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Bd	No
No	Teacher
Teacher	of
of	Zen
Zen	by
by	Norman
Norman	Fischer
Fischer	October
October	Click
Click	to
to	share
share	on
on	Facebook
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to	share
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on	Twitter
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in	new
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in	new
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on	Reddit
Reddit	Opens
Opens	in
in	new
new	window
window	In
In	Zen
Zen	wisdom
wisdom	comes
comes	from
from	personal
personal	experience
experience	Everyone
Everyone	is
is	a
a	student
student	even
even	the
the	teachers
teachers	One
One	of
of	my
my	favorite
favorite	Zen
Zen	stories
stories	is
is	about
about	teachers
teachers	The
The	great
great	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	Huangbo
Huangbo	strides
strides	into
into	the
the	hall
hall	and
and	says
says	to
to	the
the	assembled
assembled	monastics
monastics	You
You	people
people	are
are	all
all	dreg
dreg	slurpers
slurpers	If
If	you
you	go
go	on
on	like
like	this
this	when
when	will
will	you
you	ever
ever	see
see	today
today	Don
Don	t
t	you
you	know
know	that
that	in
in	all
all	of
of	China
China	there
there	are
are	no
no	teachers
teachers	of
of	Zen
Zen	A
A	monastic
monastic	comes
comes	forward
forward	and
and	says
says	to
to	him
him	Then
Then	what
what	about
about	all
all	those
those	people
people	like
like	you
you	who
who	set
set	up
up	Zen
Zen	places
places	that
that	students
students	flock
flock	to
to	like
like	birds
birds	Huangbo
Huangbo	replies
replies	I
I	don
don	t
t	say
say	there
there	is
is	no
no	Zen
Zen	only
only	that
that	there
there	are
are	no
no	teachers
teachers	As
As	an
an	independent
independent	minded
minded	some
some	would
would	say
say	stubborn
stubborn	person
person	I
I	find
find	this
this	story
story	appealing
appealing	I
I	have
have	never
never	been
been	attracted
attracted	to
to	Zen
Zen	masters
masters	or
or	gurus
gurus	powerful
powerful	and
and	charismatic
charismatic	spiritual
spiritual	guides
guides	There
There	may
may	or
or	may
may	not
not	actually
actually	be
be	such
such	special
special	people
people	but
but	in
in	any
any	case
case	I
I	have
have	never
never	been
been	interested
interested	in
in	them
them	I
I	assume
assume	that
that	I
I	know
know	what
what	I
I	need
need	to
to	know
know	for
for	living
living	my
my	life
life	and
and	that
that	when
when	I
I	need
need	to
to	know
know	more
more	I
I	will
will	find
find	it
it	out
out	for
for	myself
myself	No
No	wisdom
wisdom	or
or	experience
experience	that
that	isn
isn	t
t	my
my	own
own	is
is	worthwhile
worthwhile	So
So	I
I	have
have	asked
asked	myself
myself	what
what	s
s	the
the	point
point	of
of	spiritual
spiritual	teachers
teachers	What
What	benefit
benefit	could
could	possibly
possibly	be
be	gained
gained	from
from	hanging
hanging	around
around	some
some	supposed
supposed	sage
sage	if
if	somebody
somebody	else
else	s
s	enlightenment
enlightenment	is
is	never
never	going
going	to
to	rub
rub	off
off	on
on	me
me	When
When	I
I	began
began	my
my	Zen
Zen	study
study	I
I	wanted
wanted	to
to	learn
learn	how
how	to
to	do
do	zazen
zazen	so
so	I
I	could
could	find
find	out
out	firsthand
firsthand	what
what	Zen
Zen	was
was	all
all	about
about	I
I	was
was	happy
happy	to
to	listen
listen	to
to	talks
talks	and
and	instructions
instructions	that
that	might
might	help
help	orient
orient	me
me	to
to	the
the	practice
practice	But
But	the
the	idea
idea	that
that	following
following	a
a	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	and
and	hanging
hanging	on
on	his
his	every
every	word
word	and
and	deed
deed	in
in	those
those	days
days	Zen
Zen	teachers
teachers	were
were	men
men	would
would	somehow
somehow	help
help	me
me	become
become	enlightened
enlightened	seemed
seemed	not
not	only
only	unappealing
unappealing	but
but	also
also	wrong
wrong	Practice
Practice	doesn
doesn	t
t	mean
mean	only
only	formal
formal	practice
practice	that
that	happens
happens	in
in	temples
temples	and
and	meditation
meditation	halls
halls	It
It	means
means	understanding
understanding	and
and	living
living	a
a	human
human	life
life	among
among	others
others	My
My	thoughts
thoughts	resonated
resonated	with
with	Huangbo
Huangbo	s
s	there
there	is
is	Zen
Zen	but
but	there
there	are
are	no
no	teachers
teachers	of
of	Zen
Zen	Of
Of	course
course	people
people	with
with	credentials
credentials	set
set	up
up	shop
shop	and
and	welcome
welcome	students
students	We
We	all
all	need
need	some
some	structure
structure	and
and	a
a	place
place	to
to	practice
practice	But
But	the
the	teacher
teacher	can
can	t
t	teach
teach	you
you	Your
Your	practice
practice	is
is	up
up	to
to	you
you	Good
Good	old
old	American
American	individualism
individualism	I
I	believed
