6 week group koan practice

Because anything worth doing is worth doing in a big group, PZI is holding its second 6 week koan cycle.  All throughout PZI, small groups are forming to discuss how they work with 6 specially selected koans and to note how the koan works with them.  Wind-in-Grass is using the 6 koans to build our weekly practice around. 

If you have never worked with a koan before, this is a great way to learn.  It is the ancient way koans were explored in China, in a group and public setting.  In fact the word koan, merely means "public case".   In my personal experience, I remember the first time I worked on a koan in a group.  It was opening.  I didn't realize there were so many paths to the heart of a koan, so many windows for it to climb through. 

Its a wonderful experiment we invite you to join us.  In Potrero Hill or on line. 

Reeeeeaaady:  Go!

This week's koan:

A monk asked Zhaozhou, “Does a dog have Buddha nature or not?”

“Yes,” replied Zhaozhou,

“Then why did it jump into that bag of fur?”

“It knew what it was doing and that’s why it dogged.”

Another time a monk asked Zhaozhou, “Does a dog have Buddha nature or not?”

“No.”

“All beings have buddha nature. Why doesn’t a dog have it?”

“Because it’s beginning to awaken in the world of ignorance.”

Check out John Tarrant's commentary on his blog, Zenosaurus