For Hakuryu Sojun’s Funeral
In the fall of 1964,
You entered the dawn zendo
With your artist’s fire
And the Kabbalistic eye of a seeker
Behind you Suzuki Roshi
Gently adjusted your posture
Leaning down to demonstrate the cosmic mudra
And you were home
Fifty-six years later, now
You have left one home for another
Sojun who had been and still is Mel
Became a handful of fire
A dharma wind
And today I stand here
In the Green Dragon’s nest
A barefoot host to your teaching
You taught me
To read the other side of the page
And to see Buddha in each being
To rely on no particular thing
Not even you
As you did, I rely on everything
You asked Suzuki Roshi, “What is Nirvana?”
He said, “Seeing one thing through to the end”
—Hozan Alan Senauke
Green Dragon Zen Temple
19 June 2022
