16 August 2010

"When what happens is not what you expect…"

"...forget about it, and return to yourself." (Stonehouse)

I recently spoke with a guy who is coming out from under a teacher scandal at the temple where he has been practicing. We've had our troubles here, to be sure. In his last interview before his recent death, Robert Aitken Roshi did not flinch at calling Eido Shimano "a crook." If you have enough money, you can buy into Genpo's "Big Mind" and its offshoots.

In the end, none of this matters. When I sit on the mat, I do not confront others' malfeasance; I confront my own. The "endless blind passions" that I vow to uproot are none other than mine. The fetters I have created for myself are mine alone to break. And no matter how long I stay at this work, more work will have to be done.

I find I have nothing to say about the people involved or the deeds they've done. I don't think I would have anything to say to them, either. What an immense delusion it would be for me to think that I, through a few words, could change the course of the life they have created for themselves!

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