Really glad to hear Meido call out "faux internet zen". That's something that frustrated and confused me for years.

This is an utterly exceptional discussion. Deeply inspiring. Thank you. 🙏

This channel is too good! 😊

He’s the only one that makes me want to give Soto Zen a break, and give Rinzai a go.

Sanzen is a Japanese invention. It was encounters with anyone, not necessarily a (verified) Zen teacher, that made up early chan. See e.g. Huineng. The problem today is that sanzen is often the place of abuse. Koan practice was actually done in the open once, in front of the sangha. Zen may be Buddhist, Chan wasn't. It was a reinterpretation of Daoism with Buddhist inspirations (see Hinton: Essence of Chan). The more you study early chan, the stronger you will know by yourself. You may also find it in Broughton's Bodhidharma Anthology: concepts like karma and rebirth were already deconstructed by the group surrounding Bodhidharma. And do not make the same mistake as the Dogen school and understand "practice" as sitting!