Day 19

Sunday a.m. Dharma talk at Green Gulch Zen Center

Most of the folks there were immersed in a 3 week meditation retreat, Sunday’s lecture open to the public. Main nugget the monk drove home was about how our encountering fellowship while on the quest for our ‘truth’ is in essence the truth itself.  that in order to look beyond perfect wisdom we must heed the admirable relationships our journeys present us with.   

After our initial chant he discussed going into the cave of the green dragon – the dragon being the confusion within our minds.  There was a lot of emphasis on how going down the path of trying to find perfect wisdom in isolation = hard and unsuccessful; going into the ‘green dragon’s’ cave WITH our admirable friends = hard and successful.   

Kalyāṇa-mittatā is a Buddhist  concept of “spiritual friendship” within Buddhist community life, applicable to both monastic and householder relationships. One involved in such a relationship is known as a “good friend,” “virtuous friend,” “noble friend” or “admirable friend” (kalyāṇa-mitta, -mitra).

Since early Buddhist history, these relationships have involved spiritual teacher-student dyads as well as communal peer groups. In general, such is a supportive relationship based on shared Buddhist ethical values and the pursuit of enlightenment