Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘If you really understand the meaning of cutting off words, speech, and mental activity, you will see that all social and economic endeavors are essentially already beyond words, speech, and mental activity. Going beyond words and speech is itself all words and speech, and going beyond mental activity is nothing but all mental activity… Reality is to go into the mud, enter the weeds, and expound dharma for the benefit of others; turning the dharma and helping all beings is not something optional. If people who call themselves descendants of the Buddha [leaders in the monastery] say that the Buddha’s ninety days of solitary summer sitting means that words and speech are cut off, you should demand a refund for those ninety days of summer sitting.’ (Shobogenzo Ango)

I take this to mean nothing is cut off; we cannot be separated from anything, even if we are sitting in the most remote monastery. It was a question often asked at Tassajara.