June 2022

Dear Friends,

Everything hangs in the balance, and in the blink of an eye it can and (most likely) will change. Our human condition is a precarious one. In effect, we are hanging from a branch by our teeth. And while we may be keenly aware of our own personal predicament, others might be oblivious to it. They might not even see us in any real way. They might even have the nerve to call out to us, as we dangle over an abyss of imminent catastrophe, and ask, “Why did Bodhidharma come to China?” What a question!

But—the moment is upon us now. We cannot stand aside, or have some other life than this one. As Zen students, we need to pay attention to the person we’re facing right now, and the question we’re being asked, and the situation in which we find ourselves (hanging from a branch by our teeth). How can we honor this moment world (and all its numberless sentient beings) with love and wisdom? Or to put it another way, how can we stay alive?

Yours, up in the dharma tree,

Jeong Ji