Ancestors
Sesshin Closing Ceremony: Dedication & Thanks to Ancestors with Richie Domingue
PZI Sesshin Dedication and thanks to our Ancestors. Music written & performed by Richie Domingue.
On the Banks of the Ghost River – The Ballad of Tam Lin, Part 1
PZI Zen Online 1-Day Retreat: On the Banks of the Ghost River. Morning session with John Tarrant Roshi & Tess Beasley Sensei. John Reads the Ballad of Tam Lin in which a brave girl helps her lover, caught in the Faery Queens’s caterhaugh (boggy fen), transform. Dharma talk and comments from participants. Complete session. As recorded Oct 31 2020.
Ancestors and Fires
John’s monthly talk at SRCZC, November 2019. The time of year for ghosts, memories. We’ve just come through another disastrous fire season. Our ancestors survived fires, plagues, famines, great crossings. John reads the teaching on the great zen temple fire of 1374 in which hundreds of thousands of precious texts were incinerated – and yet the temple master told them all had survived. Teachings that nourish us beyond scripture is the core of Zen.
Leaning Into the Ancestors
John’s SRCZC talk on impermanence and rawness of feeling after the great fires in CA and Queensland. He reflects on the importance of internalizing the teachings and the nourishment of our ancestors within us- outside of our normal paths. Teachings after the great Engakuji fire in Chan koan history. The practice of talking to the ancestors – human or otherwise a source of great knowledge.