Chodo Sensei shares the story of Kakua, one of the first Japanese monks to travel to China and study Zen.

A recluse who preferred remote mountains to monastery fame, Kakua was eventually summoned by the emperor to demonstrate the true teachings he'd acquired. Kakua thought for a moment, reached into the folds of his robe, pulled out a flute, and blew a single note.

Then he put the flute away, bowed, and walked out. The emperor was dumbfounded. And that's the whole story.

What did Kakua refuse to do? He refused to perform Zen, to make it into something impressive, to assemble a bundle of credentials and understandings to prove himself. He just offered this one complete note. Because the true teaching, Chodo explains, is the understanding that has no words, no thoughts, no ideas. Just whatever is occurring in this moment.

Drawing on his years as a hospital chaplain, learning to pause at the door and let the room tell him what was needed rather than entering with too many words, Chodo reflects on how the most compassionate thing we can offer is often not a performance of “being helpful”, but simple presence.

And in true Chodo fashion, he ends the talk with a tribute to the life of the great bodhisattva we lost this week, Dolly Parton.

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‍MUSIC

‍Heart Sutra by Kanho Yakushiji – Buddhist priest and musician of the Rinzai sect and Imaji temple in Imabari, Japan. In 2003, he formed “KISSAQUO”, a songwriting duo based in Kyoto.

I Will Always Love You by Dolly Parton