The Woman of Taishan

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday 07/31/2022 - Our own beliefs, conventional wisdom, our enculturated consciousness; these encompass the paths we follow in life. As practitioners of The Way, Shugen Roshi encourages us to look carefully into and through this conditioning and see that what we're moving towards is already here. - Concluding his talk, Shugen Roshi offers a poem in tribute to the Woman of Taishan: On the road to Mount Taishan a Tea Dragon serves illness and medicine for the well-being of the thirsty traveler. Please don't be deceived by her humble appearance. She has the power to change a life in an instant. Don't feel the need to adorn her humble appearance. She is majestic and noble, just as she is. Can you hear? Oh, person of the way, which road will you take to the great and calling mountain? - (The Woman of Taishan appears in a koan in both The Book of Serenity, Case 10, and The Gateless Gate, Case 31.)