Paths of Practice with John Tarrant, Roshi

About this episode

John Tarrant, Roshi discusses Zen practice, meditation, and the balance between innovation and tradition in teaching.

John Tarrant, Roshi is a Zen teacher, poet, and founder of the Pacific Zen Institute. He is interested in Zen as a way that transforms the mind, and in the dance between innovation and tradition in both teaching and practice. Tarrant Roshi is the author of books such as Bring Me The Rhinoceros: And Other Zen Koans That Will Save Your Life, The Light Inside the Dark: Zen, Soul & the Spiritual Life, and The Story of the Buddha. For more information about Tarrant Roshi and the resources mentioned in the episode, please visit the following links: https://tarrantworks.com/ https://www.pacificzen.org/ We talked about: *Meditation, fear, and viewing your mind like a national park *Early experiences with Tibetan lamas in Australia, independent study of koans, and learning from Robert Aitken, Roshi in Hawaii *Poetry, exploring koans in group settings, and Mu *San Francisco Zen Center figures like Issan Dorsey, Philip Whalen, David Chadwick, and the place of koans in Soto and Rinzai Zen *And the importance of sincerely taking the step of turning your heart towards the dharma and finding support in kind mentors and companions

People in this episode

Host: Vincent Moore

Guest: John Tarrant

Topics covered

• Zen practice
• meditation
• koans
• spiritual transformation
• innovation in teaching
• dharma support

Keywords

• Zen
• meditation
• koans
• dharma
• spirituality
• Pacific Zen Institute
• John Tarrant

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Pacific Zen Institute

Books & works: Bring Me The Rhinoceros: And Other Zen Koans That Will Save Your Life, The Light Inside the Dark: Zen, Soul & the Spiritual Life, The Story of the Buddha

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