Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi
Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday Morning 08/15/2021
From The Book of Serenity, Case 75 – Ruiyan’s ‘Constant Principle’
Shugen Roshi asks “What is change?”. Impermanence means that nothing stays the same. We want to escape suffering and we crave pleasure. Our very behavior creates suffering as we cling to things that are impermanent and try to escape what is unpleasant. So the question is: “How can we be free from suffering?” Roshi suggests that a first step would be to practice patience.