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
reality
Unmoving Mind Means Freely Moving
Takuan Soho—whose death poem was one character: dream—taught the dangers of a distracted mind. Son of a samurai, he understood how to lose your life. Circumstances need not be extreme—we can lose our lives any moment when we rely on devices or install veils between us and the unfixed motion of reality.
Unmoving Mind Means Freely Moving
Takuan Soho—whose death poem was one character: dream—taught the dangers of a distracted mind. Son of a samurai, he understood how to lose your life. Circumstances need not be extreme. We can lose our lives any moment when we rely on devices or install veils between us and the unfixed motion of reality.
Fall Sesshin 2022: Falling with the Koan NO
When you are falling, there is not a lot you can do about it, but you are no longer constrained by your usual preoccupations. Awakening, too, is in the category of things you can’t do anything about. Sesshin’s Gate 3 is NO—or Mu—the famous dharmakaya koan that opens the body of reality. NO casts away all the consciousness you have had until now. Music with Jordan McConnell, closing words with Allison Atwill from the story of The Little Prince. Complete session recorded October 6, 2022.
Forms of Awakening
Kensho is a real thing—and you can’t pin it down. Awakening takes many and varied forms. Long to really understand reality, and have the joy of that. From a talk given during Summer Sesshin on June 17, 2022. 12 minutes.
Our Part in the Gathering
It’s all here—we’re already taking part in the gathering. We each hold our part so we can experience it together. Recorded during Summer Sesshin on June 15, 2022. 4 minutes.
On Shitou’s Life & Poem: What Is in the Way of Freedom?
From John Tarrant’s opening talk on Taking Part in the Gathering, Shitou Xiqian’s song-poem on the nature of reality. Recorded at Summer Sesshin on June 14, 2022. 9 minutes.
Gifts, Gods in Disguise, & Freedom
Buddhism is based in reality. When we lose what we thought we had, our panic asks, “What will happen to little me?” and any answer to that question is likely to be overwhelming and shadowed. It is human to panic out of habit, without asking ourselves what is really going on and what our true, deep reaction is. But the gods in disguise show that sudden change can happen in a positive direction. The path out of suffering is closely related to accuracy, to noticing what really is, as opposed to what we first thought.
Talking About the Deepest Matters
John Tarrant shares his interest in investigating reality through inquiry koans, koan types, the huatou of koans, stories, and more. As recorded in Winter Sesshin, January 14, 2020.
What Is This?
John Tarrant discusses the surprisingly complex inquiry koan which lies at the heart of Zen practice.