March 2012 | Mountain Cloud Zen Center | Santa Fe, NM

The Lankavatara Sutra says that we project thoughts into the world and think they're real, but it's possible to drop those projections and return to our heart-mind's natural unity with the world. In 18th-century Japan, Kobayashi Issa turned these teachings into poetry, showing us how to move toward this liberating state of projectionlessness in the midst of our poignant lives.

subjects : Lankavatara Sutra, koan introduction, D.T. Suzuki, Issa, dreaming, reincarnation, tathagata