In 1975, when I was twenty-five, my friend brought me to hear Dainin Katagiri Roshi give a Dharma talk at the Minnesota Zen Center. Something in me rang like a bell in recognition of something in Katagiri Roshi. “I want to be like that when I grow up.”
That was the beginning of entering into Zen practice. Practice being something I deeply understood because I was a professional modern dancer at that time and had been practicing since I was seven years old. Everyday I practiced movement; now I practiced stillness.
I encountered the House of Prayer many years ago, so long ago I don’t exactly recall what I was there for. But years later my friend, who was teaching at St. Ben’s, brought me there to teach her students about Zen practice and spirituality. I have always loved being at the House and especially I have love meditating in the oratory with others.
Four years ago I was asked to join the board, so I have gotten to spend more time at the House. I feel that the contemplative path is essential to human development, to healing, to understanding, confidence and freedom of mind and heart. I love to connect at the intersection of the heart; that interfaith intimacy is important for the healing of the world. Tikkun Olam. As a Zen priest and teacher I have taken vows to save all beings from suffering: the repair of the world.
The House is such a place where this healing occurs. It is in the walls and ceilings, in the stone paths and in the trees. It is more than words, more than intellectual study. In order to get close to this, we have to be quiet. As Katagiri Roshi once said to me, “I love human beings, but I wish they would shut up.”
