure?
First of the Five Ranks of Dongshan
It’s past midnight
The moon has not yet risen.
In the deep thick dark you see but don’t recognize
a familiar face from long ago
No need to be surprised by that.—from the Record of Dongshan
AUDIO: Before There Is Moonlight, First of Dongshan’s Five Ranks – with Jon Joseph
AUDIO: Dreams of Awakening: A Familiar Face from Long Ago – with John Tarrant
AUDIO: The Firstness of Things & A Face in the Dark – with John Tarrant
AUDIO: 10-Minute Meditation on Finding a Face at Midnight – with John Tarrant
VIDEO: Dongshan: Meeting a Face from Long Ago – with John Tarrant
TEXT: Dongshan’s Five Ranks: Poem 1 – with John Tarrant
On wandering in the dark, from Yunmen:
Suddenly It’s Midnight
You come and go by daylight. You make people out by daylight.
But suddenly it’s midnight. There’s no sun, no moon, no lamp.
If it’s a place you’ve been, then of course it’s possible.
But if it’s a place you’ve never been, how will you get hold of something?—from the Record of Yunmen
In a practice there’s definitely a sense of moving in the dark in some way that’s positive. So that in a practice, not-knowing is on your side when, normally, not knowing something is a problem.
—John Tarrant
A few more koans and related materials on moving in the dark:
SHOUSHAN: The Moon Sets at Midnight
YUNMEN: Suddenly It’s Midnight
SANTOKA (SOYEN SHAKU): Step by Step in the Dark
SHITOU XIQIAN: Taking Part in the Gathering
One more for the road:
AUDIO: We Are Carried in the Dark: Lostness & the Spiral Path of Practice – John Tarrant, Winter Sesshin 2023