RIKKI ASHER | Zen Wisdom

Some people maintain or increase vigor as they get older. Others get weaker. Then there are younger people who are weak to start with.

I would not distinguish people by age, but rather by the individual situation. I would treat an older person with a lot of strength the same as I would treat a younger person with good strength. There is no difference.

There was a 78 year-old man who attended a retreat in Taiwan who thought he was in good health. I told him to take it easy, but he insisted on participating in everything, with the same intensity as the others. After a while he confessed that the retreat was taking its toll, so I told him to change his method, to “give rise to a sense of shame.” In other words, to contemplate one’s frailty as a human being, to become aware of one’s egotistical, illusory idea of oneself. The man followed my directions and his situation changed. No longer did he try to compete with the younger practitioners. He put his legs down and sat, for hours at a time, in a settled manner. No pain or stress. Later he cried, realizing his delusions, and after that his body was no longer an obstacle. He came to me, fatigued, saying that he had accomplished what he had to and that the retreat was over for him. I agreed, and he went home.

There is another story, of a younger woman in poor health who wanted to attend a retreat. I turned her down the first time, but the second time she talked me into believing her health had improved, so I allowed her to come. In no time it became apparent that she was in terrible condition. I told her that she could do whatever she wanted. Walk around, meditate, get up when she wanted to, rest when she wanted to. She was disappointed, but she followed my instructions. As this went on, the sense of shame arose spontaneously within her. On the fourth day, the sense of shame was so strong that she sat for half a day. In the afternoon when she came to me, her appearance had changed radically. Previously, she had had a pale, sickly, dispirited, worried look. Now, her face was bright and open and full of life. She said, “I feel like I’ve passed a test.” I answered, “You’re right, you have. The retreat is over for you now. You can go home.”

I told these two stories to show that there is no clear distinction between young and old practitioners. It depends on the individual and on causes and conditions.

We have been talking about retreats. What about everyday life? Again, there is no difference. It is a mental problem, not a physical problem. You should practice in accordance with your health and vitality, not in accordance with your age. As long as you are not lazy and not diverted by other interests, you should practice better as you age.

Even if people engage in other activities, they should never lose sight of the practice. They should not partake in things so much that they forget about practice and the Dharma. If their minds are stable in this respect, then their practice should improve.

Generally speaking, why do we put more emphasis on training younger people in the Dharma, on practicing with great effort and intensity? It is because the minds of the young are more easily scattered and diverted. The idea of energetic practice is to keep them busy in their practice, to make them channel and focus their energy.

And, as far as physical frailty is concerned, it is only another obstruction. The two greatest Japanese Zen masters, Dogen (1200-1253) and Hakuin (1685-1768), were in poor health. Dogen died in his fifties after a prolonged lung disease. Hakuin was unfit physically, but, like Dogen, he went on to be a great practitioner.

In relation to health, then, people can still practice; and, with older people, the main problem usually is health and physical vitality.

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