Featured Koan: Zhaozhou's Great Way Is Not Difficult - Blue Cliff Record Case 2

Xiangyan was once asked by a monastic, "What is the Way?"
Xiangyan said, "A dragon singing in a withered tree."

The monastic asked Caoshan, "Who can hear this?"
Caoshan said, "In the whole world, there is no one who does not hear it."

—from Xuedou's verse commentary on Blue Cliff Record Case 2

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Deshan's Enlightenment (GG28)

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Audio March 8, 2021

Obstacles & Gates: Refuge & the Bodhisattva Path

John Tarrant

Koans

Deshan's Enlightenment (GG28), Whatever Confronts You Trust the Light Within (Linji)

Tags

bodhisattava path, Deshan, Diamond Sutra, dragon pool, Linji, Mystery School, Poet- John Tarrant, PZI Zen Online, refuge, risk, Tea Lady, uncertainty, Xuedou

Category

Deshan is determined to prove his scholarly certainty. He encounters two teachers who help him see the light. John talks about refuge; What is it? Why take refuge? What is the rakusu? PZI’s approach—working with refuge vows as koans. Zen ultimately rests in mystery and uncertainty. Linji says, “Have confidence in the light always working inside you.” Music with Jordan McConnell. Sunday talk as recorded Feb. 28th, 2021.

73' 21"

Audio November 18, 2020

The Journey into Awakening: Peach Trees Without Words Make a Path

John Tarrant

Koans

Deshan's Enlightenment (GG28), Peach Trees Without Words Make a Path

Tags

Book of Serenity, commentaries, Deshan, Diamond Sutra, dragon pool, poet Czesław Miłosz, the journey

Category

John Tarrant on the journey into awakening in zen and in our lives, and how it purifies. Deshan’s cart full of Diamond Sutra commentaries—and our own strategies of resistance. Music from Jesse Cardin, Amaryllis Fletcher, Jordan McConnell. PZI Zen Online, as recorded Nov. 15, 2020.

64' 20"

Audio April 24, 2020

Deshan Redreamed

Jesse Cardin

Koans

Deshan's Enlightenment (GG28), Renowned Far & Wide

Tags

covid 19, denial, departure, Diamond Sutra, disruption, enlightenment, hero's journey, the tea shop lady

Category

Jesse reimagines Deshan’s classic enlightenment story. He looks at some of the essential features of the journey of awakening, how we make koans our own, and the role that imagination plays in Zen. PZI Zen Online. Audio as recorded April 22, 2020.

85' 51"