Kakumyo Lowe-Charde

Shakyamuni encouraged all of us to be a lamp unto ourselves; to steadily notice what is wholesome, and how we are affected, as we try to walk this spiritual path. How does this advice intertwine with Buddhism’s reliance on those who have gone before to point the way? We’re confronted with the choice to engage our life and practice thousands and thousands of times, and sometimes we need support to make it. How do we partake of this support, how do we know when we need it, and how do we get confused by it? How do these questions apply to sanzen, the teacher-student relationship in Zen, and spiritual authority?

This talk was given April 27.