Notes on Contemporary Zen

"Remember Gautama's final words: 'Work out your own salvation with diligence.' We are fundamentally learners. Zen cannot be taught as there is no thing to teach. Zen can be learned. Learning can be facilitated by others, both living and dead. However, in the end, the responsibility is on the learner. Remember we are learning Zen, not 'Zen things' (history, philosophy, customs, protocols, chants, etc.). It is fortunate that Zen is not dependent on 'things' as our lives are already cluttered with things. Focus on an experiential answer to the question that can be verbalized: 'Who am I and what is going on?' Our learning is unique to each of us. Remember Soyu Matsuoka's saying 'My enlightenment is my enlightenment, and your enlightenment is your enlightenment.' We will find others learning from us as we are learning from them. We may even act as functionaries. However, our focus should be on learning, realizing that other roles are secondary."

by Fred Rossini