Talk by Jo An Sensei, “What Remains?”

In this talk, Jo An Sensei explores a question Soten offered in an earlier talk: “How do we not forget?” Bringing together the AIDS Memorial Quilt, the Washington, D.C. Reflecting Pool, and the Buddha’s robe, he considers how our individual lives can be sewn together and reflected in one another, becoming something larger than ourselves. Then, using the koan “Fayan’s Non-Abiding Basis,” Jo An asks us to consider that perhaps our greatest memorial is not what we preserve, but the compassion, presence, and space we create and offer one another.