Why Did Master Rinzai Slap Jo?
A. Jesse Jiryu Davis's dharma talks
English - April 15, 2018 21:25 - 22 minutes - 31.3 MB - ★★★★ - 2 ratingsBuddhism Religion & Spirituality zenvillagezendobuddhism Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: The Real Shit Stick
Next Episode: The Meteor
In the Blue Cliff Record, Case 32, a monk named Jo asks Master Rinzai, "What is the essence of Buddhism?" In response, Rinzai grabs the monk and slaps him. Why?
In this talk I explain what all this hitting and slapping is about in Zen. There's a lesson in this story, about sustaining our own meditation practice over the long haul.