02.05.2024 - By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot
Dear Upaya friend and teacher Natalie Goldberg describes a koan that chased her up a mountain. Over time she relaxed and befriended the koan and she implores us to do the same with our practice. “The way to understand anything is to make friends with it.” The koan that chased Natalie centers on a troubled monk named Gutei. Filled with shame about a missed opportunity, he confides in Zen master Tenryu who responds by holding up a single finger. This gesture cut through Gutei’s delusions and stories and he awakened to the reality of the present moment. Natalie discusses how when we grasp in our practice the present moment feels thin, frail, and tenuous. When we really relax, the present moment becomes a “fat moment”, containing all of you and everything. Natalie reminds us to relax, be simple, and to just keep practicing.