Zen Talking
Zen is a tradition from India that passed into China. Zen culture is based on the Five Lay Precepts, the Four Statements of Zen, and Zen's only practice: Public Interview, which is where we get Zen koans. This podcast covers topics like: What does that koan mean? How is Zen different from Buddhism/Christianity/Zazen? Why isn't Zen a philosophy? What do Zen Masters say that is applicable to modern life? What does it mean to have a community/sangha?
info_outline
Zen Talking: Zhaozhou's Person of the Past
03/17/2026
Zen Talking: Zhaozhou's Person of the Past
Read the History, Talk the History 12/16 Episode: 297 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zensangha/comments/1pniott/case_27_of_the_recorded_sayings_of_joshu/ Case 27, Zhaozhou, green trans. ###Link to episode: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? What is this Case about? Crimes of the past : just balance the scales :: teachings of the past : talking about east and west East and West is a core teaching of Zhaozhou # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/40414605
info_outline
Zen Talking: Recipe from Your Heart
03/10/2026
Zen Talking: Recipe from Your Heart
Read the History, Talk the History #296, 12/10 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1pebaio/ez_absolute_truth/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? strengths and weakness of AI translators What does Prajna mean? cheeks on the back of your head Demon Path 30 Rock Buddha Path evil How to do Zen cooking using the recipe in your heart # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/40387750
info_outline
Zen Talking - Absolute Truth
03/03/2026
Zen Talking - Absolute Truth
Read the History, Talk the History 12/11 295 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to all episodes: # What did we talk about? awareness, to have or have not, gates vs barriers vs checkpoints, salt off the back of a truck, wisdom, seeing, seen, seer, cults, kungfu panda. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/40299330
info_outline
Zen Talking: Zen Barriers
02/24/2026
Zen Talking: Zen Barriers
Read the History, Talk the History #293, 12/14 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to episode: ###Link to all episodes: # What did we talk about? awareness, to have or have not, gates vs barriers vs checkpoints, salt off the back of a truck, wisdom, seeing, seen, seer, cults, kungfu panda. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/40218615
info_outline
Zen Talking: Zhaozhou and 1,000 hands
02/17/2026
Zen Talking: Zhaozhou and 1,000 hands
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question, #293 ###Post: ###Link to all episodes: # What did we talk about? Cafeteria vs Cheese board: What is picking and choosing? The monk beats Zhaozhou, but Zhaozhou pulls a disappearing act. Zen Masters reject causality, proto "yo mamma" arguments and winning arguments. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/40144165
info_outline
Zen Talking: Sutras are trash?
02/11/2026
Zen Talking: Sutras are trash?
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to all episodes: # What did we talk about? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/40071585
info_outline
Zen Talking: Mexican Ingeniousness
02/03/2026
Zen Talking: Mexican Ingeniousness
Read the History, Talk the History - Ep #291 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to episode: ? ###Link to all episodes: # What did we talk about? MacGyver, Red Green Show, Belgian Solutions... people from anywhere can fix things! Poverty and Zen are tied together, but also separated by education. Temporary teachings. Toilet paper: not for a temple, not for showing people, not for holding on to. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/39985420
info_outline
Zen Talking: Knowledge and Habit Energies
01/27/2026
Zen Talking: Knowledge and Habit Energies
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: Two different posts ###Link to all episodes: # What did we talk about? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/39904510
info_outline
Zen Talking: Sangha for Everybody?
01/20/2026
Zen Talking: Sangha for Everybody?
