With whom are you willing to unite and walk through hard times? Whose hand will you hold, and who will hold your hand, to share the weight of what we all carry? There is great joy and beauty to be experienced in a community dedicated to practicing love, compassion, and service together.
In this recent dharma talk, Koshin Sensei opens our winter sesshin and the ninety day practice period we call Commit to Sit. The guiding inspiration for both are the teachings and practices of our dharma ancestors from Shakyamuni Buddha to Dogen Zenji and Keizan Jokin Zenji to those we learn from today. Upon seeing the morning star, these words attributed to Shakymuni ignite the way of awakening: “I and the great earth, and all beings, simultaneously achieve the way.” An astonishingly ordinary moment, Koshin reminds us. To actual be where you are and see what there is to see there. A star. That tree. This body. Your face. “From the time you got of bed this morning, have you allowed yourself to be amazed by what is right in front of you?” Fully receiving reality just as it comes, however it comes in each moment, means waking up to amazement. Reality, like a city, is an exceedingly complex blend of known and unknown materials; seen and unseen activities; spoken and silenced intentions. Can we be more receptive to this complexity? Can we enter the city of reality without excluding any of it? And without being able to fully understand all of it? What if we stopped holding back, feeling less and less content with simply walking around the edge of the action? Koshin encourages us to get away from our “cranky rumination” about the way we want things to be and embrace the work and ease of staying in relationship to what is within and around you. Practicing together draws us out from our little, lonely heads and places us into new realms of surprise and joy; heartbreak and intimacy. Life is short. Invite yourself in. Join hands with others and embrace the awakening way of freedom and dedication.
ZENTALK NOTES
Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year.
MUSIC
Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji – Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.
NYZC PUBLICATIONS
- Untangled here: https://bit.ly/untangled-book
- Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up here: https://amzn.to/2JTKF1t
- Awake At The Bedside here: https://amzn.to/3aijXdL
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