Part Two: “The Widening of the Hermit’s Vision” In the second talk of this four-part series, Sensei Michael Brunner continues his exploration of Sekitō Kisen’s Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage, turning to the widening vision of the awakened hermit. Where Part One built the hut — the dwelling of practice and simplicity — Part Two opens the doors. The hut that once seemed small now includes the entire world. The hermit who once sat within it now dissolves into the boundless vastness of awareness. Through Sekitō’s verses — “Though the hut is small, it includes the entire world” and “Places worldly people live, he doesn’t live; realms worldly people love, he doesn’t love” — Sensei examines the natural unfolding of realization: how renunciation gives way to inclusion, how the walls of self and world fall away, and how compassion arises from stillness itself. In this episode: – The hut as the mind of non-separation – Dwelling in vastness without losing ordinariness – The difference between worldly love and boundless love – The practice of allowing the weeds to grow – Living in freedom where nothing is outside the Way Recorded live during sesshin at One River Zen, this talk traces the arc from solitude to intimacy, showing that the true dwelling of the awakened life is not apart from the world, but fully within it. 🪷 Learn more: https://oneriverzen.org #Zen #DharmaTalk #SekitoKisen #SongOfTheGrassRoofHermitage #MichaelBrunner #OneRiverZen #SotoZen #Zazen #AwakeningStreams #Compassion #NonDuality #Stillness #GrassRoofHut #Sesshin #ZenPractice
In the second talk of this four-part series, Sensei Michael Brunner continues his exploration of Sekitō Kisen’s Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage, turning to the widening vision of the awakened hermit.
Where Part One built the hut — the dwelling of simplicity — Part Two opens its doors. The small hut now contains the entire world. The hermit’s heart, once enclosed by self and circumstance, dissolves into vastness.
Through Sekitō’s verses, Sensei explores how realization naturally unfolds — how renunciation becomes inclusion, how separation softens into compassion, and how the whole world can dwell within a ten-foot space.
In this episode:
– The hut as a metaphor for boundless mind
– Dwelling in vastness while living simply
– The difference between worldly love and awakened love
– Letting the weeds grow as a form of practice
– Living in freedom where nothing is outside the Way
Recorded live during sesshin at One River Zen, this talk invites listeners to recognize that the true hermitage is not built apart from the world, but realized through it — in every sound, every breath, every fleeting moment of life.
I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value.
After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap.
When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared.
Now it’s been lived in—and it’s covered with weeds.
The person in the hut lives here calmly,
Not stuck to inside, outside, or in between.
Places worldly people live, he doesn’t live.
Realms worldly people love, he doesn’t love.
Though the hut is small, it includes the entire world.
In ten square feet, an old man illumines forms and their nature.
A great vehicle Bodhisattva trusts without doubt.
The middling or lowly can’t help wondering;
Will this hut perish or not?
Perishable or not, the original master is present,
Not dwelling south or north, east or west.
Firmly based on steadiness, it can’t be surpassed.
A shining window below the green pines—
Jade palaces or vermilion towers can’t compare.
Just sitting with head covered, all things are at rest.
Thus, this mountain monk doesn’t understand at all.
Living here, he no longer works to get free.
Who would proudly arrange seats, trying to entice guests?
Turn around the light to shine within,
Then just return.
The vast inconceivable source can’t be faced or turned away from.
Meet the ancestral teachers; be familiar with their instructions.
Bind grasses to build a hut and don’t give up.
Let go of hundreds of years and relax completely.
Open your hands and walk, innocent.
Thousands of words, myriad interpretations,
Are only to free you from obstructions.
If you want to know the undying person in the hut,
Don’t separate from this skin bag here and now.
🪷 Learn more: https://oneriverzen.org
#Zen #DharmaTalk #SekitoKisen #SongOfTheGrassRoofHermitage #MichaelBrunner #OneRiverZen #SotoZen #Zazen #AwakeningStreams #Compassion #NonDuality #GrassRoofHut #Stillness #Sesshin #Awakening