Which is the True Chi'en

Recorded on April 27, 2024This talk, given by Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin, explores case 35 of the Gateless Barrier: “Which is the True Ch’ien?” This wonderfully creative koan uses a T’ang era ghost tale of a young woman divided from herself, to help us uncover our own real Self today. It’s the old old story of Identity — the essential quest of myth and folklore worldwide — recast as a koan with the power to help us live more fully. [This case is sometimes also known as “Sei and Her Soul Are Separated.”}Books cited:The Gateless Barrier: The Wu-Men Kuan (Mumonkan), Translated and with a Commentary by Robert Aitken The Record of Transmission of Light (Denkoroku), Master Keizan JōkinComplete Poison Blossoms from a Thicket of Thorn: The Zen Records of Hakuin Zenji, Translated by Norman WaddellThe Snow Leopard, Peter MatthiessenOriginal Painting — “Moon Among the Clouds” by Rafe MartinBooks by Roshi Rafe MartinTalks on YouTubeMore information at endlesspathzen.org