In this talk, we take up the koan “Xitang’s More” from the Record of Empty Hall.
When the old teacher Xitang asks, “Strive, but for what?” we are invited to consider just why and how we practice in a fractured world. In response to Xitang’s question, a monk steps forward and places both hands on the earth, saying “We save each other.”
What does it mean to save? What does it mean to be saved? And how might we touch the earth ourselves, wholeheartedly, in the spirit of “We save each other?”