There are koan stories that obliquely look at blame, shame, getting it wrong, embarrassment and a host of other possible difficulties that every human being, perfectly imperfect, experiences every single day, that reveal how a Zen person is with this stuff.  Does a Zen person blush with shame?  Quake with anxiety?  Flutter with insecurity?  If not, why not?   Gillian Coote, roshi looks into a couple of these blame and shame stories, including the koan Te’shan’s Bowls.

This teisho was given at Spring sesshin 2023 on day 2