Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, draws on Buddhist and Hindu traditions (including the Mahabharata, Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita) to explain the human condition. Struggles and opposition are partners in our growth. Manjushri (wisdom) is not found in shrines, but is alive within each person. Lola recounts a tale of a monk and the village courtesan. She talks about how struggle is necessary for growth; it develops character. Friend and foe, like rose and thorn, are inseparable opposites. The human tendency is to focus on one side and ignore the other. True vision includes both opposites—and finding a center in the balance of them. Lola discusses whether she thinks someone can be wealthy and still find enlightenment. The true self is both presence and emptiness. The mystery of the self is real and should be made actual. Three spokes unite in one nave, and on that which is non-existent, the nave, depends the wheel's utility. Clay is molded into a vessel, and on that which is non on its hollowness, depends the vessel's utility. By cutting out doors and windows, we build a house. and on that which is nonexistent, on the empty space within, depends the house's utility. Therefore, existence renders actual, but nonexistence renders useful. Mar 6, 1987
