Day 1 Teisho, Mountain Gate 7-day Sesshin, October 2017: Mitra-roshi shares and comments on the Third Letter to Vice Minister Zeng, in The Letters of Dahui. The challenges of true Zen practice: "Let go your hold on the cliff...!"

On the second day of sesshin Mitra-roshi continues sharing and commenting on Dahui's [DaiE's] third letter to vice minister Zeng. Tahui was a Chan master spanning part of the 11th and 12th centuries in China and was much for is deep teachings. Every evening at the end of the formal meditation periods at Mountain Gate, his Vow for Awakening is chanted to inspire and encourage Zen students.

Continuing with sharing and commenting on the Letters of Dahui [Tahui; DaiE], Mitra-roshi takes up Li Bing's letter to Dahui and Dahui's response. This deals with various aspects of the awakening experience and the vital necessity of continuing practice, including post-satori practice.

Continuing on Day 4 of sesshin to share and comment on the Letters of Dahui [Tahui/DaiE], Mitra-roshi shares in this teisho a further letter from Li Bing, expressing more completely the depth of his awakening experience, and following it up with comments on Dahui's letter to the Censor Jiang Shaoming, a friend of Li Bing's who is not as far along in his practice.

In today's teisho, day 5 of sesshin, Mitra-roshi shares and comments on Chan Master Dahui's [Tahui, DaiE] Letter to Privy Counselor Fu, who is trying to "get" enlightenment. Dahui points out three errors in Fu's way of thinking about it and teaches how to work with discriminative thought.