Read the History, Talk the History, #Episode: 289 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Complete this yourself. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/39338860
info_outline
Zen Talking - Sangha, Fear, Mental Health, Ignorance
01/13/2026
Zen Talking - Sangha, Fear, Mental Health, Ignorance
Read the History, Talk the History, #288 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1p6gkae/zen_talking_poverty/ (that's right, a podcast about a podcast episode) ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Barriers in Zen? Interest in public interviews, yet fear of not knowing enough or not being general enough? Loose assocations are a problem in religious studies... but are often corrected by public interview. * solo thinking not connected to reality... mistakenly viewed as "independence" A public interview as "slap in the reality" EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY INTERESTING Sincerity vs fraud, exclusion, being comfortable with espousing racism/bigotry Zen Masters ELI5 all the time. ### Fear of not knowing A monk asked Shishuang Xingkong, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch coming from the West?” The master answered, “Let’s say there’s a man in a thousand-foot well. Get him out without using any rope, and I’ll answer you about the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West.” The monk said, “But in Hunan now there’s a priest named Chang who freely explains all sorts of things to people.” 2 Thereupon Xingkong summoned the novice Jizi [Yangshan Huiji]3 and said, “Get this corpse out of here.” Later Huiji asked Danyuan Yingzhen, “How would one get the man out of the well?” Danyuan retorted, “Dolt! Blockhead! Who’s in a well!?” Huiji didn’t understand, and later put the same question to Guishan Lingyou. Guishan called out, “Huiji!” “Yes,” Huiji answered. “There, he’s out of the well!” said Guishan. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/39180380
info_outline
Zen Talking: Why so famous? r/Zen's most controversial reference
01/06/2026
Zen Talking: Why so famous? r/Zen's most controversial reference
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/famous_cases ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Aggressiveness bad in the modern world. Virtue essential to Christianity, Buddhism, Zazen, Yoga, etc. Who is "good"? Sidewalks, Clean trains and buses? Sheepy people in religion, politics, and society is the norm in West. Killing and benefiting from death. Robot sheep... the level below sheep... when you can't give a reason for what you say on social media. Obedience is NOT mastery. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/39165475
info_outline
Zen Talking: Linji Teaching... but What is he talking about?
12/30/2025
Zen Talking: Linji Teaching... but What is he talking about?
Read the History, Talk the History #286 #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1p5gwt7/from_the_dms_linjis_never_been/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? What are the three vehicles? How about "obedience, compassion, and esoteric knowledge" as translations? * https://www.termatree.com/blogs/termatree/understanding-the-three-vehicles-of-buddhism-sravayana-mahayana-and-vajrayana weeds are a metaphor for what? Buddha planted a bunch of seeds. A monk asked Shitou, "What is the cardial meaning of the patrairchs? Shitou said "Right in front of me is a stretch of weeds that Ive never hoed in the past thirty years." Later someone mentioned this remark to the master [Yunyan]. The master said, "The ox doesn't eat the weeds along the edge of its pen." When exactly does Linji get upset at the lecturer monk/master? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/39150090
info_outline
Zen Talking: Nanquan Reincarnated as Bull
12/16/2025
Zen Talking: Nanquan Reincarnated as Bull
Post(s) in Question Ep. 285 Post: ? Link to all episodes: What did we talk about? Multiple level of meanings of Zen koans * Zen Master traditional challenge questions: What are you doing? What is that? * Material world level, metaphorical level, Zen doctrine level Explaining the meaning of the Zen Bull: www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/bull Why the 5 Zen bulls are NOT NOT NOT the 10 Buddhist Bulls: The invisible Bull Nanquan [Cleary: Nahn-chwen] comparing himself to a bull in other cases. Zhaozhou gets called "you animal", and that means Nanquan sees him as a fellow enlightened animal. Zen enlightenment: not Buddhist ordination, Zen enlightenment is permanent. Koans as history. Zen Master Buddha's 600 years in India. What we lost in the 1900's from Zazen propaganda: loss of respect/identity for the Zen monks who worked their whole lives on Zen records. Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/39093875
info_outline
Zen Talking: That's no moon... that's Silent Illumination!
12/09/2025
Zen Talking: That's no moon... that's Silent Illumination!
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1olllu9/moon_face_zen_master/ and https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1ojb7tp/silent_illumination_exposed/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Virtual communites. Limited time. Chatgpt translation. How much time do we have? Foreign Jesus vs Bodhidharma How fast we are we going? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/39028850
info_outline
Zen Talking: Foyan's Facing It Directly... Facing What?
