In this Dharma talk, Sensei Sōen Michael Brunner takes us deep into the Platform Sūtra and the legendary verse contest between Jinshū and Daikan Enō. Through vivid storytelling and lived insight, Sensei explores how the desire to “polish the mirror” of the self can subtly undermine our realization of Buddha Nature.

The talk is both grounded and profound, moving from a humorous account of a temple bat rescue to the core question that still echoes through Zen halls today:
“Where did you get this dust?”

The story of Daikan Enō and the Sixth Ancestor transmission

Jinshū’s verse and the trap of self-perfection

Why true Zen practice dissolves form, hierarchy, and ambition

The nature of awakening as already complete

Practice as everyday life: pounding rice, catching bats, being present

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In this episode of Awakening Streams, Sensei Sōen Michael Brunner reflects on the often unnoticed energy behind our words and the subtle traps we fall into when speaking from pride, performance, or certainty. Through the lens of Case 33 from the Book of Serenity, we’re invited to confront the question:

What happens when the desire to be seen replaces the desire to connect?

Sanshō comes to Seppō with the declaration that he has passed through all the nets—the traps of Dharma, koans, concepts. But Seppō replies, “I’ll wait until you get out of the net, then I’ll tell you.”

What follows is not a philosophical debate, but a complete refusal to participate in spiritual theatrics. Seppō doesn’t reward the display. He doesn’t try to win. He just returns to what’s real: the responsibilities and humility of the present moment.

🪶 The Dust of Words
We often speak not to connect, but to perform, to be right, or to relieve internal pressure. But unless someone truly wants to hear—and unless we genuinely want to communicate—our words are just dust, stirring up confusion.

🎭 The Trap of Performance
Sanshō isn’t asking a real question—he’s performing realization. “What will you feed a golden carp like me?” Seppō sees this and refuses to feed the ego, even a “spiritual” one. Realization that demands applause is still caught.

🪓 The Compassionate Cut
Seppō’s response—“For this old monk, affairs do multiply”—isn’t a dodge. It’s a clear sword stroke that ends the game. He refuses to escalate, refuses to shame. He just stays rooted in his responsibility. That’s letting the dust settle.

🌊 What Is the Net?
Even when we think we’ve broken through—gotten free—the hook might still be in our mouth. The net we must slip is the one made of pride, identity, and the need to be affirmed.

🙏 Real Practice Begins Without Applause
When there’s nothing left to prove, no recognition coming, and no place to rest—can you still practice? That’s the entry point into real awakening.

“When there’s already heat and tension and pride that’s been bruised, trying to communicate from a platform of spiritual certainty is worse than useless.”

“You think you're free? You’re tangled up in yourself. I’m not going to feed this.”

“Seppō doesn’t reward the performance. He just keeps to the real: ‘I have things to do.’”

“There’s no food for the ego in true realization.”

“If there’s no safe place to rest, no recognition coming—can you still practice?”

This week, reflect on these questions:

When you speak, are you trying to connect—or to be right?

Where do you still crave recognition for your insight or experience?

Can you let the dust settle—internally and relationally—before speaking or acting?

Sit with this kōan. Watch your words. Notice the net.

The Book of Serenity (Shōyōroku), Case 33 – Sanshō’s Golden Carp

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In this teisho from sesshin, Sensei Sōen Michael Brunner explores Case 67 of the Book of Equanimity: The Avatamsaka Sutra’s Wisdom. Shakyamuni Buddha proclaims that all sentient beings are already endowed with the Tathagata’s wisdom and virtue—but due to deluded thoughts and attachments, they fail to realize it.

Topics covered in this talk include:

The liberating power of wonder over mere knowing

The vision of radical interdependence found in Indra’s Net

Karmic momentum and how it conditions our experience

Dōgen’s teaching on traceless enlightenment

The parable of the hidden jewel from the Lotus Sutra

How even confusion, pain, and delusion can be gateways to awakening

The importance of practice-enlightenment in everyday life

“Your life, just as it is, is that jewel sewn into your robe.”

