Description
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.
Where Do We Go When We Die?
Links to Audio, Video, & Text on the topic
Questions about death and the after-death are part of the traditional Chan koan curriculum. Dignified by their antiquity, they are the primordial instance of that which cannot be negotiated with.
TEXT: Where Do You Go, Oh Where Do You Go When You Die? – John Tarrant, Lion’s Roar magazine
TEXT: Practicing Dying: If You Want to Dance Butoh – Denise Fujiwara, Uncertainy Club magazine
Last Words
When Luopu was about to die, he said to the gathering, “Today, I have something to ask you. If you think, ‘This is it,’ then it is like putting a head on top of your own head. If you think, ‘This isn’t it,’ then you’re looking for life by cutting off your head.”
Read the full koan: Luopu About to Die – Book of Serenity Case 41
AUDIO: The Journey, the Reaching, & Luopu’s Last Words – John Tarrant, Fall Sesshin 2019
TEXT: The Journey, the Reaching, & Luopu’s Last Words – John Tarrant, Fall Sesshin 2019
Alive or Dead?
Daowu and Jianyuan went to a house to offer condolences.
Jianyuan struck the coffin with his hand and asked, “Alive or dead?”
Daowu said, “I’m not saying alive, I’m not saying dead.”Read the full koan: Alive or Dead? I Won’t Say – Blue Cliff Record Case 55
MINI COLLECTION from the ANCESTRAL STORIES RETREAT 2022
VIDEO: Old Wrongs Can Disappear – John Tarrant
VIDEO: How the Ancestors Show Up – John Tarrant
VIDEO: Opening to the Treasures of the Unconscious – John Tarrant
When we are challenged, the ancestors show up.
Meeting the Lord of Death is one of those challenges, and is part of meeting life.—John Tarrant
After You Die, Where Will You Go?
TEXT: Where Do You Go, Oh Where Do You Go When You Die? – John Tarrant, Lion’s Roar magazine
ARTWORK: After You Have Died – Corey Hitchcock, PZI Art Card, 2017
ARTWORK: New Table of Non-Periodic Elements – Corey Hitchcock, 2005
People go to wild places to search for their true nature.
When you do this, where is your true nature?
When you have realized your true nature, you are free of birth and death.
When you are dying, how can you be free?
After you die, where will you go?—Doushuai’s Three Barriers, PZI MK Case 73 & Gateless Gate Case 47
SERVICE: Where Do You Go When You Die? – PZI Dedication & Funeral Service
VIDEO: The Coyote & Roadrunner Experience – John Tarrant, Summer Sesshin 2011
We change places with the night sky
—John Tarrant
Bardos
TEXT: Secret Fidelity & One-Finger Zen, Even in the Bardos – John Tarrant
The waking—the daylight world—is a bardo too. It’s just as strange as the other worlds.—John Tarrant
Who Dies?
KOAN: The Valley Spirit Never Dies – Daodejing 6
KOAN: Mazu’s Purpose of Your Life
KOAN: Huineng’s Original Face
As I see it, there are no Buddha, no living beings, no long ago, not even now.
If you want to get it, you’ve got it! It’s not something that requires time.—Linji
Related Materials & Koans
ZEN LUMINARIES: Special Guest Hospice Pioneer Frank Ostaseski – hosted by Jon Joseph, Spring 2023