Dharma Discourse by Konrad Ryushin Marchaj, Sensei

The radical loneliness of this path is good news. Loneliness is what helps us realize we are the only ones who can take responsibility for our lives. When we become completely intimate with loneliness, what emerges is the instantaneous realization we are connected to this whole reality, and to the boundless heart of compassion.

The koan in this talk is “Yunmen’s Pillars,” case 31 of the Book of Equanimity. This discourse was given at Zen Mountain Monastery in May of 2013.