With palms together,
Good Morning All,
Yesterday I had the honor of visiting a Zen Center in El Paso Texas and there met a young Zen Teacher from Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas. She teaches from a different Zen tradition than I am from and so it was interesting to learn from her. Her tradition integrates Rinzai and Soto schools. It is called Sanbo Kyodan, and was transmitted by Yamada Koun-roshi, the same teacher as taught one of my personal heros Robert Aitken-roshi.
We sat in stillness for several periods beginning at 8:00 AM. Then broke for a short work meditation (samu) period. As we sat again, Rev. Valerie began a wonderful Tiesho regarding one of the koans springing off the poems contained in the Platform Sutra. This is Case 23, "Neither Good Nor Evil" from the Gateless Barrier. This koan invites us to begin to see the power of Right Effort as we discover what Ven. Ananda discovered over 2600 years ago: just stop struggling.
There are so many "gates" to the opening of our eyes. But they appear only to those who come to them through effort and sincerity. It is rather like learning to paint or take excellent photographs or ride a bicycle. We must practice with right effort, learning, integrating, tilling the soil until that single moment when, a crack of sound, a glimmer of light, a faint smell, that "something" happens which opens our eyes.
I invite each of you to develop your practice in this way: study. Study yourself and your world. Learn. Work hard in the middle of it and in the process, be open and willing to see.
Be well.
No comments:
Post a Comment