PZI Teacher Archives

Where Do You Go When You Die?

KOAN:

Where do you go when you die?

—PZI Inquiry Koan

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Dharma Theme June 9, 2023
29 Words
Text March 29, 2023

A Dog’s Life

John Tarrant

John tells a story about dogs and Buddha nature upon the death of a beloved dog: Animals have their own large awareness in which we can share. Meditation is one way to do this. It resets the mind to zero and we stop waving our arms about so much, and we enter a communion with the universe. 

1531 Words

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Sutra Book & Ceremonies March 24, 2022

Dedication: Funeral Service

John Tarrant

The bare bones structure of a PZI Funeral Service begins with the koan, “Where do we go when we die?” and includes the Heart Sutra and the Kanzeon Sutra of Endless Life.

303 Words
Audio March 2, 2022

Winter Sesshin: The Silence of Haiku

John Tarrant

Silence is for freedom and for being together. Haiku is in service of the silence—it expresses restraint and vastness at the same time. Haiku poets often had many nicknames under which they published their poems. Jesse Cardin Roshi gives the evening words, Jordan McConnell and Amaryllis Fletcher play the Boundless Vows. As recorded February 5, 2022.

44' 1"

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Article September 23, 2021

Where Do You Go, Oh Where Do You Go When You Die?

John Tarrant

Article by John Tarrant for Lion’s Roar magazine. A traditional Chan way to approach the question of death is to stroll, stumble, hurry, struggle, fall accidentally through the gates of samadhi—the deep concentration of meditation—and look around. When you really enter this moment, it has no end, no beginning; it is older than the universe that seems to contain it. Then it will inevitably occur to you: “I’ve always been here.” 

1661 Words