Tonight marks the start of the November sesshin, and after the highs and lows of the past month, from the gratifying Red Sox victory in the World Series to the disappointing election and the exorbitant car repair, I'm more than ready for it. Sesshin literally means "to unify the mind," and is highly recommended to anyone sincerely interested in experiencing the true heart of Zen practice. This is a wonderful opportunity to draw from the tremendous strength of the sangha practicing together to deepen Zen practice in ways that are only possible through this kind of intensive practice session. In addition, we will be holding a Fusatsu (Precepts Renewal) ceremony on Sunday.

The theme of this month's sesshin is saddha. Saddha, or faith, is an important but often misunderstood element of Zen practice. The Pali term "saddha" is perhaps more accurately translated as trust or confidence. In Pali it is a verb, an activity, something you do and literally means "to place your heart upon." Faith in Buddhism is not equivalent to an untestable belief. Rather, it is a way of suspending reflexive "critical doubt" long enough to open us to new possibilities, the possibility of liberation. It comes from our own understanding and experience of those who have followed the path of wisdom before us.

Saddha is illustrated by Vipassana teacher Sharon Salzberg as follows: We experience faith on many levels. In a classical text entitled "The Questions of King Milinda," a monk named Nagasena uses an allegory to illustrate this. A group of people gathered on the edge of a flooding stream want to go to the far shore but are afraid. They don't know what to do until one wise person comes along, assesses the situation, takes a running leap, and jumps to the other side. Seeing the example of that person, the others say, "Yes, it can be done." Then they also jump. In this story the near shore is our usual confused condition, and the far shore is the awakened mind. Inspired by witnessing another, we say, "Yes, it can be done." That is one level of faith. After we have jumped ourselves, when we say, "Yes, it can be done," that is quite another level of faith.

Rev. Teijo Munnich of the Great Tree Temple in Asheville is joining us for the November sesshin. Disciple and Dharma Heir to Dainin Katigiri Roshi, Teijo studied with him from 1975 until his death in 1990. She received formal training at Hokyoji (Catching the Moon Zen Mountain Center) in Southeastern Minnesota, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in Carmel Valley, California and Hosshinji Sodo in Obama, Japan.