Koanversation

Sanj Krishnan•inclusivemagic.substack.com

Society & Culture

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Zen chestnuts to inspire new thinking

inclusivemagic.substack.com

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Last refreshed: January 15th, 2026 at 1:04 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Koanversation Ep. 5 - Kyogen Mounts The Tree

Welcome to Koanversation, a podcast exploring Zen nuggets to free your mind and inspire new thinking. This episode’s koan is nothing less than a matter of life and death. Joining host Sanj Krishnan to investigate is award-winning filmmaker, film programmer and art historian Zegan Doyle , who brings an intuitive and eloquent mind to a blockbuster koan. Note: please excuse the sound quality this episode. We had to use Zoom as a fallback, and it always compresses audio. Text of the Koan, “Kyogen Mo...

Oct 04, 2024•24 min

Koanversation Ep. 4 - A Beardless Foreigner

Welcome to Koanversation, a podcast exploring Zen nuggets to free your mind and inspire new thinking. In this episode, host Sanj Krishnan is joined by a philosopher in the truest sense of the word’s Greek root ( philos + sophia = love of wisdom): Derek Gummer , a gearhead Renaissance man with an astonishing breadth of knowledge and some equally impressive self-taught maker skills, which you can see at his YouTube channel . Our Koan, number four in The Gateless Barrier , is “A Beardless Foreigner...

Sep 21, 2024•22 min

Koanversation Ep. 3 - Gutei's Finger

Welcome to Koanversation, a podcast exploring Zen nuggets to free your mind and inspire new thinking. In this episode, host Sanj Krishnan is joined by guest Priya Sudarsanam , an intuitive healer, mindset coach and host of Unmute with Priya , to delve into the surprising (and a little brutal) third koan in The Gateless Barrier , in which a Zen master cuts off the finger of a boy who’s imitating him. The koan opens the door to discussion about intergenerational pain, breaking our attachment to th...

Sep 04, 2024•28 min

Koanversation Ep. 2 - Hyakujo's Fox

Welcome to Koanversation, a podcast exploring Zen nuggets to free your mind and inspire new thinking. In this episode, host Sanj Krishnan is joined by screenwriter Gene Wang to delve into the perplexing (and epic) second koan in The Gateless Barrier . We talk about meditation, karma and why slapping a Zen master might be a sign of enlightenment. And you can hear Sanj’s creative response to the koan, a song entitled “The Mind That Says Keep Nothing”. Here’s the text of the koan: Once when Hyakujo...

Aug 21, 2024•34 min

Koanversation Ep. 1 - Joshu's Dog

Welcome to Koanversation , a podcast unlocking the widsom and fun of the enigmatic Zen koan . Koans are millennium-old anecdotes of moments between Zen masters and students that pose utterly baffling philosophical puzzles. No matter how hard you try, they defy logical explanation—and that’s the point. They’re meant to get you out of your head and expand how you think. If you want to think in a more creative, unexpected and playful way, this is the podcast for you. Hosted by Sanj Krishnan, each e...

Aug 07, 2024•37 min

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