believed	it
it	so
so	much
much	that
that	I
I	had
had	no
no	interest
interest	whatsoever
whatsoever	in
in	encountering
encountering	teachers
teachers	though
though	at
at	the
the	time
time	there
there	were
were	several
several	storied
storied	Asian
Asian	Buddhist
Buddhist	teachers
teachers	in
in	America
America	Though
Though	I
I	first
first	came
came	to
to	San
San	Francisco
Francisco	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	in
in	the
the	summer
summer	of
of	about
about	a
a	year
year	and
and	a
a	half
half	before
before	the
the	passing
passing	of
of	the
the	center
center	s
s	great
great	founder
founder	Shunryu
Shunryu	Suzuki
Suzuki	Roshi
Roshi	I
I	made
made	no
no	effort
effort	to
to	hear
hear	him
him	speak
speak	never
never	saw
saw	him
him	and
and	was
was	not
not	interested
interested	in
in	attending
attending	his
his	funeral
funeral	nor
nor	the
the	installation
installation	of
of	his
his	successor
successor	the
the	first
first	American
American	Zen
Zen	master
master	that
that	preceded
preceded	it
it	Looking
Looking	back
back	at
at	this
this	now
now	I
I	see
see	it
it	as
as	a
a	missed
missed	opportunity
opportunity	But
But	that
that	s
s	how
how	I
I	was
was	at
at	the
the	time
time	All
All	this
this	might
might	imply
imply	that
that	I
I	was
was	a
a	rebellious
rebellious	Zen
Zen	student
student	But
But	I
I	wasn
wasn	t
t	I
I	had
had	no
no	problem
problem	respecting
respecting	my
my	teachers
teachers	listening
listening	to
to	their
their	talks
talks	going
going	for
for	regularly
regularly	scheduled
scheduled	interviews
interviews	To
To	reflexively
reflexively	rebel
rebel	challenge
challenge	or
or	deny
deny	a
a	teacher
teacher	is
is	to
to	set
set	up
up	a
a	teacher
teacher	in
in	your
your	mind
mind	who
who	fulfills
fulfills	the
the	ideal
ideal	requirements
requirements	the
the	teacher
teacher	in
in	front
front	of
of	you
you	is
is	failing
failing	to
to	fulfill
fulfill	If
If	you
you	feel
feel	compelled
compelled	to
to	rebel
rebel	it
it	is
is	probably
probably	because
because	you
you	actually
actually	do
do	believe
believe	in
in	an
an	idealized
idealized	almighty
almighty	Zen
Zen	master
master	I
I	had
had	no
no	such
such	belief
belief	and
and	no
no	such
such	compulsion
compulsion	I
I	was
was	at
at	the
the	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	to
to	study
study	Zen
Zen	I
I	had
had	my
my	reasons
reasons	for
for	wanting
wanting	to
to	do
do	that
that	Since
Since	the
the	teachers
teachers	were
were	in
in	charge
charge	I
I	would
would	cooperate
cooperate	with
with	them
them	But
But	whatever
whatever	benefit
benefit	or
or	understanding
understanding	or
or	enlightenment
enlightenment	I
I	got
got	was
was	my
my	own
own	affair
affair	No
No	one
one	else
else	could
could	give
give	it
it	to
to	me
me	or
or	even
even	lead
lead	me
me	to
to	it
it	I
I	recount
recount	all
all	this
this	not
not	because
because	I
I	entirely
entirely	agree
agree	with
with	it
it	now
now	but
but	to
to	give
give	a
a	sense
sense	of
of	how
how	I
I	was
was	thinking
thinking	about
about	teachers
teachers	and
and	Zen
Zen	practice
practice	in
in	my
my	early
early	years
years	I
I	certainly
certainly	did
did	not
not	think
think	that
that	I
I	would
would	become
become	a
a	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	myself
myself	My
My	thought
thought	was
was	simply
simply	to
to	get
get	what
what	I
I	needed
needed	from
from	the
the	practice
practice	and
and	move
move	on
on	with
with	my
my	vague
vague	life
life	as
as	a
a	poet
poet	surviving
surviving	somehow
somehow	My
My	wife
wife	Kathie
Kathie	and
and	I
I	were
were	ordained
ordained	as
as	Zen
Zen	priests
priests	in
in	because
because	our
our	teacher
teacher	required
required	us
us	to
to	either
either	do
do	that
that	and
and	continue
continue	to
to	practice
practice	at
at	the
the	center
center	full
full	time
time	or
or	move
move	on
on	and
and	get
get	a
a	life
life	we
we	had
had	two
two	children
children	by
by	then
then	We
We	weren
weren	t
t	ready
ready	to
to	go
go	so
so	we
we	agreed
agreed	to
to	ordain
ordain	a
a	step
step	Kathie
Kathie	was
was	much
much	more
more	ready
ready	for
for	than
than	I
I	was
was	but
but	I
I	managed
managed	In
In	when
when	my
my	teacher
teacher	offered
offered	me
me	shiho
shiho	dharma
dharma	transmission
transmission	which
which	would
would	give
give	me
me	full
full	ordination
ordination	as
as	a
a	Soto
Soto	Zen
Zen	priest
priest	I
I	was
was	surprised
surprised	In
In	those
those	days
days	in
in	American
American	Zen
Zen	shiho
shiho	was
was	rare
rare	though
though	it
it	was
was	not
not	rare
rare	in
in	Japan
Japan	People
People	presumed
presumed	that
that	only
only	deeply
deeply	enlightened
enlightened	people
people	could
could	receive
receive	it
it	which
which	is
is	why
why	I
I	was
was	surprised
surprised	Nevertheless
Nevertheless	I
I	went
went	ahead
ahead	with
with	the
