Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

In the comic book version of the Zen stories that I sometimes refer to, when Huineng has left Hongren, the Fifth Ancestor’s, temple, and the other monks wonder what has happened, Hongren replies “an able person has the robe.” The monks, realising that this is a play on part of the meaning of Huineng’s name, decide to chase after him (spoiler alert: he gets the better of all of them).

I was looking for an online corroboration of this story, but did not find one easily. It came to mind during Saturday’s Shuso Ceremony at City Center, where Vanessa Able fielded the questions very ably. It was clear how much impact she has had, staying at the temple with her family for the past couple of months, and how well she is able to express the fundamental kindness of the practice.

Previously I had only known of her through her website, which I recommend to those who love reading widely; when we ran into each other recently at sewing class, she noted that our mutual friends expected that we would know each other because we are both English.

Beyond that, we move deeper into the darkest days, with the weather unchanged: dry with mists and a cold north wind, and I have been feeling very low energy. The other accomplishment of the weekend was putting up the Christmas lights, which I have actually been impatient to do – to counteract the gloominess of the season.