One of the great pleasures of immersing yourself in Zen is getting to know the ancestors. In this talk we meet Linji, the inspiration behind Rinzai Zen, who opened up the path of practice with a great shout, beyond words and letters. This talk was given as part of a wider series on the Zen ancestors, hosted by Susan Murphy Roshi and Zen Open Circle.

What does it take to build a temple, right where you are? When Shakyamuni Buddha was walking with Indra, he announced that, “Here would be a good place to erect a temple.” Indra immediately took a stem of grass, inserted it in the earth, and said, “The temple is erected.” Just one blade of grass was all it took. So how do we erect a temple in our day-to-day activities? And what, exactly, are we erecting? This talk was given at our regular Sunday morning zazen, teisho and dharma inquiry.

When a monk came to visit Zhaozhou he said, “For a long time I’ve heard about the famous stone bridge of Zhaozhou, but coming here I see only a common wooden bridge.” What is the stone bridge of Zhaozhou? And what does it span? This is a talk that asks us to see the stone bridge flows, and that to realise this, we must become a flowing bridge ourselves.

What is Mu? Why do we constantly return to this not-quite-a-syllable in our Zen practice? In this talk, given at the Zen Open Circle Spring Sesshin, we look at how Mu undoes our habitual thinking and liberates a life of not-knowing. In Japan there is a word, “sa’pari”, which means something like “unblemished by understanding.” What does a life unblemished by understanding afford? Why would we want to draw close to its promise?

What is power for the Way? Why does sitting in solitary peace fall short of genuine realization? In this talk we meet the Hermit of Lotus Flower Peak, a mysterious figure from Mount Hua who ventures into the dharma hall to rattle his staff and wake us up to gift of difficulty. This teisho was given on the third Sunday of the month at Castlemaine Zen.

Before he died, Furong Daokai left a death poem. On this fourth and final night we investigate this poem to see how it might illuminate our own life and death. This talk was recorded at the Mountains and Rivers Zen Sesshin in Hobart, Tasmania.

After Zen Master Furong Daokai announced, “The green mountains are always walking,” he added “A stone woman gives birth to a child at night.” If the first sentence highlights the bright, energetic side of experience, the second welcomes us into the dark, receptive side. What do we see in the dark? This talk was recorded at the Mountains and Rivers Zen Sesshin in Hobart, Tasmania.

Zen Master Furong Daokai walked into his assembly and said, “The green mountains are always walking.” What did he mean? What was he pointing to? In this talk we scale the highs and lows of our own life to seek not just the stability of mountains, but their living dynamism. This talk was recorded at the Mountains and Rivers Zen Sesshin in Hobart, Tasmania.

What is Mu? On this first night of sesshin, we take up this question and let it take away everything we have - and have not. This talk was recorded at the Mountains and Rivers Zen Sesshin in Hobart, Tasmania.

How are you with mistakes? What do you do when something goes wrong? In this talk we join three Zen adepts as they bumble their way through a tea ceremony, exploring what it’s like to own mistakes without being owned by them. This talk was given as part of our monthly Teisho and Inquiry at Castlemaine Zen.