Taking Refuge in Zazen

Refuge

During the Vietnam War, the Dutch minister and activist A. J. Muste stood outside the White House night after night, holding a candle in protest. One night a reporter asked him, “Reverend, do you really think that by standing here with a candle you’re going to change our country’s policies?” Muste replied, “Oh no, sir. You’ve got it all wrong. I’m not doing this to change the country. I’m doing it so the country won’t change me.”

I've always thought that zazen is like lighting a candle, no matter the weather. We stand with our candle held high when all is clear. And we stand when it’s storming and we can barely see. We stand to not be changed by the world, to not be swept up by its confusion and conflict.

And if we understand that candle, if we understand standing, then we know that all we need to do is light the candle and hold it up—whether we feel like it, whether we can feel the difference, whether or not we think we have the right candle in our hand. In fact, we don’t even actually have to light it, because it’s always been burning and it will not be put out. It’s impossible to put it out. No one can take from us what we've never lacked. So, whatever we think we’ve lost can never come close to what we still have. And this, I find, is an inexhaustible refuge.

*Photo by Mark Labrum