Danica Shoan Ankele, Senior Monastic and Dharma Holder - Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Friday 09/30/2022 - Recognizing our afflictions, our kleshas (states of mind such as anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, desire, depression, etc...) Can we appreciate them? How can we use them? Can we get close up and allow ourselves to be vulnerable? Shoan reflects on this "Gate of Vulnerability." Without our own share of difficulty and pain, would we be embarking on a path of waking up? That's why the human realm is considered so auspicious, because if you're born in the god realm, life is so good you don't do anything to actually liberate yourself. As Thich Nhat Hanh said: "No mud, no lotus."