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 Shōyōroku 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
All content for Awakening Streams: The One River Zen Podcast is the property of Sensei Michael Brunner, One River Zen and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
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 Shōyōroku 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
Seeking Meaning and the Empty Search | Blue Cliff Record Case 20
Awakening Streams: The One River Zen Podcast
15 minutes 48 seconds
9 months ago
Seeking Meaning and the Empty Search | Blue Cliff Record Case 20
We all seek meaning. When life feels uncertain, when suffering arises, we grasp for something to explain it—to fit our struggles into a larger story, to make sense of the chaos. But Zen does not offer tidy answers. Instead, it strips away the need for meaning itself.
In this episode, Sensei Michael Brunner explores Hekiganroku Case 20: Ryūge Asks Suibi and Rinzai, a koan where a monk asks about the meaning of Bodhidharma’s journey, only to be struck instead of answered. Why? Because truth is not something we find outside of ourselves—it is what remains when we stop searching.
What happens when we drop the second arrow of suffering—the stories we attach to our pain? What is left when we no longer chase explanations? This talk is an invitation to step beyond intellectual grasping and into the immediacy of life itself.
🔹 In this episode, we explore:
Why our search for meaning is just another form of attachment
How Suibi and Rinzai’s blows cut through conceptual grasping
The two arrows teaching and how it reveals the nature of suffering
Why true freedom is not found in explanations, but in direct experience
We don’t chant, sit, or practice to discover meaning—we practice to let go of the need for meaning altogether. The Dharma is not something to grasp—it is something to embody.
🔔 Subscribe for more Dharma talks & Zen teachings!
📖 Join our upcoming classes & retreats: oneriverzen.org
#Zen #DharmaTalk #Buddhism #KoanStudy #Rinzai #Shoyoroku #Hekiganroku #ZenPractice #Meditation #Mindfulness #LettingGo #SpiritualFreedom
Awakening Streams: The One River Zen Podcast
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 Shōyōroku 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
