sparkling in pure light

Greetings!

I am beginning a series of talks exploring the wisdom of Zen Master Shitou’s Sandokai, which is translated in various ways including: The Identity of Relative and Absolute, Being One and Many, The Harmony of Difference and Sameness.

In this podcast dharma talk I explore the first stanza of the poem using Nelson Foster’s translation:

The mind (heart) of the great sage of India

was intimately conveyed (transmitted) from west to east.

Though people may be sharp-witted or dull,

there's no north and south in the Way.

The deep spring sparkles in the pure light,

its branches streaming through the darkness.

Grasping at phenomena is the source of delusion;

uniting with the absolute falls short of awakening.

We explore the various ways one can point to our true nature—