Will Moon

Here it is

In the koan, Case 48 of the Wumen-kuan collection of koans, a monk asks Kan-feng, “the exalted saints of the ten directions have one straight road to nirvana: I wonder where that road is.” Kan- feng lifted up his staff and drew a line in the air and said, “here it is”. The koan continues from here, however this initial

Read More

No Teacher

Will considers that Zen cannot be taught. All the ideas we accumulate from listening to talks and reading books are not ‘it’. As useful as they are at times, they are the accumulation of just more concepts and ideas. It is only through our great enquiry that we awaken. This teisho, referring to Huang Po and the Brewer’s Lees (Case

Read More

Unwellness

Will explores how we might view our pain differently. Rather than fleeing and avoiding pain, how we might also awaken to the fact that our pain and struggles are also the true dharma. He refers to Case 3 of the Blue Cliff Record: Sun Faced Buddha, Moon Faced Buddha This teisho was given by apprentice teacher Will Moon on day

Read More

Koan Mu

Will discusses Wumen’s comments on how to work with the Koan Mu considering these instructionsin today’s context. This teisho, Case 1 (Chao-chou’s Dog) from the Gateless Barrier (Wu-men Kuan), was given by apprentice teacher Will Moon on Day 1 of Spring sesshin 2024.

Read More

Losing Control?

This teisho explores how being present in the here and now better enables us to cope and to respond in a world with increasing conflict and increasing ecological collapse, where we can feel like we have less and less control and where there feels like great uncertainty. The teisho discusses how to live well in today’sworld by responding from our

Read More

Having Problems?

Will explores our relationship between our problems and our practice, and our attitude to our problems. This teisho draws upon several koan examples that involve problems and our approach to our practice. This includes… The Iron Flute case 33: ‘Yueh Shan solves the monk’s problem’ Blue Cliff Record case 6: ‘Every day is a good day’ Gateless Barrier, case 30:

Read More

Can do it, Can’t do it

As students of the way, if we are serious about awakening to our true nature, or Buddha nature, we need to believe that from the beginning we are Buddhas and the realisation of our true nature is our birth right. The following is a koan called ‘Nan-chuan’s Stone Buddha’, and it is case 3 from the Iron Flute collection of

Read More

Where did you go?

Last February Will and his family began their journey to the Kimberley, after an internet search back in 2022 revealed a job advertised in Derby. There was a sort of half-hearted application for the job but when the phone call came that offered it, there was, strangely, absolutely no doubt he should accept.It is mysterious how our life unfolds.We step

Read More

What is progress?

A monk says to Jingqing, “I am pecking from the inside, I beg you master, please peck from the outside”. Jingqing says, “But will you be alive?” This quote appears in the Blue Cliff Record, Case 16. The monk then says, “I am vigorously working this way, if I were not alive, I would be laughed at”. Jingqing responds, “You

Read More

post categories

Popular Class