12/02/2025
Zen Talking: Foyan's Facing It Directly... Facing What?
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1ot5j59/foyan_qingyuan_facing_it_directly_dont_miss_whats/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Entering from the East isn't going to work because it's relative. Relatives? Why East becomes West. Can you know too much? Study too much? Travel too much? Who is the mysterious wayfarer? Did he cheat death or cheat die? Cheating Zen Masters? What if you want something that doesn't exist? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/39008595
info_outline
Zen Talking: Nanquan breaks the precepts
11/28/2025
Zen Talking: Nanquan breaks the precepts
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1ovutd7/nanquan_breaks_the_precepts/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? How to explain one culture to another? Who is to blame for a series of events? Who do rules matter to? Good for the goose, good for the gander: asymetric rule breaking The threat Nanquan posed to dissovling his community Zen and personal expression: the same as religion? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/39023405
info_outline
Zen Talking: Poverty and Dependence
11/25/2025
Zen Talking: Poverty and Dependence
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1ou8o2m/from_the_open_thread_not_lacking/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Ascetism and poverty... Huangbo? Eating in context. Is there any standard for greed or gluttony or is it always relative? Huangbo: 12. Thus, there is sensual eating and wise eating. When the body composed of the four elements suffers the pangs of hunger and accordingly you provide it with food, but without greed, that is called wise eating. On the other hand, if you gluttonously delight in purity and flavour, you are permitting the distinctions which arise from wrong thinking. Merely seeking to gratify the organ of taste without realizing when you have taken enough is called sensual eating. “Are you cooking a frittata in a saucepan? What is this, prison?” -Schmidt student poverty - not having a job, monk poverty - not having independence of food, zen master poverty - not having dependence on doctrine or teaching. purpose of poverty dependence and when it works/doesn't. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/39007620
info_outline
Zen Talking: Zhaozhou's Nothing Lacking
11/18/2025
Zen Talking: Zhaozhou's Nothing Lacking
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1ou8o2m/from_the_open_thread_not_lacking/? ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? What is poverty? Zen Masters bragging on poverty of possessions vs possesion of faith/wisdom/truth. Zhaozhou's chair brag. Racism/sexism/bias of all kinds are negative views are similar to all kinds of "holy bias". Drive-a-car enlightenment vs Pope Powers Activate. Zen is the flashlight of awareness -Huineng. Wisdom is not supernatural or the right answer, but the flashlight illuminated world. Concepts, MacGyver, Ego death, Conditioning # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/38992635
info_outline
Zen Talking: Moon Face Buddha - Social Media and Mental Health
11/11/2025
Zen Talking: Moon Face Buddha - Social Media and Mental Health
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Social media... rZen... health... Zen has always been "social media" in it's history 95 Theses and Periodic table of the Elements as personal Zazen and LSD appeal to schiotypical thinkers... Blyth and Suzuki and Zen do not. Does Zen attract people with mental health problems? No. Is social media in or out of Zen culture unhealthy? No. Corrilation is not equal to causation Freshman dis-orientation, pastoral life vs industrial life Luddites and Captialism and the modern propaganda in political discourse Philosophical/Industrial vs Religious/Authoritarian # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/38923630
info_outline
Zen Talking: Bodhidharma's Mind and Anxiety Pacification
11/05/2025
Zen Talking: Bodhidharma's Mind and Anxiety Pacification
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Short term clarity, long term confusion... or contrarywise. Mental health and transitory crisis versus chemical crisis... how separate or interdependent? Bankei's cold spring water Punch and Judy # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/38925280
info_outline
Zen Talking: Zhaozhou's Bright or Dark
11/04/2025
Zen Talking: Zhaozhou's Bright or Dark
