“Prajnatara asked, ‘What amongst all things is the greatest?’ Bodhidharma said, ‘True nature, of all things, is the greatest.’”

In this dharma talk, Sensei Koshin shares a koan describing the meeting between Prajnatara and Bodhidharma, which would lead to Prajnatara becoming Bodhidharma’s teacher and paving the way for the founding of the Zen lineage. What lessons can be learned by understanding this initial encounter between teacher and precocious pupil and who are these ancestral figures? Be sure to listen to this talk and find out!

ZENTALK NOTES

Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison, MFA, LMSW, DMIN, is an author, Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, and Certified Chaplaincy Educator. Koshin co-founded the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

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Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji –  Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

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