“When we allow ourselves to be enlightened by everything that exists, then we can’t help but to also serve.”
—Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara

In the final week of Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara’s retreat, “To Be a Bodhisattva,” she interprets and adapts the last slogan of Zen Master Dogen from the Genjokoan: to be enlightened by the myriad things is to become a bodhisattva. 

“A bodhisattva is not a fixed character, an ‘Awakened Being,'” Enkyo Roshi says. Rather, a bodhisattva is an “‘Awakening Being’—a being that is awakening, and is awakening others. A bodhisattva is one who relates to the world in an awakening fashion.” When we recognize the interconnectedness of all things, helping others becomes automatic, as we cease to see the difference between ourselves and others. Then, to serve others is the same as serving oneself. 

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