In this Day five talk during the Fall Practice Period Sesshin, Sensei Monshin weaves together stories of generosity, effort, and hummingbirds to explore “effort without desire”—the natural, uncalculated movement of life giving to life. Beginning with the question of “deserving” in the meal chant, she challenges the logic of worthiness and turns us instead toward reciprocity and appreciation. From the tireless flight of hummingbirds to Lingzhao’s “neither difficult nor easy,” Monshin reveals how effort arises freely when it’s not driven by comparison or grasping. Drawing on Dogen’s teaching that “realization is effort without desire,” she describes practice as a vast call and response with all beings—where “your effort calls forth what is already given,” and even the grass, trees, and walls radiate the light of awakening.
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