The Inner Wilderness

The Inner Wilderness

From The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast by Zen Mountain Monastery

June 7, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi explores the concept of attachments in Buddhism and how understanding them can lead to clarity and self-discovery.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 6/7/26 - How Buddhism uses the term "attachments" is often misunderstood as being something bad, which should not happen, but our sense of self is made up of a series of attachments: to identity, position, and so on. When we see through these many ideas of who we are, we can eventually settle our minds and experience our true nature. Using an ancient koan and the words of Henry David Thoreau, Shugen Roshi explores the world of attachment and how to bring clarity by exploring the inner wilderness to find the true nature of the self. (From the Gateless Gate, Case 44 - Basho's Stick.)

People in this episode

Guest: Geoffrey Shugen Arnold

Topics covered

  • attachments
  • Buddhism
  • self-identity
  • inner wilderness
  • clarity
  • true nature

Keywords

  • Buddhism
  • attachments
  • self-identity
  • inner wilderness
  • clarity
  • true nature
  • koan
  • Henry David Thoreau

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Gateless Gate

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