2025-05-13 M46 Step Forward from the Top of a Hundred-Foot Pole

Description: To die the Great Death means letting go of everything, even our precious awakening experience. We go up the pole to free ourselves of the three poisons, but then we leap back down into the world of duality and suffering to help others to liberate themselves. A Zen master said, "Zen training is preparation for life in the world, not the goal of life in the world."Sources: Awakening to Zen, Roshi Philip Kapleau; Zen's Chinese Heritage, Andy Fergusson; Two Zen Classics, Katsuki Sekida; The Gateless Barrier, Zenkei Shibayama; Passing Through the Gateless Barrier, Guo Gu.