Life Always Gives to Life: There Is Nothing to Fear

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Keido Troy Fernandez, a 13th generation native New Mexican and Zen priest at Upaya, tenderly weaves together ancestral wisdom, land-based practice, and Buddhist teachings. Drawing from his grandmother’s dichos (sayings) and experiences from a lifetime of practice, he explores the boundless courage of a planted seed and the persistence and mystery of the life that gives and grows us. Keido shares a remark from Tewa native, artist, and activist Roxanne Swentzell: “The seeds themselves change in relationship to the land where they’re planted”—which he offers as a metaphor for how dharma adapts and evolves through cultures while maintaining its essence, reflecting on the many ways we come to hear the dharma. Through stories ranging from visits to Japan’s ancient temples to his father’s irrigation work, Keido emphasizes that “Ancestors, the ancient Buddhist ones, whether in Japan or … the ones in our personal family or lineage, are not out there somewhere relegated to the past. They are here, always here, in you and me.” In closing, Keido connects Mark Nepo’s “The Courage of the Seed” to the Buddhist practice of surrender, inviting us to surrender as the seed does to the unknowable process that enables growth and ultimately our liberation… “Do not be afraid, life always gives to life.”