![\"IMG_0522\"](\"https:\/\/xa.yimg.com\/kq\/groups\/4011502\/sn\/996661122\/name\/IMG_0522.jpg\")
<\/div>\n\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In 1987 (or there abouts), Katagiri Roshi sent me to Ann Arbor to the World Buddhism<\/a> Conference \u2013 a remarkable event and probably the first get-together of all the various Buddhist<\/a> teaching streams coming to America.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n One of the stand-out moments for me followed Aitken Roshi\u2019s presentation about the universal Zen sangha. Many of the Theravadan persuasion took issue with his non-canonical approach, preferring to define sangha as the community of monks and nuns. Although I enjoyed his presentation and the debate too, I don\u2019t think anybody was swayed one way or the other.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Afterwards, I found him having tea and asked if I could talk with him for a moment. We walked to a quiet corner and he asked me what he could do for me.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I was in the midst of a struggle with the forms of Soto Zen and so was looking for support from an American practitioner and teacher. I was <\/span><\/span>impressed with the way his bright blue eyes seemed to look through me. <\/span><\/span>I remember using gassho as an example and suggesting that we could use some Western expression instead. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhy should we continue this Japanese\/Asian form?\u201d I asked him.<\/span><\/span> It didn\u2019t fully resolve the issue but certainly helped me lighten up. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 In 1987 (or there abouts), Katagiri Roshi sent me to Ann Arbor to the World Buddhism Conference \u2013 a remarkable event and probably the first get-together of all the various Buddhist teaching streams coming to America.\u00a0 One of the stand-out moments for me followed Aitken Roshi\u2019s presentation about the universal Zen sangha. Many of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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\u201cWell,\u201d he said, \u201cit really isn\u2019t the most important thing. Don\u2019t get distracted.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
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Then he raised his hands in gassho and I moved with him to put my hands in gassho. He seemed to pause so I glanced up and saw a big grin on his face and twinkle in his eye, as if to say, \u201cCaught you!\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/4330911338438640912-816789205927054355?l=wildfoxzen.blogspot.com\")