Each of us is carrying so much—lugging around feelings and stories of deficiency, blame, or unworthiness. How can what we carry no longer separate us, but instead become the very ground of connection?

In this poignant dharma talk, Koshin Sensei reflects on the life of Jianzhi Sengcan, the 30th ancestor after Shakyamuni Buddha, who bore the visible burden of leprosy and the invisible weight of shame. At age 40, he approached his teacher Huike and pleaded, “Cleanse me of my wrongdoing.” What followed was an intimate encounter of great healing—and the heart of Zen practice.

Koshin invites us to pause and ask: What is the story I’ve been living in? What am I still carrying that keeps me from being truly present? He reminds us that it is not enough to simply be aware of our suffering. Liberation comes when we learn to put down our story and take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—not as abstract ideals, but as living, breathing relationships that can hold us in the midst of struggle.