The Awesome Presence of Active Buddhas

Rohatsu Sesshin 2017 Talk 2 – Sunday, December 3, 2017

In this talk, Sosan continues an exploration of Zen Master Dogen’s fascicle on the “Awesome Presence of Active Buddhas.” She also shares the powerful poem,”Please Call Me By My True Names,” by Thich Nhat Hahn, to make the point that zen practice is not just becoming “a newer and better version of ourselves” or settling for “a kinder, gentle way of suffering.” The awesome presence of active buddhas is beyond our conception.  The way is to not cling to one’s idea of one’s self and instead realize that we are all active Buddhas.