Roshi
Leonard Cohen

I never really understood
what he said
but every now and then
I find myself
barking with the dog
or bending with the irises
or helping out
in other little ways
 

This poem was written by Leonard for our mutual teacher, Joshu Sasaki Roshi of Mount Baldy Zen Center. Sasaki Roshi's description of enlightenment in terms of expansion and contraction has profoundly informed the way I teach meditation. —Shinzen