"I was interested, to put it bluntly, in [studying with a teacher] who was actively dealing with craving. And who didn’t hide it. I wasn’t interested in a perfect teacher. I don’t think there is such a thing as a perfect teacher. Being human is not about being perfect; it is about being human. And that means being brokenhearted. Sitting with me knee to knee in dokusan, intimate with himself, present to his own suffering, [my teacher] would exhort me to do likewise: 'Appreciate your life, Enkyo,' he would say."
-- Pat Enkyo O'Hara
What are you noticing about the perfection of your brokenness?
...
for Mindful Monday
Source: "Remembering Roshi," by Pat Enkyo O'Hara, Tricycle, Fall 1998.
Photo credit: "Cup," Mark Skipper, 2005.
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