the	process
process	and
and	became
became	a
a	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	a
a	role
role	I
I	found
found	at
at	first
first	disturbing
disturbing	being
being	so
so	ill
ill	prepared
prepared	and
and	ill
ill	suited
suited	for
for	it
it	But
But	eventually
eventually	thinking
thinking	of
of	Huangbo
Huangbo	I
I	came
came	to
to	accept
accept	the
the	social
social	designation
designation	Zen
Zen	priest
priest	or
or	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	and
and	since
since	then
then	I
I	have
have	done
done	my
my	best
best	to
to	try
try	to
to	help
help	people
people	practice
practice	There
There	is
is	more
more	to
to	no
no	teachers
teachers	of
of	Zen
Zen	than
than	meets
meets	the
the	eye
eye	I
I	still
still	believe
believe	that
that	students
students	are
are	responsible
responsible	for
for	their
their	own
own	practice
practice	and
and	their
their	own
own	awakening
awakening	No
No	one
one	can
can	communicate
communicate	a
a	truth
truth	worth
worth	knowing
knowing	the
the	only
only	worthwhile
worthwhile	truth
truth	is
is	the
the	one
one	you
you	find
find	uniquely
uniquely	for
for	your
your	own
own	life
life	On
On	the
the	other
other	hand
hand	Zen
Zen	is
is	not
not	Lone
Lone	Ranger
Ranger	practice
practice	Zen
Zen	teachers
teachers	are
are	important
important	to
to	the
the	practice
practice	as
as	the
the	tradition
tradition	certainly
certainly	indicates
indicates	and
and	experience
experience	proves
proves	Yes
Yes	there
there	are
are	no
no	Zen
Zen	teachers
teachers	because
because	Zen
Zen	isn
isn	t
t	a
a	teachable
teachable	subject
subject	matter
matter	or
or	skill
skill	There
There	are
are	things
things	to
to	be
be	learned
learned	such
such	as
as	Zen
Zen	liturgy
liturgy	how
how	to
to	comport
comport	one
one	s
s	self
self	in
in	a
a	zendo
zendo	and
and	how
how	to
to	strike
strike	a
a	proper
proper	bell
bell	at
at	a
a	proper
proper	time
time	but
but	it
it	is
is	clear
clear	that
that	Zen
Zen	itself
itself	while
while	not
not	exactly
exactly	something
something	other
other	than
than	these
these	things
things	isn
isn	t
t	the
the	same
same	as
as	them
them	Zen
Zen	is
is	much
much	more
more	slippery
slippery	than
than	that
that	The
The	Heart
Heart	Sutra
Sutra	says
says	All
All	dharmas
dharmas	are
are	empty
empty	Zen
Zen	is
is	empty
empty	empty
empty	of
of	content
content	empty
empty	of
of	doctrine
doctrine	style
style	or
or	faith
faith	that
that	can
can	be
be	codified
codified	and
and	defined
defined	So
So	what
what	is
is	there
there	to
to	teach
teach	No
No	one
one	can
can	communicate
communicate	a
a	truth
truth	worth
worth	knowing
knowing	the
the	only
only	worthwhile
worthwhile	truth
truth	is
is	the
the	one
one	you
you	find
find	uniquely
uniquely	for
for	your
your	own
own	life
life	On
On	the
the	other
other	hand
hand	Zen
Zen	is
is	not
not	Lone
Lone	Ranger
Ranger	practice
practice	But
But	yes
yes	there
there	are
are	Zen
Zen	teachers
teachers	because
because	Zen
Zen	practice
practice	is
is	not
not	nothing
nothing	real
real	transformation
transformation	occurs
occurs	Zen
Zen	teachers
teachers	can
can	t
t	show
show	you
you	how
how	to
to	effect
effect	this
this	transformation
transformation	they
they	cannot
cannot	cause
cause	it
it	to
to	happen
happen	in
in	you
you	and
and	they
they	are
are	not
not	masters
masters	of
of	it
it	no
no	one
one	could
could	be
be	a
a	master
master	of
of	an
an	indefinable
indefinable	empty
empty	feeling
feeling	for
for	living
living	But
But	they
they	do
do	play
play	an
an	essential
essential	role
role	In
In	the
the	ordinary
ordinary	educational
educational	model
model	there
there	are
are	teachers
teachers	who
who	teach
teach	students
students	who
who	learn
learn	subject
subject	matter
matter	standards
standards	of
of	knowledge
knowledge	and
and	an
an	educational
educational	institution
institution	that
that	contains
contains	and
and	certifies
certifies	the
the	educational
educational	process
process	While
While	in
in	some
some	ways
ways	Zen
Zen	might
might	look
look	like
like	this
this	in
in	fact
fact	Zen
Zen	is
is	not
not	an
an	educational
educational	process
process	but
but	rather
rather	a
a	transformational
transformational	one
one	in
in	which
which	both
both	teacher
teacher	and
and	student
student	fully
fully	engage
engage	each
each	playing
playing	his
his	or
or	her
her	proper
proper	role
role	The
The	process
process	itself
itself	effects
effects	the
the	transformation
transformation	Think
Think	of
of	it
it	as
as	a
a	machine
machine	with
with	many
many	moving
moving	parts
parts	that
that	interact
interact	in
in	a
a	complex
complex	system
system	each
each	part
part	affecting
affecting	every
every	other
other	part
part	No
No	one
one	part
part	teaches
teaches	while
while	another
another	learns
learns	Yet
Yet	run
run	the
the	machine
machine	for
for	a
a	while
while	and
and	something
