Open Gate Zen Collective 

Saturday Morning 3.14.20 

We are collectively going through a time of complete transformation: Kairos, a turning moment. Kairos, to the Greeks, referred to the sacred and vital nature of time, a choice point, in which we must seize the opportunity as it arises.  Kairos is the root of chaos. Yet as we center ourselves in this moment, this experience of chaos can serve as an initiation, through which we uncover our hidden resources.  We can treat this time with reverence and as sacred ceremony.  Zen practice provides a grounding and centering force, through which we can find calm abiding in the middle of the storm.

Joanna Macy refers to this as the Great Unravelling, and the Great Turning. In the Hindu tradition, which served as a spiritual foundation for the Buddha, there is also such a prophecy—the Kali Yuga, which dates back roughly thirty-five hundred years, indicates we are within a long phase of complete transformation.

This prophecy is referenced within Buddhism by the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra describes the Kali Yuga as a time of great change—what Zen students call “hard training”—when people will need to actively and intentionally connect with their inner wisdom and act with alignment and integrity. Without this connection to source, people may act against the grain of their true nature, and experience tumult and struggle. At this point, a core teaching is brought forth, which is also a charge we are given to meet these changing times: the Lion’s Roar. The Lion’s Roar is a practice of complete openness. By moving toward our experience and seeing everything that arises as workable, we have access to the highest energy. We find ourselves in the middle of the sacred circle of our life, without anything left out. If just one person is able to find the center of their sacred circle, through the power of resonance, the people with whom they are interconnected begin to find a place of calm abiding as well. This is where the Great Unravelling becomes the Great Turning.

These practices will help you to be that person, to bring your awareness and compassion to full expression in this changing world.