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
meetings
Dharma Theme: Friendships & Meetings – Relationships in the Dao, Then & Now
Zen is about meeting—we make friends with each koan and allow the universe to work with and through us. The sweetness, and even the gnarly bits of friendship are part of the intimacy at the center of meeting. In the field of connectedness we discover things we can’t discover on our own.
Dharma Theme: Meeting the Inconceivable
What you can conceive of might take away your life. On the other hand, what you cannot conceive of will give you your life.
Dharma Theme: Tea Ladies, Hermits, & Other Strange Teachers Along the Way
To meet a Tea Lady was always a somewhat risky proposition. Usually, in koan-ville, an unsuspecting traveler hurrying on their way somewhere else—consumed with their own knowledge and problems— would encounter a tiny wayside establishment with a deeply mysterious proprietor on hand.
Carried by What Is True
When we meet, as in sesshin, we create and participate in a field of knowledge. There is a necessity of being lost on the path. Yunmen wants your descent—the better to allow the whole of life in. He asks, What is your light? He trusts the field to help people find their own way. Complete talk from Winter Sesshin 2023.
Surprising Happiness in the Midst of It All
Just having your life, whatever appears—meeting it. Nothing to DO. There is a joy in that, no matter what the universe delivers in the daily mix. Music from Amaryllis Fletcher and vows sung by Todd Geist. Recorded August 28, 2022.
Entering the World with Open Hands
An encounter, a magical meeting, is the essence of koan practice. John Tarrant’s Sunday Talk, recorded July 10, 2022. Complete session. 70 minutes.
Entering the World with Open Hands
An encounter, a magical meeting, is the essence of koan practice. Sunday Talk on July 10, 2022. Complete session. 70 minutes.
What Is It To Be Here?
Video clip: What is it to be here? Weaving and interweaving go on and on, while each thing stands in its own place. From a talk in Summer Sesshin, June 16, 2022. 3 minutes.
Dreaming & Meeting What Appears
Tess talks about the unexpected coming to your aid. From a talk in Summer Sesshin on June 15, 2022. 1 minute.
Magical Meetings: Encountering Your Own True Self
John Tarrant on a meeting past midnight with an old familiar face that you may or may not recognize right off. When there is no moon and you can’t find your way in the usual way, you are bound to have some unusual encounters. Stories, readings, comments, and music for meditation from Michael Wilding and Jordan McConnell. Complete Sunday Session recorded on June 12, 2022.
Points of Practice: Getting Stuck, Getting Free
In our Zen practice, there comes a time when you can feel stuck. John Tarrant talks about how to navigate this. Recorded June 12, 2022. 3-minute video.
Magical Meetings
John Tarrant on a meeting past midnight, with an old familiar face you may or may not recognize right off. When there is no moon and you can’t find your way in the usual way, you are bound to have some unusual encounters. Stories, readings, comments, and music for meditation from Michael Wilding and Jordan McConnell. Complete Sunday Session audio. Recorded June 12, 2022.
Magical Meetings: Whatever Arises, Is It!
John Tarrant tells a story about meeting whatever arises, in preparation for PZI’s first in-person retreat since Covid, and for other unexpected encounters. Meeting your true self: Turning toward the fire gives you your life. And, “Meeting the old familiar face from long ago,” from the first of Dongshan’s Five Ranks. The only now we have is ours, as intense and real as it might be. So, have your life! Being lost is better than being right. Recorded June 12, 2022. 9-minute video.
Escape Arts & Sam the Cyborg
Escape arts disassemble the walls or, as in dreams, allow us to step right through them. We can also think of escape arts as practices that appear in moments of natural clarity. They are often similar to the moves you make if you are interested in Zen and koans, but the world teaches escape arts to us; they just appear in a situation without any conscious feeling that you are entering spiritual territory.
What Are the Practices of Gratitude?
“Gratitude is something that I haven’t planned on—either to receive or to give—it takes me by surprise. It arrives out of nowhere. It’s the part of happiness that is beyond selfishness. My gratitude doesn’t have a lot of discrimination, and I like that.”
Tortoise Mountain Wakes Up! This Very Matter Is It
John Tarrant on friendship and the kindness at the heart of things. Mazu’s “The whole meaning of your life is in the current matter.” This very heart mind is it! The sweetness, and even the gnarly bits of friendship are part of the intimacy at the center of meeting. Zen is about meeting—we make friends with each koan and allow the universe to work with and through us. Jordan McConnell on guitar. Complete Sunday Zen session recorded January 31, 2021.
Handing Things on in the Dark: Friendship
Zen is about meetings, the courage to meet and be a friend. Even the gnarly bits of friendship are part of it, the mystery of connection. You don’t have to be good at love—better to be in it. In the field of connectedness we discover things we can’t discover on our own. Audio excerpt from Sunday Zen with John Tarrant, Handing Things on in the Dark, PZI Zen Online. As recorded January 31, 2021. 18 minutes.