I shared the following earlier today with my friend Rob Trousdale, who lives at the Duluth Catholic Worker. These Katagiri Roshi passages are from Natalie Goldberg’s Writing down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within…
“Why do you come to sit meditation? Why don’t you make writing your practice? If you go deep enough in writing, it will take you everyplace.”
“Your little mind can’t do anything. It takes Great Determination. Great Determination doesn’t just mean you making an effort. It means the whole universe is behind you and with you–the birds, trees, sky, moon, and ten directions.”
“Have kind consideration for all sentient beings.”
“It is very deep to have a cup of tea.”
“You are Buddha right now!”
“Our goal is to have kind consideration for all sentient beings every moment forever.”
“Roshi, will I get used to loneliness?”
“No, you don’t get used to it. I take a cold shower every morning and every morning it shocks me, but I continue to stand up in the shower. Loneliness always has a bite, but learn to stand up in it and not be tossed away.”
