The Spring’s Knee-Deep Mud

The Spring’s Knee-Deep Mud

From The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast by Zen Mountain Monastery

May 10, 2026 · 43 min

About this episode

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold discusses the challenges practitioners face in bringing goodness into a complex and unpredictable world.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 5/10/26 - Who fears the spring row’s knee-deep mud? This line from Hongzhi’s poem underscores the challenge which all practitioners of the dharma face: to bring something good into the world, despite the challenges that we inevitably face. Our world is constantly in flux, complex and unpredictable, and those on the Path are called to both quiet reverence and to making real effort. With words and activity, mindfulness and the moral precepts, Shugen Roshi encourages us to inhabit this universe in all directions. (From the Book of Serenity, Case 79 - Changsha Advancing a Step)

People in this episode

Host: Geoffrey Shugen Arnold

Topics covered

  • dharma
  • mindfulness
  • Buddhism
  • spiritual practice
  • challenges
  • effort

Keywords

  • dharma
  • mindfulness
  • Buddhism
  • spirituality
  • Hongzhi
  • Book of Serenity
  • challenges
  • effort

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Book of Serenity, Case 79 - Changsha Advancing a Step

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