One Continuous Thread
There are teachings that enter quietly, shaping the course of a life long before we recognize their reach. The Eight Gates of Zen: A Program of Zen Training was such a teaching for me — a text that once felt distant, yet over time revealed itself as a guide to a living topography. Its rhythm began to move through my life — in the way I breathe, listen, and create — through the discipline of awareness and the grace of returning to silence.
My time sitting with the Mountains and Rivers Order (MRO) at Zen Mountain Monastery gave those teachings structure and direction. Immersed in the monastery’s rhythm — the morning bells, zazen, liturgy, and the simple precision of work practice — I began to experience the Eight Gates not as concepts but as direct expressions of living awareness. Within the MRO’s training matrix, each gate became a mirror reflecting the unity of zazen, study with a teacher, Buddhist study, liturgy, right action, art practice, body practice, and work practice — all woven together into one seamless path of realization.
John Daido Loori, Roshi, opened those gates wide for so many of us. His insight — that art, meditation, and the natural world are all reflections of an awakened self — left an imprint that continues to unfold in my own creative and healing work. His life revealed that creativity itself can be realization — that the act of seeing and shaping the world with sincerity is, in itself, an act of awakening.
Today, I offer a full bow of gratitude — to John Daido Loori, Roshi; to his heirs, who continue to uphold and transmit his teachings with devotion and authenticity; and to the White Plum Asanga, the living lineage through which this Dharma continues to flow. Their presence reminds us that Zen is not confined to a monastery or to a zafu and zabuton — it is the art of living with wisdom, compassion, and clarity in every moment.
In many ways, Kusala aspires to carry this same spirit forward — weaving contemplation, creativity, and service into one continuous thread. Whether through meditation, sound healing, Chinese medicine, or the craft of glassmaking, the essence remains the same: to embody the teaching fully and to realize The Buddha Way through the direct experience of one's life.
The thread continues — unbroken, humble, alive — a single gesture of gratitude extending across generations.