While dictating this Dharma Byte, I was uncertain how to appropriately name it, but the reasons for settling on high anxiety should become clear in what follows. This is one of the most common issues faced by people today, that of a generalized anxiety, with its cast of many supporting characters and imperatives for action, which can manifest in a broad range from mild disorientation to what the experts call panic attack. Any one who will not admit to being subject to anxiety from time to time, from the terrible two-year-old to the most adept Zen practitioner, either isn't paying attention or is being disingenuous.

Youthful anxiety and that of those of advanced years share one element in common: a perceived, and actual, lack of control. Underlying is the fact that people don't know the factors most directly effecting their existence with any degree of surety, and instead of confronting this reality directly, spend entire lifetimes evading and distracting their attention from it. The don't know mind of Zen springs from this truth as well.

A Zen monk named Seikan Hasegawa wrote a book titled The Cave of Poison Grass many years ago, in which he urged the reader to confront the great matter of Zen early in life rather than late, not to wait until on the deathbed, as that would be like "trying to eat soup with a fork." It is unfortunate that many in my generation have still not begun to confront the grave matter of life and death, and are running out of time, let alone the energy and strength they once enjoyed. I feel very fortunate to have been exposed to Zen in my mid-twenties, and to be able to sit comfortably in the cross-legged posture at my age, which some long-term practitioners and older Zen teachers are unable to continue.