Nameless Old Woman
Zen literature is full of invisible female sages. Here we meet a roadside teacher who gives wise counsel to monks searching for the way to Mt T’ai, the sacred mountain that is home to Manjusri, the bodhisattva of wisdom. Who is visible or invisible after all? Chao chou, acting as an undercover agent, declares that he has seen through her. And she sees through him. The transparency of no-self!
This teisho was given by Maggie Gluek, roshi at Rohatsu sesshin 2023