Read the History, Talk the History #Post(s) in Question ###Post: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Bright and dark: jewel and mirror. Lanka and Platform sutras have jewel in the tile? What?? The Zen Community AS A CHARACTER in koans Enlightened head monk? No name, no victory, so no? Touzi vs Zhaozhou... BUY MOR OIL "Permission" to trust, doubt and skepticism... Climbing a tower when the sign says DONT CLIMB THIS TOWER Zhaozhou as class clown... even when he is 80. Danger, doubt, and mental health. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/38912115
info_outline
Zen Talking - Eating Grass: Reincarnated Almsgiver's Ox
10/26/2025
Zen Talking - Eating Grass: Reincarnated Almsgiver's Ox
#Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1o6d09y/lonely_footnote_60_feeding_grass/ ###Link to episode: Alms Giver's Ox, Tribeless Men, and the Loneliness Epidemic ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? THE MALE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC IS ROOTED IN NOT HAVING A "TRIBE" IN BOOKS Knowing: Blurt vs know-where-to-search vs believe it must be "somewhere". Five Ox herding Zen pictures IS NOT NOT NOT the Buddhist 10 bulls. New word! Oxbullcow. Is the "white bull" = Zen bull #5 ? Oxbullcow Cases by type: 1. Zen Masters acting like cows; what about Puhua as a donkey? 2. Mystery of, e.g. Lattice Window 3. ? If you have a degree in French poetry? You bring it up at Starbucks. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/38782300
info_outline
Zen Talking: Zen's Traditional Violence... which goes a little off topic
10/19/2025
Zen Talking: Zen's Traditional Violence... which goes a little off topic
#Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1nwytsk/i_choose_violence_zen_study_in_a_violent_tradition/ ###Link to episode: ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Cancel Culture as violence. Zen Cancel Culture via Xiangyang. Physical violence. Psychological violence. Political speech, political violence. And some nerd segues into Asian desserts, Asian studies funding, the monkey in Edgar Allen Poe, the 49th Case. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/38633310
info_outline
Zen Talking: How hard are koans?
09/06/2025
Zen Talking: How hard are koans?
#Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1n9p3s9/some_zen_koans_can_be_incredibly_absurd_but_how/ ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Theory of study: If you can't read French, then of course French confuses you. If confusing yourself is your religion, you still can't claim that the French intended to confuse you by using French language. Specific translations questions. How the Case makes total sense if you translate it correctly. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/38112425
info_outline
Zen Talking: Belly for Zen
08/15/2025
Zen Talking: Belly for Zen
#Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1mgiv6r/building_a_single_belly_for_zen/ The Illusory Man by Zhonfeng Mingben 12. Enter The Gate Abruptly Understand that the Great Illusory Dharma Gate is right at the soles of your feet and has never moved a single hair. You just need for your delusions to be snuffed out, for your point of view to end. When you take a false step and trample on your attachments, then you'll know that Taiyuan heard a gong at the same moment Dongshan crossed the river, and there will be no separation between us. When you get here to the place where the Great Illusory Dharma Gate is entered, kick it over with a single kick. Don't preserve your footprints: only then can you be ten feet tall. An emancipated person must be able to enter the gate abruptly. If you drift through live (sp, life?) frivolously, your mind always in a single revery of delight, then obviously you're still taking part in yesterday's bewilderments. This matter is not explained thoroughly, and then you rest easy. Nor is it something you finish seeing, and then you can take a break. It is done incessantly and without deviation, from beginning to end. When you're ten feet tall, you don't cling to a single truth like it's a fish basket. Being adequate only to the burden of the Buddha's teachings is just sowing weeds. Even at this very moment the truth of the Way is not an antique; people's minds are just lazy and idle. They may behave like teachers and behave like disciples but really, they just seek to balance one another's accounts. Day and night they entice each other with appearances when they ought to be building a single belly for Zen, the Way, the Buddhadharma. There, life and death are the family treasure. It hasn't ever yielded its dwelling high up on the cliff, and if it's cut off behind, it just comes around again rejuvenated. ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? danger and seriousness # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/37833705
