One Mountain Away

Guard: Where are you going?

Me: The Buddhist Temple of Toledo.

Guard: Wait... Where?

Me: The Buddhist Temple of Toledo.

Guard: How long will you be in the US?

Me: Until Sunday.

Guard: What are you bringing with you?

Me: Just my overnight stuff.

Guard: Have nice day.

Me: You too.

Something Rinsen has said before came up for me tonight in our Sangha Circle. We are reading a talk given by Dogen Zenji to some lay people that speaks of the importance of finding a teacher. Rinsen, citing some other source, said "It is best to live at least one mountain away from your teacher."

The point behind it is akin to "Make every moment count." Of course, that mindset is available to any of us at any time. However, when you invest time, energy and resources into something that is important to you, you don't let it slip idly by.

Like a lot of people during the pandemic, I found my way into online chess. I read, studied and played. I'm not very good, but the study and learning is a lot of fun. During the days of isolation, I would play many games that were short and fast. Some were just a couple of minutes, but I would fall victim to the same traps over and over.

When things started to open up, I went to my first in-person tournament. This particular event was 5 games over 2 days. In each game, each player had 90 minutes to make their moves, plus for every move, we gained 30 seconds. Games ranged from 1 to 4 hours. I was out of my league and I got beat up pretty bad on the board. However, it afforded me the opportunity to stare at my disastrous positions for VERY LONG PERIODS OF TIME. I'll tell ya, the traps that I fell into that weekend, I see them coming a mile (1.6 km) away since then. I had invested a lot of time and energy into those games, as bad as they were, and I definitely made the most of the lessons.

In days long gone, when it was time for Dokusan, the Jisha would simply announce that the line was open. People ran to make sure they could see the teacher. I'm glad we don't do that any more. It's ableist and I have seen people go down hard trying to move fast on a foot that has fallen asleep. But it did provide an opportunity to use the body to access the urgency that reflects the importance. I'll take the gentle touch on the shoulder from the Jisha, thank you.

Don't get me wrong, being close to the Temple and the Teachers is great too. I have done a residency before and getting to interact with the teachers on a daily basis is a great and joyful practice.

In the end, I came for the Dharma, so I'll take the modes of access I can get. The podcast, Sangha Circles on Zoom and Youtube videos of the services I can't attend. However, my lot in life finds me one mountain away from my teachers, and I am glad I can traverse it.

For 19 years this has been going on. Down the I-75 South, past the Hotel Yorba, across the Rouge, past the refinery, Fermi II, Beef Jerky Unlimited (Not a Gas Station), Luna Pier, the Jeep plant, off on Talmadge, right at the Budget Truck Rental; this is my mountain pass.