Wild Places

At practice last night, we were saying goodbye to Marika Ishmael and Mick Lorusso, two long time sangha members hitting the road to find their path.  As a result, it made sense to sit with this koan:

I go out into wild places, searching for my true nature;   Where [what] is my true nature?

We sat with the koan, poured tea, then played a simple but more focused game.  We sat for only one minute, where we were asked to pay special attention to how we searched.  What was that process like?  Where did that go, how did we move?

Some people noticed a tension with the koan.  One on hand, they felt like the "right" response was to say that our true nature is right here, on the other hand, they felt like they had seen great value in understanding their true nature when they traveled, or wandered.  Many people started their investigation with a physical pain, or discomfort, then looked under that.  People responded that they visualized the inside of their mind, and saw it as a jungle, with monkeys and noises and large looming trees.  People reported that as they felt like they were closer in their searching, the more they felt like the searching might, in fact, be their true nature. 

The interesting thing to me was that no one hesitated that they had a true nature, or that they knew where to look.  Everyone had some instinct. 

Then we went to Rocket Fish and said goodbye to Mick and Marika.  There was sake and a really nice red wine (thanks C).  We had sushi and seaweed, and peas and mushrooms.  Mick dedicated some art to the zendo, which you can see when you come and sit with us.  If you have to leave, it was a nice way to go.