Dharma Talk: "Everywhere You Turn" with Valerie Forstman

This talk takes up case 34 in the Blue Cliff Record or Hekiganroku, "Kyozan's 'Not Wandering,'" as a guide to that exploration. Kyozan (Yangshan) asks a monk, "Where have you come from?" It's a common question – a fundamental question – that the monks of record repeatedly fail to realize. Here, the monk responds in terms of geography, the distance between here and there, near and far, coming and going. The exchange unfolds with a turning word addressed to the student and to us: Can you wander in the mountains without ever leaving home? Can you not?

Recorded on August 7th, 2025

Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this.

Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/

Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/