Episode Description: In part 1 of this 2-part series about the Shin-jin-mei (Hsing-Hsign Ming, Verses on the Faith-Mind), Henry provides background details about the second patriarch Sosan (Ch. Seng-T’san). We learn about his serious illness, his desire for release from karmic debt, and his awakening encounter with his teacher, the second Chinese Ancestor Eka (Ch. Huike). Henry begins to explicate the opening verse of this 6th century Zen document by questioning our daily lifelong habit of "picking and choosing." How do our ordinary preferences interfere with our availability to experience the "great way?" Listen to parts 1 and 2 of this exploration of Zen’s "supreme way."

The other 2 parts of this series: Episode #21 Part 2 and Episode #25 Part 3 (final one).

Image Credit: Amitabha, by Hartwig HKD, CC BY-ND 2.0.

Featured Image Credit: Courtesy Cherie Manifest.