something	happens
happens	a
a	product
product	is
is	produced
produced	in
in	this
this	case
case	a
a	seasoned
seasoned	Zen
Zen	practitioner
practitioner	who
who	embodies
embodies	in
in	his
his	or
or	her
her	own
own	unique
unique	way
way	the
the	values
values	the
the	commitments
commitments	and
and	mostly
mostly	the
the	feeling
feeling	and
and	vision
vision	of
of	a
a	life
life	of
of	practice
practice	So
So	it
it	s
s	just
just	as
as	Huangbo
Huangbo	says
says	there
there	is
is	Zen
Zen	but
but	strictly
strictly	speaking
speaking	no
no	teachers
teachers	although
although	yes
yes	the
the	machine
machine	won
won	t
t	turn
turn	unless
unless	all
all	the
the	parts
parts	function
function	fully
fully	in
in	their
their	proper
proper	places
places	The
The	teacher
teacher	not
not	actually
actually	teaching
teaching	anything
anything	must
must	occupy
occupy	his
his	or
or	her
her	place
place	in
in	the
the	process
process	Another
Another	analogy
analogy	might
might	be
be	a
a	mandala
mandala	each
each	element
element	has
has	its
its	crucial
crucial	place
place	in
in	the
the	overall
overall	design
design	but
but	no
no	element
element	is
is	sovereign
sovereign	Only
Only	the
the	overall
overall	design
design	matters
matters	So
So	yes
yes	in
in	just
just	this
this	way
way	teachers
teachers	are
are	important
important	In
In	order
order	to
to	effectively
effectively	take
take	his
his	or
or	her
her	place
place	in
in	the
the	pattern
pattern	the
the	teacher
teacher	ideally
ideally	has
has	certain
certain	capacities
capacities	Faith
Faith	in
in	the
the	practice
practice	especially
especially	And
And	not
not	just
just	enthusiastic
enthusiastic	faith
faith	but
but	faith
faith	grounded
grounded	in
in	experience
experience	over
over	time
time	faith
faith	that
that	is
is	not
not	only
only	spoken
spoken	of
of	but
but	also
also	demonstrated
demonstrated	in
in	action
action	Experience
Experience	in
in	the
the	lived
lived	reality
reality	of
of	the
the	practice
practice	is
is	the
the	source
source	of
of	this
this	kind
kind	of
of	faith
faith	that
that	certain
certain	knowing
knowing	to
to	the
the	very
very	bones
bones	that
that	the
the	practice
practice	is
is	the
the	truest
truest	way
way	to
to	live
live	Practice
Practice	doesn
doesn	t
t	mean
mean	only
only	formal
formal	practice
practice	that
that	happens
happens	in
in	temples
temples	and
and	meditation
meditation	halls
halls	It
It	means
means	understanding
understanding	and
and	living
living	a
a	human
human	life
life	among
among	others
others	Meditation
Meditation	is
is	fairly
fairly	new
new	in
in	Western
Western	culture
culture	and
and	naturally
naturally	we
we	have
have	overemphasized
overemphasized	it
it	romanticizing
romanticizing	the
the	mystical
mystical	experiences
experiences	intensive
intensive	meditation
meditation	can
can	produce
produce	Such
Such	experiences
experiences	are
are	just
just	a
a	matter
matter	of
of	course
course	They
They	are
are	among
among	the
the	least
least	important
important	things
things	for
for	a
a	teacher
teacher	to
to	have
have	experienced
experienced	but
but	any
any	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	will
will	have
have	experienced
experienced	many
many	such
such	things
things	Sit
Sit	there
there	long
long	enough
enough	and
and	everything
everything	is
is	bound
bound	to
to	occur
occur	But
But	it
it	isn
isn	t
t	the
the	experiences
experiences	that
that	matter
matter	as
as	much
much	as
as	the
the	folding
folding	of
of	them
them	into
into	a
a	whole
whole	life
life	and
and	a
a	whole
whole	view
view	What
What	benefit
benefit	could
could	possibly
possibly	be
be	gained
gained	from
from	hanging
hanging	around
around	some
some	supposed
supposed	sage
sage	if
if	somebody
somebody	else
else	s
s	enlightenment
enlightenment	is
is	never
never	going
going	to
to	rub
rub	off
off	on
on	me
me	But
But	even
even	this
this	depth
depth	of
of	faith
faith	though
though	essential
essential	and
and	basic
basic	is
is	not
not	sufficient
sufficient	Ideally
Ideally	a
a	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	is
is	also
also	willing
willing	and
and	able
able	to
to	share
share	life
life	completely
completely	with
with	others
others	This
This	takes
takes	a
a	wide
wide	and
and	deep
deep	acceptance
acceptance	of
of	and
and	interest
interest	in
in	the
the	many
many	wily
wily	and
and	wild
wild	manifestations
manifestations	of
of	the
the	human
human	heart
heart	that
that	arise
arise	in
in	the
the	course
course	of
of	practice
practice	over
over	time
time	Practice
Practice	with
with	people
people	for
for	a
a	while
while	and
and	you
you	will
will	bear
bear	witness
witness	to
to	births
births	deaths
deaths	marriages
marriages	divorces
divorces	love
love	affairs
affairs	enlightenment
enlightenment	experiences
experiences	endless
endless	tears
tears	tragic
tragic	illnesses
illnesses	angry