Let go. Sit down. Realize what has always been yours.

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Title: The Taste of the Ordinary: Beyond Buddhas and Ancestors
Teacher: Sensei Michael Brunner
Koan Source: Case 78 of the Shōyōroku (Book of Equanimity) – “Umon’s Farm Rice Cake”

In this Dharma talk delivered during a Zen retreat, Sensei Michael Brunner reflects on the deeply ordinary yet radically transformative nature of awakening.

A monk asks Master Umon, “What is the speech that transcends the Buddhas and goes beyond the ancestors?” Umon answers with stunning simplicity: “Farm rice cake.”

What unfolds from that exchange is an invitation to stop chasing the extraordinary and instead awaken to the sacred already embedded in our everyday lives.

Topics covered include:

Why we struggle to see the value in the ordinary

The spiritual danger of dividing life into sacred and profane

The hidden costs of striving for “spiritual” experiences

Dōgen’s teaching on painted rice cakes and realization

How to bring the whole of your life—including your shadow—to the table

The meaning of true inclusion and embodied awareness

You’ll hear references to meal gathas, latrine flies, and rice cakes—all pointing back to one thing: there’s nothing outside the Dharma.

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Quote from the episode:

“You stop being the one who’s turning the Dharma, and you recognize the Dharma turning you.”

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🎧 Ryūge Passes the Chin Rest: When Even "No Meaning" Becomes a Trap
Series: Dharma Talks from One River Zen
Speaker: Sensei Michael Brunner
Koan Source: Book of Equanimity, Case 80

🪷 Episode Summary:
Ryūge asks the same question twice and gets struck twice. His response? “There’s still no meaning in the Patriarch’s coming from the West.” But what if even that response is still part of the trap?

In this talk, Sensei Michael explores how we turn realization into a fixed stance—how we cling to the language of awakening instead of living it. Through the lens of Case 80, we examine how subtle grasping masquerades as freedom, and how the Dharma keeps working on us, even when we think we’ve figured it out.

🔍 Topics Covered:
– Ryūge’s karmic repetition and the illusion of insight
– How “no meaning” can become a new doctrine
– The power of spontaneous action over conceptual understanding
– Why real freedom leaves nothing to declare
– The difference between answering and responding
– What finally opens Ryūge—and what might open us

📚 Key Koan:
Book of Equanimity, Case 80 – “Ryūge Passes the Chin Rest”

🧘 Practice Invitation:
Where in your life are you still trying to “name the void”?
Where have you turned insight into identity?

💬 Favorite Line:

“You can’t draw a picture of a strawberry and eat it.”

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In this talk, Sensei Michael Brunner works with Case 41 from the Blue Cliff Record, where Joshu asks: “When one who has experienced the great death comes back to life, then what?” The reply—“It is not permitted to go at night”—opens the gate to a teaching on vulnerability, presence, and the courage to meet life without pretense.

This episode explores:

The “great death” as the dropping away of the constructed self

Why patching the old narrative keeps us bound

Dōgen’s teaching: “When you encounter hardships, think of them as the body of the Buddha”

The silence that follows suffering—not as absence, but as vast, integrated presence

The difference between surviving and being reborn

Through koan, story, and lived truth, this talk invites us to reenter the world not edited, not hidden—but awake and unafraid in the daylight.

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Sensei Sōen Michael Brunner
Hekigan-roku – Case 23: Hofuku’s Summit of Mystic Peak

In this talk, Sensei Sōen Michael Brunner guides us into the subtle terrain of Blue Cliff Record Case 23, where a seemingly simple exchange—“Right here is the summit of Mystic Peak” / “What a pity”—opens the entire question of realization, intention, and embodiment.

Drawing from the rich imagery of Hofuku, Chōkei, and Setchō’s commentary, this episode explores:

How conceptualizing awakening turns it into “smelly saltwater”

The essential role of great intention in true Zen practice

Why form doesn’t erase individuality—it reveals it

What it means to walk the path in your actual life, not in some idealized version

Sensei’s reflections connect the ancient case to daily practice, from Zoom calls to food pantries, from bowing in the zendo to ending an argument with your partner.

