Part Four: “Turn the Light and Return” In the final talk of the Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage series, Sensei Michael Brunner brings Sekitō Kisen’s poem to its quiet resolution. After the hut is built, opened to the world, and settled in stillness, the hermit now turns the light inward — and simply returns. Sekitō’s closing instruction, “Turn around the light to shine within, then just return,” invites a practice beyond striving, beyond attainment. This is the life that remains when all effort falls away — when the builder, the hut, and the Way itself dissolve into a single, unbounded presence. Through this final teaching, Sensei explores the mystery of the undying person in the hut — the one who was never separate from the beginning. The talk unfolds as a meditation on freedom, humility, and the ease that comes from releasing even the need to awaken. In this episode: – Turning the light inward – The end of striving and the return to simplicity – Host and guest as one reality – The undying person in the hut – Freedom that asks for nothing Recorded live during sesshin at One River Zen, this final talk closes the circle: the hut, the world, and the one who dwells within are all the same. 🪷 Learn more: https://oneriverzen.org #Zen #DharmaTalk #SekitoKisen #SongOfTheGrassRoofHermitage #MichaelBrunner #OneRiverZen #SotoZen #Zazen #AwakeningStreams #Sesshin #GrassRoofHut #TurningTheLightWithin #Stillness #Freedom #Fushiryo #NonDuality #Awakening