Posted inDharma, Koans, Scott's Messages, Videos

Scott Thornton: Stop the Sound of the Distant Temple Bell

March 14, 2024

In his teisho, Scott takes up case 1 from the Sanbo Zen collection of miscellaneous koans. As he explains, this collection is usually the next step on the path of koan study after passing the koan “Mu.” The koan is the statement, “stop the sound of the distant temple bell.” We are guided to examine this gem from many perspectives. What do we want to stop? Who hears it? Is it a statement or a question? Hear this teisho, like the bell, and stop where you are.

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