Awakening Streams: The One River Zen Podcast

• Zen Kōan on Ego and Original Nature — Mountains, Rivers, and the True Will

  Zen Kōan on Ego and Original Nature — Mountains, Rivers, and the True Willwith Sensei Sōen Michael Brunner, Abbot of One River Zen (Ottawa, Illinois)When every movement of the heart leans toward I want or I don’t want, how do we know what direction is true? In this Dharma talk, Sensei Sōen Michael Brunner turns to the final case of the Book of Equanimity — Rōya’s Mountains and Rivers — to explore how ego, will, and awakening unfold in daily life.Through the unlikely pairing of Aleister Crowley’s dictum “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” and John the Baptist’s “He must increase, I must decrease,” Sensei reveals how Zen transcends both self-assertion and self-erasure. This kōan becomes a living invitation to see the original nature that breathes through mountains, rivers, thoughts, and every ordinary moment.💠 Recorded live at One River Zen, a Soto Zen Buddhist temple rooted in the lineage of Dainin Katagiri Roshi.🎧 Learn more, view upcoming retreats, or join practice at www.oneriverzen.org. Learn more, study with us, and meditate online at oneriverzen.org.

  --------  

  12:21

  --------

  12:21
• Hōgen's Hair's-Breadth: Shōyōroku Case 17

  In this talk Sensei Michael Brunner turns to Case 17 of the Shōyōroku — Hōren’s Hair’s-Breadth. The koan pivots on a single line from the Shin Jin Mei: “If there’s even a hair’s-breadth of difference, heaven and earth are clearly separated.” Rather than analyzing the line, Sensei shows how this “hair” is born in the instant we prefer, resist, explain, or try to understand. The moment we step back from what is happening and make an observer, heaven and earth fly apart.The exchange between Hōgen and Shuzan becomes a mirror for our own practice: Hōgen questions, Shuzan repeats, Hōgen presses, Shuzan answers “I am just this,” and the line is spoken again — the same words, but now alive. The closing bow seals their intimacy. Sensei points to how this same movement appears in our zazen, relationships, fear, frustration, and aspiration; how even a fly landing on the scale can tilt the whole heart; and how the work is not to fix the tilt but to see the tilting mind clearly, without measuring or interference.This episode asks the listener to locate the hair’s-breadth in their own life and to entrust the mind before division — allowing heaven and earth to bow together in the very act of seeing. Learn more, study with us, and meditate online at oneriverzen.org.

  --------  

  16:34

  --------

  16:34
• Song of the Grass Roof Hermitage | Part Four

  In the final talk of this four-part series, Sensei Michael Brunner concludes his exploration of Sekitō Kisen’s Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage — the poem that traces the building, opening, and dissolving of the hermit’s mind of practice.Having built the hut, opened it to vastness, and rested in stillness, the hermit now turns the light inward and returns to what was never apart. This is the completion of the circle — the end of seeking, the recognition that practice and enlightenment are not two.Through Sekitō’s closing verses, Sensei reflects on the humility of not-knowing, the intimacy of self-forgetfulness, and the quiet joy of living freely within the very conditions we once tried to escape.In this episode:– Turning the light to shine within– The return to simplicity and ordinariness– The end of striving and the fullness of now– The undying person in the hut– The dissolution of host and guestRecorded live during sesshin at One River Zen, this talk completes the Postcards from Sesshin series — reminding us that awakening is not found elsewhere, but right here in the skin bag of our own fleeting life.Sekitō Kisen — Song of the Grass-Roof HermitageI’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value.After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap.When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared.Now it’s been lived in—and it’s covered with weeds.The person in the hut lives here calmly,Not stuck to inside, outside, or in between.Places worldly people live, he doesn’t live.Realms worldly people love, he doesn’t love.Though the hut is small, it includes the entire world.In ten square feet, an old man illumines forms and their nature.A great vehicle Bodhisattva trusts without doubt.The middling or lowly can’t help wondering;Will this hut perish or not?Perishable or not, the original master is present,Not dwelling south or north, east or west.Firmly based on steadiness, it can’t be surpassed.A shining window below the green pines—Jade palaces or vermilion towers can’t compare.Just sitting with head covered, all things are at rest.Thus, this mountain monk doesn’t understand at all.Living here, he no longer works to get free.Who would proudly arrange seats, trying to entice guests?Turn around the light to shine within,Then just return.The vast inconceivable source can’t be faced or turned away from.Meet the ancestral teachers; be familiar with their instructions.Bind grasses to build a hut and don’t give up.Let go of hundreds of years and relax completely.Open your hands and walk, innocent.Thousands of words, myriad interpretations,Are only to free you from obstructions.If you want to know the undying person in the hut,Don’t separate from this skin bag here and now.🪷 Learn more: https://oneriverzen.org #Zen #DharmaTalk #SekitoKisen #SongOfTheGrassRoofHermitage #MichaelBrunner #OneRiverZen #SotoZen #Zazen #AwakeningStreams #Sesshin #GrassRoofHut #TurningTheLightWithin #NotKnowing #Freedom #NonDuality #Fushiryo #Awakening #Stillness Learn more, study with us, and meditate online at oneriverzen.org.

