A Matter of Special Worth

John Tarrant on friendship, moments of intimacy that last forever, savoring Vermeer’s paintings of domestic life. With poems by Marie Howe, Symborska. How we interact with friends? From the heart. We don’t have to be anything other than what we are. Audio clip from Sunday Zen on Sunday January 24, 2021.

PZI Zen Online: On friendship with the world—koans, trees, people. How we interact with friends, from the heart. They listen and we don’t have to make them anything other than what they are. Stories of Mr. Woods and other friends, making a friend of your koan in practice. As recorded Sunday Jan 24 2021. 7 minutes.

PZI Zen Online: On friendship. As recorded Sunday Jan 24 2021. 12 minutes.

On encouraging friendship with the world—koans, trees, people. How we interact with friends, from the heart. We listen to each other. We don’t have to make them anything other than what they are. Poems, stories, comments. Complete session as recorded Jan 24, 2021, PZI Zen Online.

A student asks Baizhang, “What is the most marvelous thing—a matter of special worth?” He answers, “Sitting alone on Mt. Courage Peak.” The vastness is always there, inside and outside. The possibility of imaginative responses in times of change. The wisdom of an indigenous storyteller who embodies a much longer timeline of radical earth changes. The freedom of not being you. PZI Zen Online, as recorded Dec. 13, 2020. Music posted separately.