Kathie Fischer: Warm Hand to Warm Hand

In this warm talk, Sensei Kathie Fischer explores the classic Zen poem The Sandokai, translated at Upaya as “The Identity of Relative and Absolute”. Weaving through the history of Buddhist thought and characters, Kathie shows us that The Sandokai is a poem about the Buddha’s teaching of the Middle Way. It illuminates the dynamic nature of relationships- though we are separate, we are also not separate, like fingers of a hand. In this dynamic merging of relative and absolute, we find things just as they are. We find all forms in relationship to one another. As Kathie says, “The comprehension of Buddhadharma is warm hand to warm hand.”