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

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 mean to stay intimate with the being of the world, and let it unfold against our fingertips?
What does it mean to give way to poverty in Zen, meaning to be empty of ideas and preconceived notions?
Listen to this episode to learn how to feel your way along the wall, no matter how dark.
"It doesn't matter how it comes to you, that you begin to dissolve your usual borders and feel a part of things." - Tess Beasley.
What You'll Learn:
What does koan Zen say about intimacy
What does it mean to stay intimate with the being of the world
How can we make sense of the feeling that our borders are not as certain as we thought they were
What does it mean to give way to poverty in Zen
How to let the world in
How to feel your way along the wall
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Links Mentioned:
Learn more about this episode
Learn more about koans
Learn more about Zen
John Tarrant's books: Bring Me the Rhinoceros
The Story of the Buddha

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 of our very own heart-mind.
How do we convey this?
Listen to this episode as we grapple with the marvel of being alive and the sense of vastness of things.
We muse on what comes out of the silence and consider how to teach and learn from the Dharma.
Darkness is a stillness, too." - John Tarrant.
What You'll Learn:
How to convey silence
What are koans
How to explain the dharma of haiku
How to interact with koans
What is precious about darkness
How to fulfill your life purpose
Ways to convey the Dharma
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Links Mentioned:
Learn more about this episode 
Learn more about koans
Learn more about Zen
John Tarrant's books: Bring Me the Rhinoceros
The Story of the Buddha

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 wonder.
Holidays often come with difficulties, but also have the potential of opening the heart into unexpected moments of healing.
Listen to a story of reconciliation, surprise, and the blessing that emptiness can bring to any season.
Happy New Year!
"Zen sees awakening as a kind of miracle." - Tess Beasley.
Learn more about this episode of Meeting the Inconceivable at https://www.pacificzen.org/30

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 most treasured or heroic attitudes that lead us through the gates of awakening; it is far simpler than that.
Tarrant reminds us that, with just one sitting, all our crimes are wiped away.
Listen to this episode to learn about the benefits of generosity and discipline, and how we can best manage our expectations of desire and fulfillment.
"Everybody wants to be the best horse, but the worst horse is interesting." - John Tarrant
Learn more about this episode of Meeting the Inconceivable at https://www.pacificzen.org/29

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 convinced that he is beyond help.
The teacher he finds tells him she'll offer him a practice but only if he promises to take it up for a whole year, no questions asked. It goes terribly, but even that turns out perfectly in the end.
Gratitude is far more mysterious than we give it credit for, and impossible to fabricate.
Like awakening itself, it arises by itself as we move deeper on the path.
"We don't oppose anything that rises in the heart or mind." - John Tarrant.
Learn more about this episode of Meeting the Inconceivable at https://www.pacificzen.org/28