Call and Response: The P’ang Family Shows Us How
An investigation of lay practice led by Sarah Bender, Sensei
Wednesdays, 6:30 to 8:30
Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25 and Mar. 4, 11
Creek Bend Zendo
Once a student asked, “What is the teaching that lasts a lifetime?”
Yunmen said, “Say something in response.”
And once, around the turn of the 9th Century CE in China, there lived a family who embodied this teaching with such quickness, clarity and grace that their exchanges—among themselves, and with others—are still available to us today, lighting up a picture of lay practice to delight, inspire, awaken us. They were a sangha themselves, within the larger sangha of their time, practicing the Way with such teachers as Shi-tou and Ma-Tzu, but choosing lay practice over monastic life.
This will be a series of 6 meetings, working (and playing) with The Sayings of Layman P’ang; A Zen Classic of China, translated by James Green.
It’s a short, and packed, collection with a nice introduction by Jeff Shore.
Each meeting will include a talk by Sarah Bender, Sensei, but most of the time we will be meeting these characters directly.
Please register. Your commitment to attend at least 4 sessions will make the group strong. sembender@gmail.com.
Everyone is welcome. If you are unable to purchase the book before the first session, don’t worry. We can get pages to you.