Question
I practice zazen with the sangha, but sometimes, increasingly often, I feel the need to go to a solitary place where I could practice alone and spend months or even years doing only zazen all day, sleeping a little, eating a little, drinking a little, walking a little, meeting people who naturally appear on my path, but above all, for a while, stepping outside the group dynamic and testing my practice to the end, alone while remaining connected to everything around me.
It even feels urgent. I consider the sangha one of the Three Treasures, but also consider the entire universe the sangha.
Have you gone through this too? What should I do?
Anonymous
Answer from Master Kosen
If you need to ask, “What should I do?” and then become impatient and angry because the answer does not arrive quickly enough, you are not ready.
Kosen