PZI Teacher Archives

Yunmen’s Medicine and Sickness Cure Each Other (BCR87)

KOAN:

Sickness and medicine are in accord with each other. The whole world is medicine. What am I?

—Blue Cliff Record, Case 87

Audio March 29, 2023

We’ve Never Lacked for Salt & Sauce

John Tarrant

The salt and sauce is the invisible component of practice, of life, the place where we are held when disaster strikes or you find yourself at the Mad Hatter’s tea party. You might not need what you think you do to get by. We can be at peace in the midst of the madness of events—this is our main work in Zen. Complete Sunday Zen session from March 12, 2023. 

70' 55"
Audio April 29, 2021

Mowing the Grasses – April First Wise Foolishness

David Parks

David Parks Roshi of Blue Grass Zen in Kentucky enters spring with mowing the grasses and contemplating the weeds. PZI Zen Online. Dharma talk as recorded April 1, 2021.

27' 27"
Text October 8, 2020

1 The Whole World Is Medicine – The Zenosaurus Course in Koans

John Tarrant

Zenosaurus Curriculum 1: When the Buddha was growing up, his father kept four sights from him. The forbidden sights were a sick person, an old person, a corpse, and a pilgrim dedicated to the meditation path.

2300 Words
Text August 14, 2020

Spirit of Love, Joy & Play in Koans

John Tarrant

Value a sort of play and see if you can break the koan—the koan will be amused. And see it and let it into your heart, and see what comes, or follow it around, or have it follow you. And finally you’ll realize, “Oh, I’m here. I’m free.”

5546 Words
Audio May 12, 2020
98' 53"
Audio April 30, 2020

The Whole World Is Medicine

Jon Joseph

Jon welcomes far flung participants on Zoom, and remembers the original Earth Day walks and festivities. Teachers and others comment on the vast implications of Yunmen’s koan. Recorded on April 27th, 2020.

83' 19"
Audio December 3, 2019
55' 22"
Video May 6, 2019

Mind of Awakening, Mind of Suffering

John Tarrant

John Tarrant gives a talk on July 19, 2014. A final tale and conversation about awakened mind and delusional mind of suffering. At summer retreat we sat with the koan, “Sickness and Medicine are in accord with one another, the while world is medicine, what am I?”

13' 18"
Audio November 27, 2017
38' 58"
Video July 6, 2017

Taking Care of Yourself on Retreat

Rachel Boughton

Rachel Boughton, Sensei, talks about working with koans and being kind to yourself at a long meditation retreat. July 14, 2014.

31' 38"
Video July 6, 2017

The Spirit of Love, Joy, and Play in Koans

John Tarrant

John opens the first evening at summer retreat talking about the spirit of a koan. We were nestled in the lovely redwood mountains of Land of the Medicine Buddha in Soquel California. We were meditating, walking and diving into the great koan, Sickness and Medicine. It is based on a koan which goes like this, “Sickness and Medicine are in accord with each other. The whole world is medicine, what am I?” July 14, 2014.

24' 45"
Video July 6, 2017

Teacher Panel Conversation on Sickness and Medicine

Allison Atwill, David Weinstein, John Tarrant, Rachel Boughton

A panel discussion on the final evening of the retreat with four of the PZI teachers at this Summer retreat at the Land of Medicine Buddha. Four Roshis gave the evening talk together. July 18, 2014.

81' 38"
Video July 6, 2017

Someone with Nothing to Do

John Tarrant

John talks about sitting with the koan, “Sickness and medicine are in accord with each other, the whole world is medicine, what am I?” This is the second day of retreat at Land of the Medicine Buddha in Soquel, California.

41' 14"