Right and Wrong — The Zen Koan of Mayoku Thumping His Staff
Book of Equanimity (Shōyōroku), Case 16
With Sensei Michael Brunner — One River Zen
In this episode of Awakening Streams, Sensei Michael Brunner explores the Zen koan “Mayoku Thumps His Staff,” Case 16 of the Book of Equanimity. The story appears simple: Mayoku performs the same gesture before two different Zen masters. One responds “right.” The other responds “wrong.” The question is not which master is correct — but what this reveals about our tendency to interpret life through fixed ideas.
This teaching examines how easily the mind replaces direct experience with shorthand: right and wrong, good and bad, success and failure. Zen practice invites us to release those conceptual filters and respond directly to the living circumstances of our lives.
Rather than solving the koan as a puzzle, Sensei Brunner shows how it exposes the way we cling to judgments and inherited narratives. When those stories fall away, a deeper responsiveness — what Zen calls wisdom — becomes available.
Recorded at One River Zen in Ottawa, Illinois, this teishō connects a classic Zen koan with the ordinary challenges of daily life.
Topics in this Episode
• The Zen koan Mayoku Thumps His Staff
• Book of Equanimity (Shōyōroku), Case 16
• How the mind creates right and wrong
• Conceptual thinking vs. direct experience
• The danger of borrowed understanding in spiritual practice
• Seeing through judgments and mental shorthand
• Responding to life with clarity and wisdom
Practice with One River Zen
One River Zen offers Soto Zen meditation practice, Dharma study, and Zen training in Ottawa, Illinois. Practitioners from outside the area may also train online.
Schedule an introductory meeting with Sensei Michael Brunner:
https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/8bdd737a26734dbf94c8e7021f9136d9@oneriverzen.org?anonymous&ismsaljsauthenabled&ep=plink
Learn more:
https://oneriverzen.org
Daily Zen teachings:
https://oneriverzen.org/daily-zen
Awakening Streams Podcast
Awakening Streams shares Zen teachings, koan reflections, and conversations on practice with Sensei Michael Brunner of One River Zen. Each episode explores how classical Zen teachings illuminate the challenges of modern life.
🪷 Awakening Streams: The One River Zen Podcast
Teachings and reflections with Sensei Michael Brunner (Sōen) of One River Zen Center, 121 E Prospect St, Ottawa IL 61350.
🌐 Learn more & join practice: https://www.oneriverzen.org
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