transformation
Sudden Awakening
“In even the simplest life, pain and disappointment accumulate—and at some moment everyone longs to walk through a gate and leave the past behind, perhaps for an earlier time when the colors were bright and the heart carried no weight. The quest for a fresh start is so fundamental that it defines the shape of the stories we tell each other.” Article by John Tarrant published in Lion’s Roar magazine on July 1, 2007.
Ancient Alchemy’s Recipes for Meditation
Audio Excerpt: Tess Beasley on the subject of transformation, in PZI Winter Sesshin 2021. As recorded January 15th. 7 minutes.
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.
Audio Excerpt: On the Banks of the Ghost River, John Tarrant Reads The Ballad of Tam Lin
PZI Zen Online: Audio excerpt from morning session of PZI One-day Retreat, On the Banks of the Ghost River with John Tarrant & Tess Beasley. 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. As recorded Oct 31 2020. Complete 2-part session also available.
Fiery, Radiant Guanyin in the Pavilion Under the August Moon with Allison Atwill Roshi
PZI Zen Online – Audio: Fiery Guanyin in the butterfly tent with open wings. Allison reminds us of all the elemental manifestations of Guanyin as Space, Earth, Water, Air, and finally Fire. Guanyin manifests solutions from unseen space in any situation that is deemed unfixable. Fire is an ancient symbol of transformation but also shows itself through Gunayin as the inner radiance of all things. Every appearance has its own brightness. The koan of the great temple fire of Engaku-ji Temple in Kamakura, in which everything was burned and yet nothing was destroyed. One of the 100 Samurai Koans. As recorded, with Michael Wilding on flute. Aug 30, 2020
Emptiness in the Role of Host
PZI Zen Online Audio: Our culture needs to renew its old dreams. And it is good when the bottom falls out. We are still held by vastness— our job is to work in harmony with the universe. Take the role of host for everything that appears. Allow “not knowing.” If you know who you are, you can not take a step! Nothing before us, and only a wake behind. The empathic nature of emptiness. Blessings of the goddess. As recorded July 26th 2020.
The Great Turning: Solstice, Juneteenth, A Butterfly Flies Up!
PZI Zen Online: Solstice and the big wheels turn. Juneteenth celebrations & demonstrations are encouraging. Navigating and feeling the covid bardos of long confinement. Has nothing happened? Maybe all sorts of things are happening? “We can’t stay here long.” What is a border? Old injustices are looming. Readings from Slave Narratives, poetry of Li Bai, Alberto Rios, Czeslaw Milosz. As recorded June 21 2020.
Deshan’s Journey out of Suffering
Deshan’s story of Mirror Bright Mountain, a Diamond Sutra scholar and his journey to awakening. His meeting with the Zen teachers Tea Shack Lady and Dragon Pool. How his journey transforms everything, including his destination. Suffering from expertness and holding onto views. Music Jordan McConnell, Michelle Riddle, Sarah Bender, Amy Fletcher. PZI Zen Online. Audio as recorded May 17, 2020.
Chuang Tsu and the Dung Beetle Dream
David tells the story of Chuang Tzu and his dream of transformation – gaining the capacity to dream yourself into anything: butterfly, dung beetle, peacock, cockroach – finding yourself in the dream in whatever form. Waking as a cockroach and the urge to go back to sleep again vs whatever I turn into embracing being it fully. We can’t know we are in a dream, or not until we wake – we are constantly changing and transforming