In this episode, Sensei Michael Brunner explores Case 78 of the Shōyōroku—Umon’s enigmatic response to the question, “What is speech that transcends the Buddhas and goes beyond the ancestors?” The answer: farm rice cake. Through this simple yet profound pointer, we’re invited to drop our search for lofty experiences and instead turn toward the ordinary, the overlooked, the deeply human moments we often push aside. Sensei Michael reflects on the way we divide life into sacred and profane, clean and messy—and how Zen cuts through that duality to reveal the wholeness of everything. This is a teaching about inclusion, embodiment, and learning to bow to the life that is already unfolding. Nothing is left out—not your grief, your shadow, or your confusion. All of it belongs. And all of it is the Dharma. Listen now to explore: Umon’s uncompromising simplicity What a rice cake can teach us about awakening The hidden cost of chasing spiritual ideals How to live a life where nothing is exiled For more talks and resources, visit oneriverzen.org
Title: The Taste of the Ordinary: Beyond Buddhas and Ancestors
Teacher: Sensei Michael Brunner
Koan Source: Case 78 of the Shōyōroku (Book of Equanimity) – “Umon’s Farm Rice Cake”
In this Dharma talk delivered during a Zen retreat, Sensei Michael Brunner reflects on the deeply ordinary yet radically transformative nature of awakening.
A monk asks Master Umon, “What is the speech that transcends the Buddhas and goes beyond the ancestors?” Umon answers with stunning simplicity: “Farm rice cake.”
What unfolds from that exchange is an invitation to stop chasing the extraordinary and instead awaken to the sacred already embedded in our everyday lives.
Topics covered include:
Why we struggle to see the value in the ordinary
The spiritual danger of dividing life into sacred and profane
The hidden costs of striving for “spiritual” experiences
Dōgen’s teaching on painted rice cakes and realization
How to bring the whole of your life—including your shadow—to the table
The meaning of true inclusion and embodied awareness
You’ll hear references to meal gathas, latrine flies, and rice cakes—all pointing back to one thing: there’s nothing outside the Dharma.
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Quote from the episode:
“You stop being the one who’s turning the Dharma, and you recognize the Dharma turning you.”