  --------  

  20:11

  --------

  20:11
• Song of the Grass Roof Hermitage | Part Three

  In the third talk of this four-part series, Sensei Michael Brunner turns to the stillness at the heart of Sekitō Kisen’s Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage.Having built the hut and opened it to the vastness of the world, the hermit now abides within it — steady, simple, and free. From here, Sekitō speaks of the life that remains after awakening: a life of ordinariness, quiet joy, and deep compassion.Through verses such as “Firmly based on steadiness, it can’t be surpassed” and “Just sitting with head covered, all things are at rest,” Sensei explores the humility of not-knowing, the luminous beauty of sufficiency, and the natural freedom that arises when we stop striving to be free.In this episode:– Stability and ease as the ground of compassion– The shining window beneath the green pines– Not-knowing (fushiryo) as the heart of intimacy– Living freely within delusion– The host and guest returning to onenessRecorded live during sesshin at One River Zen, this talk invites us to rest in simplicity — to sit, breathe, and allow life to express itself completely through us.Sekitō Kisen — Song of the Grass-Roof HermitageI’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value.After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap.When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared.Now it’s been lived in—and it’s covered with weeds.The person in the hut lives here calmly,Not stuck to inside, outside, or in between.Places worldly people live, he doesn’t live.Realms worldly people love, he doesn’t love.Though the hut is small, it includes the entire world.In ten square feet, an old man illumines forms and their nature.A great vehicle Bodhisattva trusts without doubt.The middling or lowly can’t help wondering;Will this hut perish or not?Perishable or not, the original master is present,Not dwelling south or north, east or west.Firmly based on steadiness, it can’t be surpassed.A shining window below the green pines—Jade palaces or vermilion towers can’t compare.Just sitting with head covered, all things are at rest.Thus, this mountain monk doesn’t understand at all.Living here, he no longer works to get free.Who would proudly arrange seats, trying to entice guests?Turn around the light to shine within,Then just return.The vast inconceivable source can’t be faced or turned away from.Meet the ancestral teachers; be familiar with their instructions.Bind grasses to build a hut and don’t give up.Let go of hundreds of years and relax completely.Open your hands and walk, innocent.Thousands of words, myriad interpretations,Are only to free you from obstructions.If you want to know the undying person in the hut,Don’t separate from this skin bag here and now.🪷 Learn more: https://oneriverzen.org🎧 Awakening Streams: Teachings from One River Zen#Zen #DharmaTalk #SekitoKisen #SongOfTheGrassRoofHermitage #MichaelBrunner #OneRiverZen #SotoZen #Zazen #AwakeningStreams #Stillness #NotKnowing #Fushiryo #Sesshin #GrassRoofHut #Embodiment #Dogen #Awakening Learn more, study with us, and meditate online at oneriverzen.org.

  --------  

  17:32

  --------

  17:32
• Song of the Grass Roof Hermitage | Part Two

  In the second talk of this four-part series, Sensei Michael Brunner continues his exploration of Sekitō Kisen’s Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage, turning to the widening vision of the awakened hermit.Where Part One built the hut — the dwelling of simplicity — Part Two opens its doors. The small hut now contains the entire world. The hermit’s heart, once enclosed by self and circumstance, dissolves into vastness.Through Sekitō’s verses, Sensei explores how realization naturally unfolds — how renunciation becomes inclusion, how separation softens into compassion, and how the whole world can dwell within a ten-foot space.In this episode:– The hut as a metaphor for boundless mind– Dwelling in vastness while living simply– The difference between worldly love and awakened love– Letting the weeds grow as a form of practice– Living in freedom where nothing is outside the WayRecorded live during sesshin at One River Zen, this talk invites listeners to recognize that the true hermitage is not built apart from the world, but realized through it — in every sound, every breath, every fleeting moment of life.Sekitō Kisen — Song of the Grass-Roof HermitageI’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value.After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap.When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared.Now it’s been lived in—and it’s covered with weeds.The person in the hut lives here calmly,Not stuck to inside, outside, or in between.Places worldly people live, he doesn’t live.Realms worldly people love, he doesn’t love.Though the hut is small, it includes the entire world.In ten square feet, an old man illumines forms and their nature.A great vehicle Bodhisattva trusts without doubt.The middling or lowly can’t help wondering;Will this hut perish or not?Perishable or not, the original master is present,Not dwelling south or north, east or west.Firmly based on steadiness, it can’t be surpassed.A shining window below the green pines—Jade palaces or vermilion towers can’t compare.Just sitting with head covered, all things are at rest.Thus, this mountain monk doesn’t understand at all.Living here, he no longer works to get free.Who would proudly arrange seats, trying to entice guests?Turn around the light to shine within,Then just return.The vast inconceivable source can’t be faced or turned away from.Meet the ancestral teachers; be familiar with their instructions.Bind grasses to build a hut and don’t give up.Let go of hundreds of years and relax completely.Open your hands and walk, innocent.Thousands of words, myriad interpretations,Are only to free you from obstructions.If you want to know the undying person in the hut,Don’t separate from this skin bag here and now.🪷 Learn more: https://oneriverzen.org #Zen #DharmaTalk #SekitoKisen #SongOfTheGrassRoofHermitage #MichaelBrunner #OneRiverZen #SotoZen #Zazen #AwakeningStreams #Compassion #NonDuality #GrassRoofHut #Stillness #Sesshin #Awakening Learn more, study with us, and meditate online at oneriverzen.org.

  --------  

  19:31

  --------

  19:31

More Religion & Spirituality podcasts

Trending Religion & Spirituality podcasts

About Awakening Streams: The One River Zen Podcast