Mountain Cloud Zen Podcasts Dharma Talk: “Bring me the Rhinoceros” with Valerie Forstman and Natalie Goldberg
Nov 4, 2025
In this enlightening discussion, Natalie Goldberg, a renowned author and dharma practitioner, shares her journey through koan study and meditation. She reflects on how personal suffering deepens compassion, recounts her transformative encounter with the Rhinoceros Fan koan, and challenges listeners to confront contemporary wounds through creative practice. Goldberg also suggests crafting modern koans tied to local sacred sites and questions the role of sitting in peace amidst political tension. Her candid insights on illness and brokenness resonate deeply, merging art with Zen wisdom.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
From Broken Fan To Full Nature
- The rhinoceros fan koan invites moving from a broken object to your full, original nature.
- Valerie says Yangguan asks us to 'become the rhinoceros' rather than cling to what's shattered.
Two Months In St. Paul With Koans
- Natalie recounts studying koans alone in St. Paul while preparing for Dharma transmission.
- She describes koan practice as making the mind 'greased in its skull' and empty yet alive.
Practice Brings You To Suffering
- Koan practice plunges you into personal suffering rather than offering airy peace.
- Natalie says meditation drops you into the 'personal meat' of human pain and expands the heart.
