Question
Why don’t we wear the rakusu or kesa (for those who wear them) during the first zazen each morning at sesshins? To avoid too much attachment to the kesa?
Anonymous
Answer from Master Kosen
I wore the sangha’s first large traditional kesa.
I could not bear doing zazen without a kesa and always found a responsibility that allowed me to wear it during morning zazen. Now I do zazen in my underwear at home without thinking this zazen is different from zazen in a kesa.
Once I told Jacques Espinasse, “When I put my kesa on my head, I feel I receive powerful energy.” He answered, “When I put my kesa on my head, I give it powerful energy!”
His vision was deeper than mine, and indeed, that is why it is better to do the first zazen without a kesa.
Kosen