Sublime

“A roshi is a person who has actualized that perfect freedom which is the potentiality for all human beings. He exists freely in the fullness of his whole being. The flow of his consciousness is not the fixed repetitive patterns of our usual self-centered consciousness, but rather arises spontaneously and naturally from the actual circumstances of

bodhisattva vows based on the words of the beloved sixth-century sage Shantideva: May I be a guard for those who need protection A guide for those on the path A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood May I be a lamp in the darkness A resting place for the weary A healing medicine for all who are sick A vase of plenty, a tree o

But enlightenment, as the monk says, isn’t a point where everything stops and you’ve made it, forever surrounded by a halo of bliss. No, it is something alive, something that pushes you on every day, that calls you to return, whether you are a Daigyoman Ajari on Mount Hiei or a data-management assistant in an office in Hounslow

One old koan tells the story of a student who asks his teacher for permission to leave the monastery. “Where do you want to go?” the teacher asks. “Around on pilgrimage,” replies the student. The teacher presses him, “What is the purpose of a pilgrimage?” After all, doesn’t practice teach us that everything we’re looking for is already right here?

Teishin,

Suzuki Roshi,