In this talk we hear the story of a young man who becomes disillusioned with life and turns to a Zen Master for help. The master then challenges him to a game of chess but if the young man loses the game he will also lose his head.

In the process the  young man discovers the inner strength of his own Buddha-Heart. This story in many ways is similar to the story of the Buddha who as a young prince also became deeply disillusioned with the world and set out to find an answer.

This state of disillusionment is a state of dukkha (suffering) and it becomes the spur to follow the spiritual life but it is  also fraught because it can also become an angry rejection of the world.

This talk unpacks this story and explores the conditions, born out of necessity, for awakening.

The first week of December in the Zen tradition commemorates the Buddha’s Enlightenment. This story provides a backdrop to this memorial and points to the truth that the Buddha’s story is our own story as we embark along the Zen Way.