QUESTION (resumed) :
Why don't you carry the rakusu...?
QUESTION (original) :
Why don't you carry the rakusu or kesa (for those who have one) during the first zazen of each morning when in sesshin. Is it to avoid too much attachment to the kesa?
ANSWER :
I carried the first great traditional kesa of the Sangha.
I couldn’t put up with doing zazen without kesa and I always managed to have a responsibility which authorized me to carry the kesa during the morning zazen.
Now I practice zazen in slipway at home without thinking that this zazen is different from that in kesa.
Once I said to Jaques Espinasse, “when I put my kesa on the head, I feel that I receive a strong energy”, he answered, “when I put my kesa on the head, I give it a strong energy!”
His vision was deeper than mine and indeed, for this reason it is better to do the first zazen without kesa.
KOSEN!