This year, Rohatsu falls on a Monday - so it seems a good idea to take advantage of this and have a slightly out-of-the-ordinary Monday meeting.
Rohatsu (which is merely Japanese for "8th December") is, in the Zen tradition, the day upon which we remember the Buddha's enlightenment. It's not merely the fact of the Buddha's realisation that we remember, of course: it's more personal than that. Recognising ourselves as Buddha, we use this time to manifest our implicit Buddha-nature. In our sitting, Buddha sits. We don't have to do anything about it: just sit.
At Rohatsu, though, we also remember the Buddha's great determination to resolve the problem that he'd been afflicted by over the previous years. How do we match this seemingly purposeful striving with the goal-less-ness of 'just sitting'? I suppose there are many ways to answer that, but for myself I can only say: get on the zafu. Don't fight with this, just sit. And return to the cushion and sit and sit again.
So next Monday, we'll observe Rohatsu with an extra period of sitting followed by a service. To ensure we leave at roughly the right time, we'll cut back on the discussion. I'm sure we'll manage a cup of tea at least!
If you've not been in a while, Rohatsu is a good opportunity to reinvigorate your practice and to re-dedicate yourself to the cause of sitting-doing-nothing. Hope to see you there.
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