ZPI Short - Dream Kōan Practice - the Sambhogakaya Intimacy of Dream Yoga
- Presenter: Tom Zenho Whalen and Rick Issan Mugai Elkin
- Subject: Peacemaker Short, Reflections
As described in the Suttas, Siddhartha Gautama experienced (at least) 5 dreams ushering him to enlightening beneath the Morning Star. Even casual perusal of kōan collections, reveals that many kōans emerge directly from ancestral dream consciousness. Dream consciousness has always played a vital role in the path of awakening. The practice of dream-kōan is a dramatic, authentic process of awakening, relevant for both individuals and communities. Recent neuroscience studies show that we (individual and community) are often stuck in “default mode thinking.” Dream consciousness, our internal psychedelic system, launches us into new realms of individual and group realization. Like that hot iron ball in Mu that can neither be swallowed nor spat out, what are our burning questions? I’ve had a glimpse of the absolute, why are my relationships a mess? Why am I mired in personal and/or group trauma? I devote so much to social justice, why is there no joy in my life? Where does the dismissal of the divine feminine within spiritual traditions come from? My writing/sculpting/painting/singing has lost its juiciness, so why am I blocked? Why do traditional kōans sound to me like hollow echoes? Dreams as kōans bring all of this into our very own hearts, in our very own language.
Isaan and Zenho have been practicing Dream Kōan for many years and yearn to make this experience a pillar of practice, connecting the traditional with our present embodiment.
Recorded on Nov 18 2021
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