Bob Kohl - Dae Do Soen Sa
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Is there really such a thing as a Zen teacher?
For the most part, it does not occur to me that that there is much to say about zen. But then there is some kind of stimulus that turns this rusty little crank of a mind, and something shoots from my mouth. In sitting within this tradition for more than 30 years there are two things come to mind; first, I have experienced a quality of being held in gentle, caring manner that seems to resonate with the nature of the forest and mountain itself; second, there is a continued commitment for all of us to discover our own myths that prevent us from simply remembering our direct connection to life itself. And as we break open a bit, there is a tendency to want to share as Zen Master Dae Gak and the other Furnace Mountain Teachers have so generously shared. This quality of sharing creates an environment that allows each one of us to discover that step from a 100 ft pole for ourselves. My primary direction now asks, can we continue to create community from this ancient tradition that fosters insight into “this great matter” in the midst our our present landscape; and if so, how? |
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More specifically, the koan of how we move through the world in this thing we call a body continues to pull me into finding the kernel of this crazy practice.
As the responsibilities as a full time practicing physician decrease - are there ways to be we can create community that fosters insight into “this matter”. Also an interest is growing into translating this practice within movement and how to carry “this matter” into this thing we call a body.
Bob Kohl received Inga (permission to teach) in 2011. He lives in Wisconsin and can be reached here.