What is There to Hold on to?
Summary
River, a priest at Mountain Rain, explores the teachings of Sojun Mel Weitzman on the dynamic unity of letting go and taking up. Drawing from Weitzman’s book *Seeing One Thing Through*, the talk uses personal stories of heartbreak and surgery to illustrate how zazen transforms suffering into wisdom. River emphasizes that practice is not about escaping pain but embracing it as fuel for compassion, balancing passive acceptance with active effort to navigate life’s impermanence with grounded stability.
Topics discussed
Introduction to Mountain Rain Zen Dharma Podcast
Speaker introduction and topic overview
Introducing Sojun Mel Weitzman Roshi
Early life and meeting Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
Ordination and 53 years of practice in Berkeley
Background as artist, taxi driver, and marine
Three core principles of Sojun Roshi's teaching
Personal story: Zazen during gender-affirming surgery
Zen perspective on suffering and letting go
Letting go of possessions and clothing
Sojun Roshi's teaching on letting go and taking up
Essence of mind, wisdom, and compassion
Maintaining composure and the dynamic whole
Zazen as confronting fears and suffering
Dogen's blue lotus and personal heartbreak
Body's natural rhythms of letting go
Transforming loss into a new relationship
Stories of letting go: water jug and broken toilet
Zazen's passive and active sides
Balance of posture, gravity, and spirit
Ocean mudra samadhi and continuous practice
Closing remarks and donation information
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