angry	feuds
feuds	breaches
breaches	collapses
collapses	and
and	surprises
surprises	of
of	all
all	sorts
sorts	A
A	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	will
will	eventually
eventually	live
live	through
through	with
with	others
others	almost
almost	everything
everything	human
human	beings
beings	perpetrate
perpetrate	so
so	he
he	or
or	she
she	needs
needs	long
long	patience
patience	deep
deep	forbearance
forbearance	and
and	forgiveness
forgiveness	and
and	a
a	healthy
healthy	sense
sense	of
of	the
the	immense
immense	tragedy
tragedy	and
and	beauty
beauty	of
of	human
human	life
life	The
The	more
more	the
the	teacher
teacher	has
has	an
an	idea
idea	of
of	Zen
Zen	that
that	students
students	must
must	conform
conform	to
to	the
the	more
more	everyone
everyone	teacher
teacher	included
included	will
will	suffer
suffer	if
if	not
not	at
at	first
first	then
then	later
later	on
on	as
as	people
people	who
who	were
were	initially
initially	inspired
inspired	by
by	that
that	idea
idea	come
come	to
to	feel
feel	oppressed
oppressed	or
or	even
even	betrayed
betrayed	by
by	it
it	No
No	doubt
doubt	there
there	are
are	many
many	important
important	skills
skills	people
people	would
would	like
like	their
their	Zen
Zen	teachers
teachers	to
to	have
have	but
but	deep
deep	faith
faith	and
and	a
a	willingness
willingness	to
to	share
share	your
your	life
life	honestly
honestly	are
are	the
the	core
core	of
of	what
what	I
I	have
have	come
come	to
to	feel
feel	is
is	most
most	important
important	after
after	having
having	been
been	in
in	this
this	business
business	a
a	long
long	time
time	But
But	I
I	have
have	also
also	seen
seen	Zen
Zen	teachers
teachers	who
who	seem
seem	seriously
seriously	lacking
lacking	in
in	these
these	capacities
capacities	still
still	be
be	of
of	benefit
benefit	to
to	others
others	There
There	seem
seem	to
to	be
be	no
no	universal
universal	prescriptions
prescriptions	in
in	Zen
Zen	or
or	in
in	life
life	Zen
Zen	practice
practice	is
is	dialogic
dialogic	interactive
interactive	Compared
Compared	to
to	other
other	forms
forms	of
of	Buddhism
Buddhism	it
it	is
is	classically
classically	together
together	practice
practice	In
In	a
a	formal
formal	Zen
Zen	meal
meal	for
for	instance
instance	everyone
everyone	starts
starts	and
and	ends
ends	together
together	In
In	Zen
Zen	walking
walking	meditation
meditation	everyone
everyone	walks
walks	together
together	in
in	single
single	file
file	evenly
evenly	spaced
spaced	Meditation
Meditation	is
is	done
done	side
side	by
by	side
side	in
in	a
a	hall
hall	with
with	each
each	period
period	of
of	meditation
meditation	starting
starting	and
and	ending
ending	with
with	everyone
everyone	together
together	The
The	form
form	of
of	the
the	characteristic
characteristic	literature
literature	is
is	also
also	dialogic
dialogic	with
with	short
short	verbal
verbal	or
or	nonverbal
nonverbal	encounters
encounters	between
between	teachers
teachers	and
and	disciples
disciples	or
or	disciples
disciples	and
and	disciples
disciples	presenting
presenting	rough
rough	and
and	tumble
tumble	back
back	and
and	forth
forth	conversations
conversations	in
in	which
which	the
the	teachings
teachings	are
are	explored
explored	not
not	so
so	much
much	discursively
discursively	but
but	dynamically
dynamically	using
using	as
as	few
few	words
words	as
as	possible
possible	And
And	one
one	of
of	the
the	characteristic
characteristic	and
and	essential
essential	Zen
Zen	practices
practices	is
is	the
the	one
one	on
on	one
one	meeting
meeting	with
with	the
the	teacher
teacher	which
which	is
is	viewed
viewed	not
not	as
as	reporting
reporting	in
in	or
or	asking
asking	for
for	advice
advice	but
but	as
as	dharma
dharma	encounter
encounter	a
a	chance
chance	to
to	meet
meet	oneself
oneself	by
by	meeting
meeting	another
another	Given
Given	this
this	radical
radical	together
together	style
style	it
it	s
s	clear
clear	that
that	a
a	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	has
has	to
to	be
be	ready
ready	all
all	the
the	time
time	to
to	let
let	go
go	of
of	his
his	life
life	and
and	enter
enter	the
the	life
life	of
of	the
the	other
other	This
This	deep
deep	mutuality
mutuality	is
is	the
the	essence
essence	of
of	the
the	Zen
Zen	process
process	It
It	s
s	been
been	wonderful
wonderful	training
training	for
for	a
a	stubborn
stubborn	person
person	like
like	myself
myself	softening
softening	me
me	considerably
considerably	over
over	the
the	years
years	and
and	expanding
expanding	my
my	horizons
horizons	But
But	it
it	took
took	me
me	a
a	while
while	to
to	be
be	ready
ready	for
for	this
this	or
or	even
even	to
to	know
know	that
that	it
it	was
was	required
required	Soon
Soon	after
after	my
my	shiho
shiho	ceremony
ceremony	in
in	I
I	read
read	a
a	line
line	in
in	one
one	of
of	Thich
Thich	Nhat
Nhat	Hanh
Hanh	s
s	books
books	to
