Ukyu's Unfair Blows – Hekiganroku 75 (May 2026)

Why do we need silent meditation retreats in these times of polycrisis? Is it normal for painful memories or emotions — or resistance to spiritual practice — to arise at the very beginning of a retreat, and how should we work with that? What is the purpose of our "weird" Japanese chants? What did the early Western Buddhist teachers leave out when they brought Buddhist teachings from the East? And how should we relate to the unfair blows we receive in life?In this talk, Sensei Kanko addresses the common questions and challenges that arise for new practitioners in Zen tradition, but fills them with vibrant stories, new and old, from her own life. Drawing on the koan's strange exchange of blows between a traveling monk and the teacher Ukyu, she invites us to excavate the unfair blows we carry from our closest relationships, our ancestors, and our lands — and to consider whether we can meet them with something deeper than the urge to strike back. Along the way she offers concrete, trauma-informed instructions for working with exhaustion and pain on the cushion, from extending the out-breath into the lower belly to scanning the body for the sensations that are simply okay. A talk for both long-time practitioners and those new to this path, the result is an excellent collage of Kanko’s teaching, which uniquely integrates the rigorous Rinzai Zen lineage with a trauma-informed, gentle and loving approach that weaves reindigenizing and traditional Buddhist ideas into a polycrisis-informed, modern, engaged Buddhist path.Sensei Kanko gave this talk on the first full day of a Zen retreat (sesshin) in May 2026.Thank you for listening to the Boundless in Motion podcast. You can access more information about our programs and retreats by going to boundlessinmotion.org or kriteekanko.com