May 14, 2020
Coda: What I Want You To Know…

The following poem was read by Senior Teacher Ryushin Paul Haller at the end of the first-ever live-streamed Dharma talk from Tassajara. It is a compilation of the prompt ‘What I want you know … ‘ which he had given to the Tassajara monks earlier, asking them to write their answers down on pieces of paper. That prompt also inspired a letter which has been published as parts I, II, III, and IV.

What I want you to know:
Six feet apart we’re closer than ever
Endowed by four billion years of evolution
This human body breathes and wonders
This is enough, you are enough, we are enough
Wherever you are right now,
Make it a temple filled with compassion
Listen to what wants to be known
Like you, it’s worthy of love
Keep flowing, the hiking trails have
Sprouted grass and wildflowers
Turning the zendo inside out
Constant and always changing
Now is all we have
Moment by moment
Appropriate response

Watch or Listen to the Dharma Talk given by Ryushin Paul Haller and live-streamed from Tassajara on April 18, 2020.