to	the
the	effect
effect	that
that	if
if	you
you	can
can	t
t	find
find	a
a	true
true	teacher
teacher	it
it	is
is	best
best	not
not	to
to	study
study	This
This	tangled
tangled	me
me	up
up	for
for	a
a	while
while	in
in	the
the	net
net	of
of	my
my	unacknowledged
unacknowledged	preconceptions
preconceptions	about
about	Zen
Zen	teachers
teachers	I
I	found
found	it
it	very
very	upsetting
upsetting	because
because	it
it	seemed
seemed	to
to	imply
imply	some
some	exalted
exalted	state
state	of
of	being
being	a
a	true
true	teacher
teacher	a
a	state
state	unknown
unknown	to
to	me
me	Yet
Yet	here
here	I
I	was
was	one
one	of
of	the
the	few
few	American
American	Zen
Zen	people
people	in
in	those
those	days
days	with
with	full
full	dharma
dharma	transmission
transmission	and
and	what
what	did
did	I
I	think
think	I
I	was
was	doing
doing	It
It	took
took	me
me	a
a	few
few	uncomfortable
uncomfortable	years
years	to
to	finally
finally	catch
catch	up
up	with
with	Thich
Thich	Nhat
Nhat	Hanh
Hanh	to
to	ask
ask	him
him	about
about	this
this	and
and	he
he	told
told	me
me	something
something	like
like	Don
Don	t
t	worry
worry	we
we	all
all	help
help	each
each	other
other	The
The	one
one	day
day	person
person	helps
helps	the
the	one
one	who
who	just
just	came
came	in
in	the
the	door
door	The
The	five
five	year
year	person
person	helps
helps	the
the	one
one	year
year	person
person	Each
Each	one
one	helps
helps	according
according	to
to	his
his	experience
experience	That
That	made
made	me
me	feel
feel	much
much	better
better	Still
Still	it
it	took
took	me
me	years
years	to
to	feel
feel	comfortable
comfortable	in
in	the
the	teacher
teacher	s
s	seat
seat	And
And	being
being	a
a	so
so	called
called	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	is
is	in
in	many
many	ways
ways	literally
literally	that
that	feeling
feeling	comfortable
comfortable	in
in	the
the	seat
seat	you
you	are
are	sitting
sitting	in
in	facing
facing	the
the	altar
altar	at
at	the
the	front
front	of
of	the
the	zendo
zendo	For
For	a
a	while
while	I
I	was
was	unconsciously
unconsciously	caught
caught	by
by	the
the	idea
idea	that
that	I
I	was
was	supposed
supposed	to
to	be
be	someone
someone	that
that	others
others	expected
expected	me
me	to
to	be
be	and
and	I
I	couldn
couldn	t
t	help
help	but
but	strain
strain	a
a	bit
bit	to
to	be
be	that
that	person
person	But
But	the
the	truth
truth	is
is	there
there	was
was	no
no	one
one	in
in	particular
particular	I
I	needed
needed	to
to	be
be	A
A	formal
formal	Zen
Zen	talk
talk	isn
isn	t
t	conceived
conceived	of
of	as
as	a
a	lecture
lecture	on
on	Zen
Zen	it
it	s
s	called
called	presenting
presenting	the
the	shout
shout	that
that	is
is	expressing
expressing	the
the	teaching
teaching	just
just	by
by	speaking
speaking	in
in	your
your	own
own	voice
voice	I
I	have
have	always
always	appreciated
appreciated	the
the	fact
fact	that
that	when
when	you
you	give
give	a
a	Zen
Zen	talk
talk	you
you	make
make	three
three	prostrations
prostrations	to
to	the
the	Buddha
Buddha	before
before	and
and	after
after	the
the	talk
talk	These
These	bows
bows	are
are	meant
meant	to
to	indicate
indicate	that
that	it
it	isn
isn	t
t	exactly
exactly	you
you	giving
giving	the
the	talk
talk	The
The	Buddha
Buddha	is
is	giving
giving	the
the	talk
talk	using
using	your
your	body
body	and
and	voice
voice	Bowing
Bowing	is
is	praying
praying	to
to	Buddha
Buddha	to
to	help
help	you
you	do
do	as
as	good
good	a
a	job
job	at
at	channeling
channeling	him
him	as
as	you
you	possibly
possibly	can
can	with
with	the
the	faith
faith	that
that	whatever
whatever	you
you	say
say	right
right	or
or	wrong
wrong	will
will	be
be	of
of	some
some	use
use	if
if	you
you	are
are	sincere
sincere	and
and	try
try	your
your	best
best	After
After	some
some	years
years	I
I	came
came	to
to	see
see	that
that	this
this	applied
applied	to
to	anything
anything	I
I	did
did	as
as	a
a	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	if
if	I
I	was
was	honest
honest	tried
tried	my
my	best
best	followed
followed	precepts
precepts	and
and	didn
didn	t
t	pretend
pretend	to
to	be
be	anyone
anyone	everything
everything	would
would	be
be	okay
okay	This
This	sounds
sounds	simple
simple	minded
minded	enough
enough	and
and	it
it	is
is	but
but	it
it	is
is	actually
actually	not
not	so
so	easy
easy	to
to	do
do	And
And	what
what	does
does	everything
everything	would
would	be
be	okay
okay	actually
actually	mean
mean	It
It	certainly
certainly	doesn
doesn	t
t	mean
mean	that
that	things
things	won
won	t
t	ever
ever	go
go	wrong
wrong	In
In	fact
fact	things
things	will
will	certainly
certainly	go
go	wrong
wrong	Maybe
Maybe	another
another	capacity
capacity	a
a	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	should
should	develop
develop	is
is	the
the	resilience
resilience	and
and	breadth
breadth	of
of	view
view	that
that	will
