PZI Teacher Archives
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Allison Atwill -
David Parks -
David Weinstein -
Eduardo Fuentes -
Jesse Cardin -
John Tarrant -
Jon Joseph -
Michelle Riddle -
Tess Beasley
Zhaozhou’s Greatest Way Isn't Difficult (BCR2)
KOAN:
Zhaozhou taught, “The greatest way isn’t difficult if you don’t pick and choose. As soon as I speak, you’ll think, ‘That’s picking and choosing,’ or ‘That’s clear.’ But I don’t identify with clarity. Can you live like that?”
A student asked, “If you don’t identify with clarity, what do you live by?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you don’t know, why do you say that you don’t identify with clarity?”
“You’re asking about a matter you already grasp. Make your bow and step back.”
—Blue Cliff Record Case 2 (translation by John Tarrant & Joan Sutherland)
Note: Zhaozhou is quoting from Third Ancestor Sengcan‘s “Trust in Mind,” a foundational Chan text
VIDEO: Hijacked by Confusion with Jesse Cardin
Jesse Cardin gets a phone call about a warrant for his arrest and enters the realms of clarity and confusion. Who can wait quietly till the mud settles? It’s not our business if we’re clear or confused. Excerpt from a Sunday session recorded April 24, 2022. 11 minutes.
Beyond Clarity & Confusion
Jesse Cardin gets a phone call about a warrant for his arrest and enters the realms of clarity and confusion. Who can wait quietly till the mud settles? It’s not our business if we’re clear or confused. Whatever arrives carries us through. Stories and koans from the Odyssey, Daodejing, Yunmen, and a hermit who enters the jumbled mountains without a backward glance. As recorded April 24th, 2022.
Welcome! Before the Names of Sages & Emperors
Audio: PZI Zen Online – Jon begins with Dongshan’s 3rd Rank and ends with Zhouzhou’s ‘Welcome!’ Beauty in the odd experience of lockdown, economic hardship and all of it. Koans reinforce our innate knowledge before our parent were born. Celebrations of the awakened mind. As recorded – music Jordan McConnell. june 1 2020.
The Great Way Is Not Difficult
“Koans light up a life that may have been dormant in you; they hold out the possibility of transformation even if you are trying to address unclear or apparently insoluble problems.” Originally published in Shambhala Sun Magazine, November 2004.
The Great Way
John Tarrant Roshi presenting at the Winter Bare Bones Sesshin 2011 on “The Great Way,” and other interesting bits on transformation of consciousness.