Zen Is Right Here

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84 - question

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While driving my teacher to the City Center from Tassajara, I said, "Suzuki Roshi, may I ask you a question?" and he said yes. I proceeded to beg him to tell me what I should do to understand reality, to become enlightened. I told him that I was totally dedicated and that whatever he told me, I would do. I went on and on, making sure that he was thoroughly aware of my sincerity and devotion.

I turned to him for an answer. He was sound asleep.

p.87. David Chadwick, on the road from Tassajara, to Sokoji, circa 1968.

Note: This story is the epigraph at the beginning of Thank You and OK!: an American Zen Failure in Japan