will	enable
enable	her
her	to
to	live
live	with
with	the
the	fact
fact	that
that	she
she	is
is	going
going	to
to	fail
fail	At
At	least
least	this
this	has
has	been
been	my
my	experience
experience	Occupying
Occupying	the
the	teacher
teacher	gear
gear	in
in	the
the	whirling
whirling	Zen
Zen	machine
machine	requires
requires	that
that	you
you	receive
receive	everything
everything	with
with	an
an	open
open	heart
heart	and
and	have
have	the
the	willingness
willingness	and
and	stamina
stamina	to
to	take
take	full
full	responsibility
responsibility	for
for	each
each	and
and	every
every	relationship
relationship	you
you	enter
enter	which
which	means
means	to
to	care
care	and
and	try
try	your
your	best
best	to
to	help
help	In
In	the
the	end
end	I
I	know
know	I
I	ll
ll	never
never	get
get	it
it	right
right	Sometimes
Sometimes	getting
getting	it
it	wrong
wrong	is
is	the
the	best
best	thing
thing	anyway
anyway	People
People	come
come	to
to	Zen
Zen	practice
practice	as
as	they
they	do
do	to
to	any
any	spiritual
spiritual	practice
practice	with
with	plenty
plenty	of
of	human
human	needs
needs	They
They	come
come	with
with	trust
trust	mistrust
mistrust	and
and	hidden
hidden	expectations
expectations	Of
Of	course
course	the
the	Zen
Zen	teacher
teacher	an
an	imperfect
imperfect	human
human	being
being	is
is	going
going	to
to	disappoint
disappoint	a
a	fair
fair	number
number	of
of	them
them	Some
Some	will
will	be
be	disappointed
disappointed	on
on	the
the	first
first	day
day	others
others	only
only	after
after	many
many	decades
decades	You
You	the
the	teacher
teacher	will
will	misunderstand
misunderstand	them
them	and
and	they
they	will
will	misunderstand
misunderstand	you
you	You
You	will
will	say
say	and
and	do
do	things
things	that
that	are
are	hurtful
hurtful	even
even	if
if	you
you	never
never	intended
intended	to
to	Meaning
Meaning	to
to	straighten
straighten	someone
someone	out
out	always
always	a
a	dubious
dubious	proposition
proposition	you
you	will
will	completely
completely	botch
botch	the
the	job
job	reinforcing
reinforcing	the
the	behavior
behavior	or
or	view
view	you
you	were
were	trying
trying	to
to	soften
soften	Students
Students	who
who	have
have	practiced
practiced	faithfully
faithfully	with
with	you
you	for
for	years
years	will
will	realize
realize	it
it	has
has	all
all	been
been	wrong
wrong	and
and	leave
leave	creating
creating	confusion
confusion	and
and	dissension
dissension	Your
Your	public
public	words
words	and
and	actions
actions	will
will	in
in	being
being	variously
variously	understood
understood	and
and	misunderstood
misunderstood	create
create	confusion
confusion	among
among	sangha
sangha	members
members	who
who	will
will	act
act	out
out	their
their	confusion
confusion	in
in	sometimes
sometimes	painful
painful	ways
ways	You
You	will
will	have
have	all
all	kinds
kinds	of
of	complicated
complicated	and
and	contradictory
contradictory	feelings
feelings	about
about	people
people	who
who	come
come	to
to	practice
practice	with
with	you
you	loving
loving	them
them	worrying
worrying	about
about	them
them	dreading
dreading	them
them	seeing
seeing	them
them	make
make	terrible
terrible	mistakes
mistakes	you
you	can
can	t
t	prevent
prevent	watching
watching	as
as	they
they	manipulate
manipulate	you
you	and
and	set
set	you
you	up
up	for
for	all
all	sorts
sorts	of
of	falls
falls	In
In	the
the	end
end	you
you	will
will	realize
realize	you
you	can
can	t
t	help
help	them
them	at
at	all
all	and
and	will
will	have
have	to
to	watch
watch	them
them	suffer
suffer	or
or	watch
watch	them
them	make
make	you
you	suffer
suffer	and
and	maintain
maintain	your
your	composure
composure	even
even	so
so	I
I	have
have	spoken
spoken	to
to	many
many	Zen
Zen	teachers
teachers	who
who	are
are	trying
trying	hard
hard	to
to	get
get	better
better	at
at	what
what	they
they	do
do	to
to	see
see	where
where	they
they	make
make	mistakes
mistakes	and
and	to
to	correct
correct	those
those	mistakes
mistakes	maybe
maybe	even
even	to
to	get
get	some
some	psychological
psychological	or
or	other
other	training
training	so
so	they
they	can
can	understand
understand	the
the	various
various	twisted
twisted	ways
ways	students
students	sometimes
sometimes	present
present	themselves
themselves	I
I	have
have	learned
learned	from
from	commiserating
commiserating	with
with	other
other	teachers
teachers	something
something	I
I	think
think	is
is	essential
essential	and
and	from
from	my
my	many
many	mistakes
mistakes	Ultimately
Ultimately	I
I	think
think	Zen
Zen	teachers
teachers	can
can	no
no	more
more	learn
learn	than
than	teach
teach	Each
Each	situation
situation	each
each	person
person	is
is	unique
unique	and
and	one
one	s
s	own
own	response
response	at
at	that
that	time
time	to
to	that
that	person
person	must
must	and
and	will
will	inevitably
inevitably	be
be	unique
unique	I
