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Meeting the Inconceivable | Zen Koans, Dreams & the Creative Life

A Woman Raised a Goose in a Bottle

April 28, 2026·28 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Today, Roshi John Tarrant takes up an infamous koan about a woman raising a goose in a bottle. There are many bottles that we may feel trapped in throughout our lives. Awakening is never about solving our problems but rather about dissolving the constraints of the mind. In this episode, we discuss the don't-know quality of Zen and koans in general. We also consider koans as a gateway. "Reject what is not true, and the real naturally appears." — John Tarrant. What You'll Learn: What does the koan about the goose in the bottle teach us How to care for life What is awakening How to get the goods out of the bottle — Links Mentioned: Learn more about this episode Learn more about koans Learn more about Zen John Tarrant's books: Bring Me the Rhinoceros The Story of the Buddha

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