Jul 12, 2026 · 29 min · 9 segments
In this talk, we examine the true nature of “bearing witness”. This is not some sort of detached, impervious position found “outside” our circumstances, but a willing capacity to “bear with” whatever…
Kynan SutherlandHost
And it's this very strange case, one that's not often studied, but it exists in the trans or the record of the transmission of the light.
It says that a monk asked venerable Nan Wei Huanglong, what is the lamp of the patriarchs? The master said, the eight winds blow without ceasing.
The one thing that we do know about him is that his teacher was Ruian Shiyan, and he is a character that does appear in our records or our more traditional or accessible records.
Ruian Shiyan is the great teacher who used to wake up every morning and say, Master, and then answer himself, Yes.
And I think that we can imagine our teacher in this case watching his own teacher and being inspired in similar fashion to meet what is just as it is, to not be deceived by others, to not introduce any kind of preconceived wisdom.
but rather be awake, be awake to no matter what is flowing forth, coming forth in this moment and now in this moment.
And this, of course, is what the Buddhas and ancestors have always been urging us to see.
And so when this monk comes and asks Nanue, what is the lamp of the patriarchs, he's really asking, what are the core teachings of Zen? What have all these ancestors been urging us to see? What is it that I am here in this practice for? What is it that you want me to realize, Nanue, great teacher? Well, that's when Nanue says these interesting words, the eight winds blow without ceasing.
And it's this very strange case, one that's not often studied, but it exists in the trans or the record of the transmission of the light.
It says that a monk asked venerable Nan Wei Huanglong, what is the lamp of the patriarchs? The master said, the eight winds blow without ceasing.
The one thing that we do know about him is that his teacher was Ruian Shiyan, and he is a character that does appear in our records or our more traditional or accessible records.
Ruian Shiyan is the great teacher who used to wake up every morning and say, Master, and then answer himself, Yes.
And I think that we can imagine our teacher in this case watching his own teacher and being inspired in similar fashion to meet what is just as it is, to not be deceived by others, to not introduce any kind of preconceived wisdom.
but rather be awake, be awake to no matter what is flowing forth, coming forth in this moment and now in this moment.
And this, of course, is what the Buddhas and ancestors have always been urging us to see.
And so when this monk comes and asks Nanue, what is the lamp of the patriarchs, he's really asking, what are the core teachings of Zen? What have all these ancestors been urging us to see? What is it that I am here in this practice for? What is it that you want me to realize, Nanue, great teacher? Well, that's when Nanue says these interesting words, the eight winds blow without ceasing.
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