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Turning Words title: Turning Words – a Zen blog
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I gave this talk on January 15, 2026. A recording follows the text.
This is Case 27 in The Blue Cliff Record:
A monk asked Yun Men, “How is it when the tree withers and the leaves fall?”
Yun Men said, “Body exposed in the golden wind.”
I had a mysterious dream thirty-five years ago. I didn’t understan...
I gave this talk at our Full Moon Zen Sunrise Sit today. A recording follows the talk.
This morning let’s return to a koan I’ve focused us on twice recently. Here are the first few lines of Case 19 in The Gateless Gate:
Chao-chou asked Nan-ch’üan, “What is the Tao?”
Nan-ch’üan said, “Ordinary Mind is the Tao.”<...
I gave this talk at our Full Moon Zen evening talk on December 18, 2025. A recording follows the text.
I gave this talk on November 25, 2025, at our Full Moon Zen Sunrise Sit. A recording follows the text.
This is case 14 in The Gateless Gate, Nanquan Kills the Cat. Eric, cover your ears. For those of you who haven’t heard this koan, be forewarned. There’s one gruesome bit, particularly if you’re a cat lover like Eric.
Nan-ch’üan found...
I gave this talk on November 13, 2025, at our Full Moon Zen sesshin at Providence Zen Center. We had a Jukai ceremony the previous night, during which eight of our sangha members received Zen’s sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts. A recording follows the text.
It is wonderful to be here with you. I’m so happy. This feels like something of a reunion. I think we’ve ...
