“We have to release the clamp of our own jaw around our suffering. The uniqueness that we want to hold on to is usually not our actual uniqueness. We get into a habit of holding on to some gunky old stuff that I call ‘me’. We maintain this strange altar of our own suffering and make steady offerings to it.”
In this moving dharma talk, Koshin Sensei delves into the koan offered in the forty-first case of the Blue Cliff Record. In it, teacher and pupil inquire what happens after one experiences the ‘great death’. Koshin uses this case to discuss letting go of our habitual selves and the extraordinary capacities that become available when we are willing to take an unconventional approach to our lives.
ZENTALK NOTES
Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison, MFA, LMSW, DMIN, is an author, Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, and Certified Chaplaincy Educator. Koshin co-founded the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.
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UPCOMING PROGRAMS (as of September 25th, 2022)
—Beginner’s Mind Sesshin: A Winter Silent Retreat of Wholehearted Practice—A cornerstone of Zen practice, the Japanese word for “sesshin” means “touching the heart-mind.” This is a rare opportunity for deepening our practice with a community of supportive practitioners. January 11th – January 15th, 2023 at the Garrison Institute. | Learn More >
MUSIC
Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji – Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.
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