All over the world, right now, in this moment, there is birth and there is death. There is laughter and there are tears. That is the Vast World.
If we don’t separate ourselves from it, we can experience a quality of spaciousness and unboundedness that is at the very heart of the Buddha’s teachings. It is the mind that sees what is before there is a story, without defensiveness, fear, or anger. It is the mind that rests in awareness, joy, ease, and meditation.
-Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, from Week 4 of her Tricycle Retreat.
Enkyo Roshi’s retreat has resonated deeply with me. While I am not much of a Zen practitioner, the immense clarity, insight, and knowledge of her instructions have been of great benefit to my practice throughout this last month. As a practitioner, I have long felt that the people the various Buddhist communities can learn the most from is….each other. As we at Tricycle continue to get the hang of facilitating online teachings from a diverse array of teachers, this belief has been ever-more reinforced. As someone who has mostly studied and practiced within the Tibetan Buddhist and Shambhala Buddhist traditions, I feel quite blessed to have also received instructions from Zen teachers like Enkyo Roshi, Gerry Shishin Wick Roshi, and Sensei Bonnie Myotai Treace, to have received teachings on the 10 perfections from a brilliant Theravadan Monk like Thanissaro Bhikkhu, to have learned from Vipassana teachers like Larry Rosenberg and Sharon Salzberg, and to have learned about secular Buddhism from a Buddhist Atheist like Stephen Batchelor. Living in the information age, the world’s Buddhist communities are no longer as separated by vast expanses of geography and culture as they once were, and I am very grateful to be involved in Tricycle‘s online efforts to bring together students from all walks of life to study, practice, and learn from one another.
While Enkyo Roshi’s retreat is currently winding down, all Tricycle Retreat teachings remain on our website permanently, available to Tricycle subscribers, whose participation, involvement, and dedication to our growing online community is what allows us to continue to make these teachings available. It is never too late to participate.
Pamela Gayle White and Khedrub Zangmo’s retreat, “Letting Go” begins on Monday!
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