Just One Thing

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, resident priest Senko Perez reflects on the common trap of imagining that true practice lies elsewhere—in quieter places, calmer minds, or better circumstances. During a recent solo retreat in Cerrillos, he expected peace, quiet, and to submerge into deep practice. Contrary to his expectations Perez describes the arrival of his own restless thoughts and “all of these imaginary people who were filling that beautiful little casita with me.” In the relatable effort to tame his restless mind, Perez greeted old habits and wounds previously thought to be resolved. Reading from the Genjo Koan Perez regains the thread – “When you find your place where you are, practice occurs; actualizing the fundamental point. When you find your way at this moment, practice occurs; actualizing the fundamental point. The place, the way, is neither large nor small, neither self nor other.” Perez speaks to the release that comes with radical surrender—what Dogo Rinpoche called “resting like a flowing river.” Rather than waiting for perfect conditions, we are invited to meet the treasury of awakening here and now, in each noisy, fleeting, and beautiful moment of our lives.