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When we ask “What is Mu?” with our whole bodies and minds, is it any different from asking, “Who am I?” Since the beginning of humanity, this is question has been driving the spiritual search. To resolve it, Ryushin Sensei teaches, we can’t hold on to a single thing.

Konrad Ryushin Marchaj, Sensei gave this talk – The Gateless Gate, Case 1, Joshu’s “Mu.” – at Zen Mountain Monastery in June 2009. You can purchase this and other talks online at the Monastery Store, http://www.dharma.net/monstore . © Dharma Communications.

Beneath our conditioned sense of self our true nature always exists: wild, sacred, intelligent and free. In this discourse, given at the beginning of one of his 2006 photography intensives, Daido Roshi leads us to the heart of the teaching. This path is not a place, it is a way of being in time.

This talk by Abbot John Daido Loori, Roshi – True Dharma Eye, “Dongshan’s Essential Path”, was given at Zen Mountain Monastery in 2006. To purchase this or other talks, visit the Monastery Store at http://www.dharma.net/monstore/. © Dharma Communications.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Sensei – The Blue Cliff Record, Case 37, Panchan’s “There is nothing in the world.” We can’t know this life and our place in it with the intellectual mind. As Shugen Sensei points out in this talk, our whole being must be filled with the question, and our whole being must be the answer. At this time in our history, it’s imperative for us to understand who we are so we can know how to live this one precious life. This talk was given at Zen Mountain Monastery in September 2006.

Daido Roshi offered this rousing discourse at the conclusion of his annual photography intensive, during the summer of 2007. Taking up the classic koan, “Shishuang’s Nothing is Concealed,” Daido Roshi talks about the power and depth of our practice. The simple act of seeing a thought and letting it go, when we really engage it, enables us to overcome the conditioning at the root of our suffering. As we peel back the layers of conditioning, one by one, we discover our true freedom. Freed from the prison we made ourselves, intimate with sound and form, we can express ourselves completely, holding nothing held back.

The koan in this discourse is number 58 from the True Dharma Eye: Master Dogens’ 300 koans, which was translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi and Daido Roshi, and includes Daidoshi’s commentary, capping verse, and footnotes. To purchase this or other talks, please visit the Monastery Store at mro.org.

How do we respond to the challenges of our life in a way that is vital and serves others? Ryushin Sensei reminds us that when we see reality clearly, we can act with freedom and confidence. Free of our self-doubt and self-concern, we can trust ourselves to meet the moment at hand, regardless of the circumstances. This talk was given at Zen Mountain Monastery in July 2009. You can purchase this and other talks online at the Monastery Store, dharma.net/monstore . (c) 2009 Dharma Communications