What Can’t Be Fought For
Danica Shoan Ankele, Sensei
Zen Mountain Monastery, Mt Tremper, New York, Friday 05/29/2026
From the Gateless Gate, Case 23 – Think Neither Good Nor Evil
The true self, what is that? It was the question put to Monk Ming by the sixth ancestor and opened for him the Way. This pivotal moment is something that makes Zen what it is, what can’t be planned, can’t be sought after, but still it’s the heart of our practice. Shoan Sensei asks us: what do you have faith in, and what do you still hold at arm’s length? How can you, through practice, embrace the gift of your pure Buddha Nature being offered right now?
