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Namaste and welcome, friends.

I'd like to start our reflection today with a story.

Some of you might remember and I find it really valuable as we explore the themes we'll

be looking at.

And this is a story, it's a Zen story, main character, Senjo.

Senjo is born into a family.

She has an older sister and her mother both died in a tragedy.

So she's living alone with her father.

And as she grew up, the boy who lived nearby, his name was Ocho, they would play together

and they played very well.

And the father would sometimes just laugh and say, you know, you two will make a great

pair.

And he loved his daughter very much.

They heard him, they believed him.

And in the course of time, their love for each other grew quite deep.

But because Senjo was very beautiful and there were a number of suitors who came to seek

her hand, when she came to Vacher, her father actually had her sit down in their small house

and said to her, I've made a really fine match for you.

This young man from several villages over the son of one of the great families of that

village.

...