The Life & Zen of a MARRIED MONK

There I was...in the middle of my work day...when my beloved girlfriend interrupted me with a pile of carrots she was transforming into her world famous Hate Carrot Soup (see video for explanation/recipe). She interrupted my work day because she wanted to vent because something/someone else had interrupted HER work day, so we both then complained about our interrupted workdays and had a good laugh um why am I telling you this...?? Because: relationship!! What's in a relationship, you ask? Everything! My teacher used to say that marriage is the only true monastery in the West. Today I unpack the crux of Tathagata Zen, the style of Rinzai Zen Buddhism that I learned at the monastery, which my teacher variously refered to as True Love practice, or the practice of Making Relationship. Would you like a quick refresher? Okay! Here it is: All of the universe is one. This condition of unity is called the Dharmakaya. This is the state or condition in which Everything fits together. Perfect fit! No room for nuthin' -- not even distance or space or separation! No self, no other, no nuthin'. Just ONE! Or, as my teacher put it: ZERO. (Zero works better than one. Dharma math, here, folks.) But!! The Dharmakaya/Zero is not fixed. It splits itself open...as it were...and creates two. I.e. two mutually opposing but complimentary opposites, i.e. plus and minus, expansion and contraction, up and down, this and that, me and you, and -- yes -- husband and wife! Now, if you want a quick-a** summary of the dharma activity from the Tathagata Zen perspective, it is: Zero, Two; Zero, Two. Over and over, 80K times a second, the Sutras tell us. Okay, but what does all THAT mean? Back to relationship. Consider the spousal hug. You stand apart as two. You hug and become one. Or, more accurately, you melt into each other/into the hug and become Zero! No self, no other. True monastery/marriage practice. The self is GONE! But then? Zero splits apart, and two selves emerge an instant later as husband and wife, smiling and happy. We practice marriage when we eat, becoming Zero with the food; we practice marriage when we walk, becoming Zero with the ground and our body; we practice marriage when we talk, becoming Zero with our interlocutors. And so on, on and on, from the moment we are born to the moment we die. Every day of our life we "marry our objective circumstances" and manifest monastery practice. I offer these videos for free, but you can support my work here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?busine... You can find essays, blogs, and videos here: patreon.com/ShozanJackHaubner And buy my books here: https://www.amazon.com/Shozan-Jack-Ha...