# Heart Mirror Gazing

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/earth-dreams-zen-buddhism-and-the-soul-of-the-world-6415534/heart-mirror-gazing
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/earth-dreams-zen-buddhism-and-the-soul-of-the-world-6415534/heart-mirror-gazing.md
Podcast: [Earth Dreams: Zen Buddhism and the Soul of the World](https://stenobird.com/podcast/earth-dreams-zen-buddhism-and-the-soul-of-the-world-6415534)
Published: 2025-09-07T14:57:42+00:00
Episode link: https://amykisei.substack.com/p/heart-mirror-gazing
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/172704393/997f9f52036bb8def0943873b003cde9.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/earth-dreams-zen-buddhism-and-the-soul-of-the-world-6415534/episodes/heart-mirror-gazing
Duration seconds: 2372

## Resource

Greetings Friends, I have a deep love and appreciation for the wonderment and creativity of this life. It’s un-pin-down-able, slippery, un-define-able—like a water color painting that continuously repaints itself. One story from the Zen tradition that has always helped me stay awake to amazement and in courtship with the great mystery is the Zen Mirror of Tokeiji. A partial-telling of which can be found in Case 34 of the Hidden Lamp. The convent of Tokeiji had a great mirror. The founding abbess, Kakuzan Shido, would meditate before it in order to “see into her own nature.” Later generations of nuns would practice zazen in front of the mirror, concentrating on the question: “Where is a single feeling, a single thought, in the mirror image at which I gaze?” Each abbess of Tokeiji wrote a verse in response to the mirror practice. The following verse was composed by the fifth abbess Princess Yodo: Heart unclouded, heart clouded; standing or falling, it is still the same body. When I was first introduced to this story it was during a silent meditation retreat, and we were invited to sit as this great mirror in the mirror hall. The invitation to be a mirror was a powerful pointing out instruction for me. In the invitation to be a mirror, I glimpsed the mirror-like-nature of Mind. The aspect of Being that is clear, open and all-inclusive. The reflections of mind, body and heart danced inside this mirror together with the reflections of other bodies, the floorboards and the sound of the birds. The Heart-Mirror didn’t have preference for any of it, allowing pain to co-mingle with ecstasy, judgment to merge with the electrical hum and blowing wind. I was all of it— nothing left out. In a strange unfolding of circumstances I inherited an old mirror from one of the deceased resid…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/earth-dreams-zen-buddhism-and-the-soul-of-the-world-6415534/episodes/heart-mirror-gazing/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/earth-dreams-zen-buddhism-and-the-soul-of-the-world-6415534/heart-mirror-gazing.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.