PZI Teacher Archives

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

KOAN:

Yunmen said to the assembly, “Medicine and sickness cure each other.
The whole earth is medicine. What is the self?”

—Blue Cliff Record Case 87

(transl. by John Tarrant & Joan Sutherland)

Text August 24, 2023

The Nobility of Having a Practice

John Tarrant, PZI Teachers

It’s not so hard to realize that practice is immediately beneficial. But there’s a deeper thing: meditation is a way to befriend your life and befriend reality. Some days just seem harder than others, right? And you come home and think, Oh, god. Practice is a good thing then. Practice, practice, practice.

5097 Words
Video August 15, 2023

The Nobility of Having a Practice

John Tarrant

Meditation gets us away from reaching and grasping and winning and losing and honor and disgrace. This lack of ulterior motive makes meditation a friendly time. All our daily reaching and grasping and getting somehow sticks to us and when we meditate it unsticks and falls off. With music for meditation from Jordan McConnell & Michael Wilding.

49' 8"

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Dharma Theme August 2, 2023

Dharma Theme: Sickness and Medicine

PZI Teachers

Usually, casually, I think of myself as being well. When I am sick, wellness is the me I imagine I’ll get back to. I can’t always be sure what is healing and what is the opposite.

55 Words
Audio June 15, 2023

The Nobility of Having a Practice

John Tarrant

Meditation gets us away from reaching and grasping and winning and losing and honor and disgrace. This lack of ulterior motive makes meditation a friendly time. All our daily reaching and grasping and getting somehow sticks to us and when we meditate it unsticks and falls off. With music for meditation from Jordan McConnell & Michael Wilding.

49' 8"
Video April 1, 2023

We’ve Never Lacked for Salt & Sauce

John Tarrant

The salt and sauce is the invisible component of practice, of life. It is the place in which we are held when disaster strikes, or there’s chronic illness, or you find yourself at the Mad Hatter’s tea party. You might not need what you think you do to get by. What is salt and sauce for you? We can be at peace in the midst of the madness of events – this is our main work in zen. Music for meditation from Micheal Wilding on flute and then on drum. Complete Sunday Zen session from March 12, 2023. 

70' 55"
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 Bluegrass Zen in Kentucky enters spring with mowing grasses and contemplating weeds. Zen online dharma talk as recorded April 1st, 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.”

5545 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"