In Sanzen the student presents his/her understanding in front of the Zen master. This rare footage was filmed at Sogenji Zen monastery (abbot: Shodo Harada Roshi) in 2004.
Binnenkort is Madelon Hooykaas’ film over Sogenji ‘Een vreemdeling in een Japans zenklooster‘ te bekijken op npo.nl
“Choose – there’s only now, this moment, and it is passing no matter what you do with it. It will pass if you spend it exactly doing what you want, and it will pass if you spend it longing for another moment, and it will pass if you spend it wishing for another life. How could anything possibly be missing when this moment is everything?” – Sallie Tisdale
…
All night, the rain of compassion continued to fall,
while lightning flashed through my window
and a great storm arose,
as if Earth and Sky were in battle.
Finally in me the rain stopped, the clouds parted.
The moon returned,
shining peacefully, calming Earth and Sky.
Looking into the mirror of the moon, suddenly
I saw myself,
and I saw you smiling, Blessed One.
How strange!
The moon of freedom has returned to me,
everything I thought I had lost.
From that moment on,
and in each moment that followed,
I saw that nothing had gone.
There is nothing that should be restored.
Every flower, every stone, and every leaf recognize me.
Wherever I turn, I see you smiling
the smile of no-birth and no-death.
The smile I received while looking at the mirror of the moon.
I see you sitting there, solid as Mount Meru,
calm as my own breath,
sitting as though no raging fire storm ever occurred,
sitting in complete peace and freedom.
At last I have found you, Blessed One,
and I have found myself.
There I sit.
…
Thich Nhat Hanh