I	always
always	trust
trust	my
my	response
response	and
and	am
am	of
of	course
course	willing
willing	to
to	change
change	or
or	be
be	corrected
corrected	when
when	proven
proven	wrong
wrong	But
But	in
in	the
the	end
end	I
I	know
know	I
I	ll
ll	never
never	get
get	it
it	right
right	Sometimes
Sometimes	getting
getting	it
it	wrong
wrong	is
is	the
the	best
best	thing
thing	anyway
anyway	It
It	s
s	true
true	that
that	everything
everything	always
always	turns
turns	out
out	okay
okay	When
When	you
you	really
really	trust
trust	the
the	process
process	of
of	the
the	practice
practice	more
more	than
than	you
you	trust
trust	your
your	limited
limited	self
self	the
the	limited
limited	sangha
sangha	or
or	what
what	happens
happens	in
in	the
the	short
short	run
run	you
you	realize
realize	that
that	the
the	magic
magic	of
of	the
the	practice
practice	is
is	much
much	stronger
stronger	than
than	you
you	thought
thought	It
It	is
is	not
not	limited
limited	to
to	what
what	you
you	or
or	anyone
anyone	says
says	or
or	does
does	it
it	is
is	not
not	limited
limited	to
to	meditation
meditation	or
or	what
what	takes
takes	place
place	in
in	meditation
meditation	halls
halls	or
or	on
on	temple
temple	grounds
grounds	I
I	have
have	seen
seen	how
how	after
after	leaving
leaving	a
a	place
place	of
of	practice
practice	in
in	a
a	huff
huff	or
or	not
not	in
in	a
a	huff
huff	students
students	lives
lives	miraculously
miraculously	turn
turn	around
around	sometimes
sometimes	five
five	ten
ten	or
or	twenty
twenty	years
years	later
later	because
because	of
of	unexpected
unexpected	circumstances
circumstances	that
that	Buddha
Buddha	somehow
somehow	placed
placed	in
in	the
the	middle
middle	of
of	their
their	lives
lives	long
long	after
after	they
they	left
left	Sometimes
Sometimes	the
the	perfect
perfect	priest
priest	you
you	thought
thought	you
you	were
were	ordaining
ordaining	needs
needs	to
to	fall
fall	apart
apart	leave
leave	and
and	go
go	through
through	many
many	ups
ups	and
and	downs
downs	for
for	decades
decades	before
before	she
she	finally
finally	emerges
emerges	as
as	the
the	Buddha
Buddha	you
you	always
always	knew
knew	she
she	was
was	Or
Or	the
the	wreck
wreck	of
of	a
a	human
human	being
being	who
who	was
was	so
so	disruptive
disruptive	and
and	annoying
annoying	and
and	hopeless
hopeless	comes
comes	back
back	to
to	visit
visit	you
you	decades
decades	later
later	shining
shining	with
with	love
love	And
And	the
the	crazy
crazy	mixed
mixed	up
up	young
young	woman
woman	who
who	seemed
seemed	headed
headed	for
for	certain
certain	doom
doom	returns
returns	with
with	her
her	three
three	lovely
lovely	children
children	grateful
grateful	for
for	the
the	practice
practice	she
she	seemed
seemed	to
to	have
have	resisted
resisted	mightily
mightily	at
at	the
the	time
time	Seeing
Seeing	things
things	like
like	this
this	happen
happen	over
over	and
and	over
over	again
again	you
you	do
do	come
come	round
round	finally
finally	to
to	trusting
trusting	the
the	practice
practice	and
and	life
life	This
This	helps
helps	you
you	trust
trust	yourself
yourself	and
and	the
the	basic
basic	goodness
goodness	of
of	everyone
everyone	you
you	practice
practice	with
with	The
The	secret
secret	ingredient
ingredient	in
in	teaching
teaching	Zen
Zen	it
it	turns
turns	out
out	is
is	the
the	brilliant
brilliant	spark
spark	of
of	human
human	goodness
goodness	in
in	each
each	person
person	Practice
Practice	awakens
awakens	it
it	and
and	it
it	does
does	the
the	rest
rest	on
on	its
its	own
own	eventually
eventually	You
You	the
the	teacher
teacher	just
just	have
have	to
to	be
be	willing
willing	to
to	be
be	there
there	and
and	be
be	surprised
surprised	Click
Click	to
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window	NormanFischer
NormanFischer	jpg
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jpg	About
About	Norman
Norman	Fischer
Fischer	Norman
Norman	Fischer
Fischer	is
is	the
the	founder
founder	of
of	the
the	Everyday
Everyday	Zen
Zen	Foundation
Foundation	His
His	most
most	recent
recent	book
book	is
is	The
The	World
World	Could
Could	Be
Be	Otherwise
Otherwise	Imagination
Imagination	and
and	the
the	Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva	Path
Path	Topics
Topics	Buddhadharma
Buddhadharma	Spring
Spring	Norman
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Fischer	Teachings
Teachings	Zen
Zen	Related
Related	Posts
Posts	Hands
Hands	The
The	Miracle
Miracle	of
of	Everyday
Everyday	Mindfulness
Mindfulness	by
by	Thich
Thich	Nhat
Nhat	Hanh
Hanh	To
To	Practice
Practice	Mindfulness
Mindfulness	Is
Is	to
to	Return
Return	to
to	Life
Life	by
by	Thich
Thich	Nhat
Nhat	Hanh
Hanh	How
How	to
to	Practice
Practice	Deep
Deep	Relaxation
Relaxation	by
by	Sister
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Chan	Khong
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