Reflections on Zen, Hyakojo's Fox, Karma, Misconduct
Being a Theravāda crew, we celebrate the Buddha's awakening on the May full moon of Visākha or Vesak. But in snowy Japan, they celebrated it last night, on Dec 8. My very last hurrah (not very hurrah, tbh) in Zen practice was a Rohatsu Dai Sesshin ("great retreat") in 1999, after which I basically vowed never to go back. I reflected on Zen tonight, Rohatsu, the koan of Hyakujo's Fox (Mumonkan 2), karma, and the legacy of Zen in the west, including the old fox who was my first teacher, Joshu Sasaki, Roshi. Leonard Cohen makes a brief appearance..
