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2016-08-21 Kakuzan Shido's Dagger

Kakuzan Shido (Japan, 1252-1305), founder of Tokei-ji, was challenged about her ability to teach and brings forth a dagger. Was her act a violent one? What role do such extreme actions play in Zen? What role does pressure (external and internal) play in Zen, and in life? Why are koans so difficult?

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AZC The Hidden Lamp

In this ongoing series Roshi Amala Wrightson explores the stories from The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women (edited by Florence Caplow and Susan Moon).

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Roshi Amala Wrightson

Roshi Amala Wrightson is the full-time teacher at the Auckland Zen Centre. Amala-roshi began her Zen training at the Rochester Zen Center in 1989, shortly after completing an M.A. in Italian at Auckland University, and was ordained as a priest there in 1999. In late 2003, upon completion of formal koan training under Roshi Kjolhede, Amala-roshi returned to resettle in New Zealand. She and her husband, Sensei Richard von Sturmer, co-founded the Auckland Zen Centre in 2004. The Centre offers regular sittings, talks, zen meditation workshops, retreats (sesshin) and opportunities to engage in compassionate action. All Roshi's talks are shared in our "AZC Weekly Talks" podcast.