January 9^th, 2026

Taking It Home

People come to Zen practice for various reasons. Those who come due to suffering are the most numerous. Many come because they have big questions about life. Some come just out of curiosity. Some think they come to study Buddhism. And what is it to study Buddhism?

Dogen Zenji said: "To study Buddhism is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to perceive oneself in all beings, in all things." And the essence of our practice is just this. We come because there is something inside that we want to find out about; we have glimmers of it, little tastes of it, and we think, Ah! What is this? And as we find out about it, we let go of the impediment of the small ego-self; we become less self-conscious, less worried about how we are doing, more present, and we open up to the realization that we are in all things. Not just good things, wonderful things, great things, beautiful things, but everything. And we accept it all, open to it all. A pure, clear, lighted mind is what we have discovered.

What teaches us this? Our own zazen, our own practice.

Teachers can encourage us, listen to us, hit us when the occasion calls for it, straighten our posture, suggest things that might be helpful, but it is our practice that really teaches us, moment after moment.

Maurine Start Roshi, Subtle Sound pp. 56 - 57