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Awakening Streams: The One River Zen PodcastAuthor: Sensei Michael Brunner, One River Zen
Awakening Streams features Dharma talks and Zen reflections from Sensei Michael Brunner of One River Zen Center in Ottawa, Illinois. Each episode explores the living practice of Zen Buddhism through classic Zen koans, teachings from the Shyroku and Mumonkan, and direct encounters with everyday life. Discover how awakening flows through every obstacle, every act of compassion, and every moment of wonder. Learn more: https://www.oneriverzen.org Language: en Genres: Buddhism, Religion & Spirituality Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Right and Wrong — The Zen Koan of Mayoku Thumping His Staff (Book of Equanimity Case 16)
Episode 5
Thursday, 12 March, 2026
Right and Wrong — The Zen Koan of Mayoku Thumping His Staff Book of Equanimity (Shōyōroku), Case 16 With Sensei Michael Brunner — One River Zen In this episode of Awakening Streams, Sensei Michael Brunner explores the Zen koan “Mayoku Thumps His Staff,” Case 16 of the Book of Equanimity. The story appears simple: Mayoku performs the same gesture before two different Zen masters. One responds “right.” The other responds “wrong.” The question is not which master is correct — but what this reveals about our tendency to interpret life through fixed ideas. This teaching examines how easily the mind replaces direct experience with shorthand: right and wrong, good and bad, success and failure. Zen practice invites us to release those conceptual filters and respond directly to the living circumstances of our lives. Rather than solving the koan as a puzzle, Sensei Brunner shows how it exposes the way we cling to judgments and inherited narratives. When those stories fall away, a deeper responsiveness — what Zen calls wisdom — becomes available. Recorded at One River Zen in Ottawa, Illinois, this teishō connects a classic Zen koan with the ordinary challenges of daily life. Topics in this Episode • The Zen koan Mayoku Thumps His Staff • Book of Equanimity (Shōyōroku), Case 16 • How the mind creates right and wrong • Conceptual thinking vs. direct experience • The danger of borrowed understanding in spiritual practice • Seeing through judgments and mental shorthand • Responding to life with clarity and wisdom Practice with One River Zen One River Zen offers Soto Zen meditation practice, Dharma study, and Zen training in Ottawa, Illinois. Practitioners from outside the area may also train online. Schedule an introductory meeting with Sensei Michael Brunner:https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/8bdd737a26734dbf94c8e7021f9136d9@oneriverzen.org?anonymous&ismsaljsauthenabled&ep=plink Learn more:https://oneriverzen.org Daily Zen teachings:https://oneriverzen.org/daily-zen Awakening Streams Podcast Awakening Streams shares Zen teachings, koan reflections, and conversations on practice with Sensei Michael Brunner of One River Zen. Each episode explores how classical Zen teachings illuminate the challenges of modern life. 🪷 Awakening Streams: The One River Zen PodcastTeachings and reflections with Sensei Michael Brunner (Sōen) of One River Zen Center, 121 E Prospect St, Ottawa IL 61350.🌐 Learn more & join practice: https://www.oneriverzen.org🎧 Listen to more episodes: Awakening Streams Podcast🙏 Support the Sangha: https://www.oneriverzen.org/donate#SenseiMichaelBrunner #MichaelBrunnerOttawa #OneRiverZen #ZenKoan #ZenPodcast #OttawaIL #SotoZen
