Roshi Bernie Glassman & Hozan Alan Senauke & Roshi Joan Halifax: Gate of Sweet Nectar 2015 (Part 5 of 5)

Part 5: “I live my life according to experiences, not according to the commentary.” This last half of the final panel traverses: projection in student-teacher relationships; how Roshi Joan’s and Bernie’s relationship has changed over the years; whether it’s true that “you can’t be friends with your students;” distinctions between resilience and “getting over yourself” in caregiving work; the disrespectful haste of consoling someone with “I know how you feel.” Someone asks Bernie, how have you managed to go against the stream when your innovations have so often met consternation? He says he hasn’t gone against any streams, he’s only gone with the stream of his experience of connectedness. “I live my life according to experiences, not according to the commentary.”