info_outline
Zen Talking: Xuefeng's Grain of Rice
08/07/2025
Zen Talking: Xuefeng's Grain of Rice
#Post(s) in Question ###Post: https://old.reddit.com/r/askZen/comments/1mg51jw/making_sense_of_the_bcr_case_5_xuefengs_grain_of/ Xuefeng said to his group, (One blind man leading a crowd of the blind. It's not beyond him.) . "Pick up the whole world, and it;s as big as a grain of rice." (What technique is this> I myself have never sported devil eyes.) ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Reading this case from two viewpoints: original audience and modern audience. Two entirely different contexts with different challenges. # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/37717190
info_outline
Zen Talking: Zen and Buddhism
08/03/2025
Zen Talking: Zen and Buddhism
#Post(s) in Question ### Post: There wasn't a post! ###Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Despite connection problems and mic quality, an interesting conversation with someone who knocked on some doors and has thoughts about that. I didn't edit the longest part because of integrity! No? It's because low production value is our brand! Not really? Okay, then... because it takes too long and I'm busy? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/37650430
info_outline
Zen Talking: Cause, Effect, and Community
07/11/2025
Zen Talking: Cause, Effect, and Community
#Post(s) in Question Post: Cause Effect and Community Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? 1. cause & effect 2. "chilling effect" - people being discouraged from participation 3. Hermits v.s. socialites (retreating from public v.s. being beholden to public) 4. Being dangerous 5. Seeing with the same eyes as all the buddhas The hermit delusion loop vs community conformity loop # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/37373105
info_outline
Zen Talking - Don't Misconceive, from Dahui's Shobogenzo
07/07/2025
Zen Talking - Don't Misconceive, from Dahui's Shobogenzo
#Post(s) in Question Post: https://old.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/1ls8bau/treasury_492_dont_misconceive/ 'Muslin Robe' Zhao one night pointed to the half moon and asked elder Pu, "Where has the other part gone?" Pu said, "Don't misconceive." Zhao said, "You've lost a piece." Dahui said, "He gets up by himself and falls down by himself." Link to episode: Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? When is it not a metaphor? When you can't see the moon? Is what you can't see still there? Two halves to the moon, the "two" of knowing and not knowing". Cases mentioned: 1. Guichen asked, “Where are you going?” Fayan replied, “On an ongoing pilgrimage.” Guichen said, “Why do you go on a pilgrimage?” Fayan replied, “I don’t know.” Guichen said, “Not knowing is most intimate.” At these words Fayan instantly experienced enlightenment. 2. One day Master Yunmen brought up this story about one of his teachers: “A monk once asked Master Yuezhou Qianfeng, 'The honored ones of the ten directions all had a single gateway to ultimate liberation. Where is this gateway?' Then Master Yuezhou drew a line in the ground with his staff and said, 'Here.'” Master Yunmen then held up his fan and offered this comment: “This fan jumps to the uppermost heaven and hits the god Indra; when it strikes the carp of the Eastern Sea, the rain pours down in torrents. Do you understand?” # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/37306285
info_outline
Zen Talking: Falling into Cause and Effect
07/04/2025
Zen Talking: Falling into Cause and Effect
#Post(s) in Question Post: Link to all episodes: https://sites.libsyn.com/407831 # What did we talk about? Zen Masters tell people that enlightenment is not based on cause and effect, and that enlightened people are not subject to karma. This was heresy as far as 8fp Buddhists were concerned. Cause and effect mattered to Buddhists back in the day... what is the modern version that matters to people now? # Keep in Touch Add a comment if there is a post you want somebody to get interviewed about, or you agree to be interviewed. We are now using libsyn, so you don't even have to show your face. You just get a link to an audio call. Buymeacoffee, so I'm not accused of going it alone:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ewkrzen
/episode/index/show/bc8ef917-caf9-4243-b285-58fcbf73cbf0/id/37283275