Show Notes
This talk begins with an exploration of the first grave precept in Mahayana Buddhism, not-killing. Valerie then turns to case 14 in the Mumonkan or Gateless Gate, the next koan in the collection. This famous case, "Nansen Kills the Cat," is often described as a difficult koan, opaque to understanding and troubling to our sensibilities. Would a Zen master actually slay a cat in an all-out effort to awaken his monks? What are we to make of the startling image of Nansen holding up an innocent creature in one hand, a knife in the other, and addressing us: "Say a word and I will spare the cat." Faced with the matter of life and death in the hands of a great master, what would you say?
The koan unfolds with Joshu, Nansen's student of 40 years, hearing what happened and offering his response. We smile as he walks through the koan and leaves us with questions: What is the cat? What is cut through and what, possibly, spared? What is the turning word in a story that asks us to drop everything and enter in?
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More from in the Cloud
For this episode, we're reaching back in time with Will & Lucie Brennan, two of the original founders and builders of Mountain Cloud. So fun to take a trip down memory lane with them. I hope you enjoy hearing the 'origin stories'. If you're enjoying these conversations, please consider supporting Mountain Cloud through donation and membership. Your contribution is a meaningful way for us to continue offering these programs freely. Donation Membership Reach out to [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.
Freshly returned from the annual Sanbo Zen teacher training in Germany and a sesshin she led there, Valerie reflects on these experiences and on the many gifts of practice. How do we find our way on this path of practice exactly where we are, lacking nothing, and, at the same time, called ever more deeply into the freedom and compassion that is our native ground? The talk offers a tribute to Patty Underbrink, a longtime practitioner who died on Sunday, three years to the day she was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Patty was deaf and fluent in American Sign Language. In celebration of Patty's life and her tireless encouragement to others, the talk turns to case 89 in the Book of Equanimity, with its question: "What does the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion use so many hands and eyes for?" Let our practice be a portal and a response. Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member, so we can continue to offer these programs freely. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Membership: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/ Reach out to [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.
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Shana reflects upon the recent Kenshukai in Germany, and examines Case 86 of the Blue Cliff Record, "Unmon's Bright Light." Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member, so we can continue to offer these programs freely. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Membership: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/ Reach out to [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.
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