Meeting the Inconceivable | Zen Koans, Dreams & the Creative Life

The Endless Transformation of Things

In this episode, Roshi Allison Atwill tells an old story in which a man dreams that he is a butterfly. Upon waking, he begins to wonder if he is, in fact, a butterfly d

The Zen of Wiley Coyote & Roadrunner

Through exploring the classic Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote screenwriting rules, Roshi John Tarrant interrogates the constraints we so often place on life in hopes of it al

Like Front Foot & Back Foot Walking

In this lively summer sesshin talk, Roshi John Tarrant engages students in reflecting on what actually happens as practice deepens during a long retreat. Like front foo

Freely Watching the Tracks of Flying Birds

Meditation is not something you do; it is something you surrender to. In this episode, Roshi John Tarrant speaks from deep inside Summer sesshin about how, with practic

A Woman Raised a Goose in a Bottle

Today, Roshi John Tarrant takes up an infamous koan about a woman raising a goose in a bottle. There are many bottles that we may feel trapped in throughout our lives.

Ending the Project of Suffering

This episode features several stories of awakening to what was always already here and on our side. To end the project of suffering that many of us take on, we need fir

Just Feel Your Way Along the Wall

In this episode, Roshi Tess Beasley begins with an old Seamus Heaney poem about how the universe appears in all its splendor in the places we least expect. What does it

The Silence of Haiku

Roshi John Tarrant explores the intersection of the art of haiku and silence. In this episode, he shows how the vastness of the universe is always ready to emerge out o

A Winter Tale of Wonder

As the year comes to a close, "the Guanyins" -- Roshis Allison Atwill, Tess Beasley, Michelle Riddle, and Sarah Bender -- team up to tell a wintery Christmas tale of wond

The Golden Birds & Buddha Nature

In this episode, Roshi John Tarrant shares a wondrous and humorous rendition of an old fairytale about the Golden Bird and Buddha Nature. Explore how it is never our mo

No Complaints Whatsoever

Thanksgiving and the whole notion of gratitude can bring along complicated feelings. In this episode, Roshi John Tarrant shares an old story about a miserable student c

Never Lacking for Salt & Sauce

In this episode, Roshi John Tarrant shares an old Zen story about navigating impossible times and realizing how life carries us even when it's tough. "For thirty years,

The Importance of Being Lost

Being lost has a transformative beauty to it. Being lost is a gateway to the extraordinary, as it brings about the possibility of not knowing who we are. Listen to th

Losing & Finding Our True Nature

During our journey of existence, we lose and find our true nature. It's amazing what we know once we allow ourselves to know it. What magic happens when koans start t

Being in the Bath of Awakening

What does it mean to be in the bath of awakening? We somehow always have a reluctance to immerse ourselves completely, which is the very thing that holds it at bay. I

The Stone Drenched with Rain

The stone drenched with rain points the way. In this episode, Roshi Allison Atwill speaks on a koan born of a haiku by Japanese poet Santoka Taneda. What does it mean

When You Stop Chasing About

We are all walking through the valley holding our lanterns. What is the Way? What do the valley and the lantern represent? Koans allow us to stop chasing. When we are

The Loch Ness Monster & Zen

With realization, all things are one family. Without realization, all things are separate and disconnected. In this episode, Roshi John Tarrant talks about the empathy

To Always Carry Light & Silence

Today, Roshi Allison Atwill shares a poem about our intrinsic ability to always carry light and silence. In this episode, she explains how the original silence is alway

A Beautiful State of Mind

There is always a certain amount of mystery to who we are and where we are. In this episode, Roshi John Tarrant takes up a poetic case entitled Jiashan's Beautiful Stat