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The disaster (still unfolding, I\u2019m afraid) in Japan just got more personal when I learned that Moriyama Roshi, a teacher that I studied with briefly at Zuigakuin, is missing.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n When I knew him, Moriyama was a strikingly normal guy who liked to have fun. And sit zazen. He was a complete Dogen body practitioner and not in his head to an amazing degree \u2013 less so than any other human I\u2019ve ever met.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n During sesshin his schedule included an informal tea with lots of chatting and laughter. And after evening zazen, he liked to do shiatsu on his students and other rather bizarre and intensely painful exercises.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s the message:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI received word yesterday\u00a0from a lay disciple of Moriyama Roshi\u2019s\u00a0\u2013 who had had word from his disciple in France \u2013 \u00a0that he\u00a0did not turn up at a temple ceremony he was to attend on the 27th (some had held out hope that he would show up); his disciples\/students and colleagues in Japan are going to search even more intensively. The feeling is that\u00a0it is not a good sign\u00a0that he has not been in contact with anyone, nor has anyone been able to find any news of him, since March 11. If\/when I hear more I will let you know.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I mentioned Moriyama Roshi in this story in Keep Me In Your Heart A While<\/i> \u2013 it\u2019s one of my most frequently retold stories:<\/span><\/span> The disaster (still unfolding, I\u2019m afraid) in Japan just got more personal when I learned that Moriyama Roshi, a teacher that I studied with briefly at Zuigakuin, is missing.\u00a0 When I knew him, Moriyama was a strikingly normal guy who liked to have fun. And sit zazen. He was a complete Dogen body practitioner and […]<\/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-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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IN OUR DIFFERENT WAYS all of us struggled to understand and actualize this simple practice. Later, I met a Japanese priest who had studied with one of the twentieth century\u2019s most famous and most severe Soto masters. I had heard stories about his teacher and was in awe of him. I asked wide-eyed, \u201cWhat was it like studying with your master?\u201d
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\u201cFor twenty years I just arranged his slippers,\u201d he responded.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n