The Thorns on the Rose Bush Might Hurt Your Horse

CASE

Issan Dorsey every week would host a Sunday Brunch at Jamesburg House, the last stop before the fourteen mile dirt road into Tassajara Monastery. There was a rough outlaw cowboy who would come and let his horse loose where it would graze on the garden. No one would comment about this behavior. Finally, Issan said, “You should tie your horse up, the thorns on the rose bush might hurt him.” The cowboy tied up his horse.

COMMENTARY

Issan was a student of Suzuki Roshi and his disciple Baker Roshi. In his later life he founded the Hartford Street Zen Center and the Maitri AIDS project.

Skill in means is no mean feat even for the skilled. Who chops wood and carries water looking out for both the axe and the wood, the rose and the horse, the corrector and corrected? Great compassion includes wisdom and great care. Can you tether yourself in a way that all are freed?

VERSE by Dairyu

Horses, roses, brunches and gardens
So much hog wash
Issan cooks them all up
How much will you eat?