“You don’t need to act out the koan—you need to show up for your life.”

Hekigan-roku (Blue Cliff Record), Case 23

Chōkei and Isan Reiyū

Suzuki Roshi on the power of form

The saltwater-in-a-jar metaphor

Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi and the true peak of practice

“The form takes care of the self-conscious mind. Then walking is just walking.”
“Cherish your time. Cherish what is rising.”
“Instead of bowing—we’re the ones who are bowed.”

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In this episode, Sensei Michael Brunner explores Shōyōroku Case 72 – Chuyu’s Monkey, a Zen kōan that reveals how our grasping mind—like a restless monkey—constantly reacts, interprets, and shapes our experience. But what happens when the monkey is asleep? Who are we beyond the endless mental commentary?

Through humor, direct insight, and Zen practice, we examine:

• The six windows and the monkey—what they represent in Yogācāra thought
• How the mind constructs narratives and why we get caught in them
• What happens when we step beyond concepts into direct experience
• How Zen practice helps us meet life fully, without waiting for "perfect" conditions

Key Takeaways

✔ The mind’s chatter isn’t reality—it’s just the monkey making meaning
✔ True practice isn’t about escaping life but meeting it fully
✔ Direct experience is beyond analysis—drop the stories and be present
✔ The monkey loves puzzles, but awakening isn’t something to solve

Quotes from the Episode

🌀 "If you ask the monkey who you are, it’ll dress you up and stand you in front of a mirror."
🌀 "Zen isn’t about finding the right answer—it’s about stepping beyond the need for one."

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In this episode, Sensei Sōen Michael Brunner explores Mumonkan Case 31, where a monk asks an old woman for directions to Mount Tai. She tells him, “Go straight on.” But as he walks away, she remarks, “This good honest priest goes off that way too.” When Jōshū investigates, he simply says, “I’ve seen through the old woman for you.”

What did the monk miss? What was the old woman revealing? And why does seeking so often blind us to what’s already here?

This teisho dives into how our grasping for certainty obscures direct experience. When we let go of expectations and stop searching for confirmation, what remains?

✅ The nature of seeking and how it blinds us
✅ How labels and assumptions obscure direct perception
✅ The role of upekkhā (equanimity) in seeing clearly
✅ Why Jōshū doesn’t explain—he simply sees through
✅ How to approach Zen practice without clinging to "knowing"

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We spend so much of our lives searching for meaning—trying to fit our struggles into a grand narrative, hoping for an explanation that will make sense of it all. But what if the search itself is what keeps us trapped?

In this episode, Sensei Michael Brunner explores Hekiganroku Case 20: Ryūge Asks Suibi and Rinzai, where a monk asks the age-old question, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?" Instead of receiving an answer, he is struck. Why? Because Zen does not deal in intellectual understanding—it points directly to what is.

We chase meaning, we grasp for certainty, we wrap our suffering in stories. But when we stop clinging, when we drop the second arrow of suffering, we discover something beyond all explanations—the immediacy of life itself.

• How the search for meaning can become another form of attachment
• Why we cling to spiritual concepts, even in Zen
• What Suibi and Rinzai’s blows reveal about the trap of intellectual grasping
• How the two arrows teaching shows us the way out of suffering
• Why true freedom is found not in explanations, but in direct experience

We do not practice Zen to uncover meaning—we practice to let go of the need for meaning altogether. The Dharma is not something to hold onto. It is not a theory. It is alive, immediate, and always present.

🌀 Let go of the search, and the path will rise to meet you.
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💬 What resonated with you most? Share your reflections in the comments!

#Zen #DharmaTalk #Buddhism #KoanStudy #Rinzai #Shoyoroku #Hekiganroku #ZenPractice #Meditation #Mindfulness #LettingGo #SpiritualFreedom

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