Letter from Seiso Sensei

Dear Lincoln Zen Sangha,

I’ve made the decision to withdraw as your Guiding Teacher. It has been my pleasure to practice and study with you over the past several years and I very much appreciate the sincere intention and inspiration that many of you have brought to the sangha. I’d like to leave you with a few parting words as your individual and group paths evolve. Dogen Zenji our founder has always warned that authentic teachings and true teachers are quite rare. He advises that you are better off without a teacher if you are not receiving guidance and direction from an authentic teacher. Ultimately, through the lived experience of practice, we become our own true teachers. That is why Deshimaru, Roshi asserts: “The experience of zazen undermines all definitions. It wears them out, empties and explodes them. Nothing remains but the absolute reality of lived experience, alone and complete.”

However, being our own teacher is not some wild anything goes attitude. That’s why an authentic teacher is important. S/he provides direction and structure for our own consciousness to evolve as we – to quote my motto: “Just keep practicing no matter what!” I have this motto engraved on my teacher’s staff as a reminder. We just keep practicing with, as Suzuki Roshi notes: “with no gaining mind.” However, let’s not confuse just sitting with no gaining mind as a lackadaisical sitting around doing nothing. Of course, we need to relax without being lax. Dogen advises in Zazengi to “sit as if your head were on fire” and elsewhere, to “sit until you break the cushion.” 

Despite the common ground of shikantaza and the basic teachings of the Soto tradition, which we are part of, each teacher practices his or her own style. Since I practiced and studied with Okumura Roshi, my own instruction is based on his approach to zazen – neither counting nor watching the breath. This is what Dōgen Zenji describes in Eihei-kōroku when he says that inhaling or exhaling are neither long nor short. Katagiri Roshi, the founder of our particular lineage notes that practices such as counting and watching the breath are contrivances. They distract us from the bare reality that Deshimaru refers to. Katagiri describes these contrivances as “decorations.” They function as resistances to seeing the truth of our existence. In shikantaza we face reality directly, head on and fully. So, as you continue on your Dharma Path, individually and as part of a Sangha, please keep these points in mind. Please keep practicing no matter what! Sincere authentic practice will benefit you and the world at large. As you move forward, keep in mind that I am always available for individual guidance and teachings as well as for group classes and retreats. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve LZC. It has been my pleasure and an honor.

For All Beings

Sincerely,

Seiso Sensei

🙏🙏